RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
5November 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5435)
Original: English/French*Working Party onProfessional Services
COMMUNICATION FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
AND THEIR MEMBER STATES
Response totheQuestionnaire ontheAccountancy Sector
Thefollowing communication iscirculated attherequest oftheEuropean Communities and
theirmember States.
______________
Page
I. GENERAL 2
II. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS 24
III. TECHNICAL STANDARDS AND ETHICS 38
IV. LICENSING REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES 58
V. RECOGNITION OFQUALIFICATIONS 83
VI. REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OFA
COMMERCIAL PRESENCE 93
VII. REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE ENTRY AND TEMPORARY
STAY OFNATURAL PERSONS FOR THE PURPOSE OF
SUPPLYING ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES 101
VIII. NATIONALITY/RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS 105
ANNEX I 108
*TheoriginallanguageisEnglishexceptforBelgium,FranceandLuxembourgforwhichFrenchistheoriginal.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page2
I. GENERAL
1. What aretheprofessional titles ofaccountants inyour country? Arethese professional
titles protected? Please specify how.
Forallmember States except Luxembourg, Greece, Ireland: seeanswers incolumn 1ofthe
OECD survey (S/WPPS/W/4/Add.1) of5January 1996) andadditional information hereunder.
Austria
1. Thegroup ofliberal professions, which inGATS-WPPS aresubsumed under theheading
"accountancy sector", isgenerally named withthefunctional professional title"Public Accountant"
(Wirtschaftsreuhänder ).InAustria there existtwospecific professions withthefollowing functional
titles:
(a) Certified Public Accountant (Wirtschaftsprüfer undSteuerberater );
(b) Licensed TaxAdvisor (Steuerberater ).
2. Theprofessionaltitleshavetobeusedinprofessionallife,wherebyadistinctionismadebetween
natural persons andlegalpersons orpartnerships:
(a) Professional titles fornatural persons ("sole practitioners"):
- Certified Public Accountant (Beeideter Wirtschaftsprüfer undSteuerberater );
- Licensed TaxAdvisor ("Steuerberater").
(b) Professional titles forlegalpersons andpartnerships ("firms"):
- Certified Public Accountancy Company (Wirtschaftsprüfungs -und
Steuerberatungsgesellschaft );
- Licensed TaxAdvisory Company (Steuerberatungsgesellschaft ).
3. Inaddition tothese professional titles alsocomprehensive titles maybeused:
(a) Comprehensive titlefornatural persons ("sole practitioners")
- "Public Accountant" (Wirtschaftstreuhänder )
(b) Comprehensive titleforlegalpersons andpartnerships ("firms")
- "Public Accountancy Company" (Wirtschaftstreuhandgessellschaft )
4. Allprofessional titlesareprotected bylaw.Onlynatural persons andlegalpersons/partnerships
admitted tothespecific professions areentitled tousethetitles"Certified Public Accountant", "Licensed
TaxAdvisor", "Certified Public Accountancy Company" and"Licensed TaxAdvising Company".
Belgium
There arethree professional titles inBelgium:S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page3
- Réviseurs d'entreprises (statutory auditor);
- Experts-compatables (professional accountant);
- comptables (bookkeepers).
These titlesareprotected respectively bytheLawof22July1953forréviseurs d'entreprises ,
theLawof21February 1985 forexperts-comptables ,andtheframework Lawof1March 1976 for
comptables.
Germany
Theterm"accountancy" covers alarge spectrum ofdifferent activities butonlypartofthese
are"regulated", thatmeans reserved toacertain profession. Theprofessional titles ofaccountants
inGermany are:Wirtschaftsprüfer, vereidgter Buchprüfer, Streuerberater andSteuerbevollmächtigte .
These titles areprotected bylaw.
Denmark
There aretwoprotected titles: "statsautoriseret revisor "orStateAuthorized Public Accountants
and"registeretrevisor"orCertifiedAccountant.ProtectioniseffectedundertheActonStateAuthorized
Public Accountants (LSR) andtheActonCertified Accountants (LRR) suchthatonlypersons who
arechartered/certified asaccountants areentitled tousetherespective titles"State Authorized Public
Accountants" and"Certified Accountant". Thedesignation "accountant" ishowever, notprotected.
When thedesignation "accountant(s)" isusedbelow, itrefers bothtoState Authorized andCertified
Accountants.
Finland
KHT Authorized Public Accountant
HTM Approved Accountant
Theabove-mentioned titles areprotected. Theuseofthetitlesisrestricted toonlythose in
theregister keptbytheMinistry ofTrade andIndustry. Inaddition, there isanexamination system
inthepublic sector where:
JHTT Chartered Public Finance Auditor
Theuseofthelast-mentioned titleisrestricted toonlythose intheregister keptbytheMinistry
ofFinance.
Greece
Statutory auditors; accountants; taxconsultants; consultants (feasibility studies forinvestment
projects).
Italy
TheprofessionaltitlesinItalyareDottoreCommercialistaandRagioniereePeritoCommerciale.
Professional titlesareprotected bylawrespectively byDPRNo.1067dated 27October 1953
andDPR No.1068 dated 27October 1953. Inorder topractice asaprofessional accountant, theS/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page4
candidate isrequired toberegistered ontheprofessional list(Albo) while forstatutory auditing he
isrequired toberegistered asrevisore contabile (titleoffunction).
Ireland
Thetitlesnormally usedare:chartered accountant, certified accountant andcertified public
accountant. These titlesarenotspecifically defined/reserved incompanies legislation. However, each
oftherelevant professional bodies would beentitled toapply totheCourts forarestraining order in
circumstances where anindividual/firm fraudulently heldhimself/themselves outtobemembers of
aparticular body andhadfailed tocease doing sowhen called upon sotodobythebody concerned.
Luxembourg
Theonlyofficially recognized professional titleisréviseur d'enterprise (statutory auditor),
whichcoversabroadandvariedrangeoffunctions.Whiletheprofessiongenerallyinvolvesthestatutory
auditing oftheaccounts ofenterprises andorganizations, thatfunction isnotincompatible withother
activities suchascontractual auditing ofaccounts, taxconsultancy, organization ofaccounts and
bookkeeping, andapplying accounting techniques toanalyse thevarious economic, legalandfinancial
aspects ofthesituation andoperation ofcompanies.
Thetitleofréviseur d'enterprise isprotected bytheLawof28June1984ontheorganization
oftheauditing profession, andalistofauditors isdrawn uponayearly basis.
Portugal
There aretwoofficially recognized professional titles:
(a) Técnicos oficiais decontas (certified accountants)
Thiscategory wassetupbyDecree-Law No.265/95 of17October which laysdown
more demanding academic requirements fortaking uptheprofession andputsanend
toaperiod ofseveral years when therewerenoregulations governing thisprofessional
category.
Certified accountants areresponsible forthetaxregularity ofentities liable toincome
taxwhich haveanorganized accounting system.
(b) Revisores oficiais decontas (statutory auditors)
This titleappeared forthefirsttimeinPortugal inDecree-Law No.648/70 of
28December which established anewsystem forauditing public limited companies.
Thecorresponding regulations werelaiddown inDecree LawNo.1/72of3January.
Theprofession iscurrently regulated byDecree LawNo.422-A/93 of29December,
alegaltextcomprising thefollowing sixsections:
I. Organization andprofessional scope;
II. Professional status;
III. Firms ofstatutory auditors;
IV. Access totheprofession;
V. Community auditors;
VI. Final andtransitional provisions.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page5
Access totheprofession ofauditor oraccountant isdulyprotected bytheabove
provisions.
2. How istheaccountancy sector regulated inyour country: bylaw, professional
self-regulations, acombination ofboth?
AtCommunitylevelonlystatutoryauditisregulatedinDirective84/253/EEC(EighthCompany
LawDirective)whichsetsoutminimumstandardsfortheapprovalofstatutoryauditorsinallECmember
States.
Forallmember States except Luxembourg, Greece, Ireland: seeanswers incolumn 1ofthe
OECD survey (S/WPPS/W/4/Add.1 of5January 1996).
Austria
Theaccountancy sector isstrictly regulated bylawandprofessional self-regulation within the
legalframework:
1. Legal basis (Federal Law, Ordinances ofMinistry forEconomic Affairs)
(a) Federal Law
- Wirtschaftstreuhänder-Berufsordnung-WTBO,FederalLawGazette125/1955;
lastamendment Federal LawGazette 774/1992.
- Wirtschaftstreuhänder-Kammergesetz -WTKG, Federal LawGazette 20/1948;
lastamendment Federal LawGazette 341/1991.
- Wirtschaftstreuhänder-Disziplinarordnung -WTDO ,Federal Law
Gazette 63/1962; lastamendment Federal LawGazette 654/1988.
(b) Ordinances oftheMinistry forEconomic Affairs
- Wirtschaftstreuhänder-Prüfungsordnung ,Ordinance published inFederal Law
Gazette 45/1983; lastamendment Federal LawGazette 21/1989.
- Wirtschaftstreuhänder-Prüfungsgebührenverordnung ,Ordinance published in
Federal LawGazette 46/1983.
2. Limited delegation ofpower forself-regulation bytheChamber (within theframework ofthe
legalinstruments mentioned above)
- Autonome Honorarrichtlinien -AHR(General rulesforfee-setting), Decision
ofChamber of1992.
- Allegemeine Auftragsbedingungen -AAB(General framework fortheprovision
ofservices), Decision ofChamber 1992.
- Wettbewerbsrichtlinien (Competition rules): Decision ofChamber 1993.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page6
Belgium
Thesector isregulated byacombination oflegal provisions andregulatory provisions, the
latter issued bytheprofessional institutions towhich eachoneoftheprofessions isattached.
Denmark
Regulation oftheaccountancy profession iseffected byactorproclamation issued under an
act.
Finland
Theaccountancy sector isregulated bytheAuditing Act(936/94), theAuditing Ordinance
(1379/94), theDecisions oftheMinistry ofTrade andIndustry (519/95, 1477/95), theBylaws of
KHT-auditors (13December 1994), theBylaws ofHTM-auditors (13December 1994) andtheBylaws
ofKHT firms ofauditors andHTM firms ofauditors (13December 1994).
Theaccountancy inthepublic sector isregulated bytheOrdinance concerning theexamination
ofanauditor inthepublic administration andfinance (926/91, 995/93, 477/96).
Greece
Bylaw.
Italy
Theaccountancy sector isregulated bylaw,regulations issued byastatutory agency, andby
self-regulations.
Ireland
Theaccountancy profession intheRepublic ofIreland isregulated byacombination oflaw
andofprofession self-regulation. Seealsoanswer inIFAC survey, questions B.1and2.
Luxembourg
Theprofession isregulated bylegal provisions (Law of28June1984, Mem. 1984, 1346;
Grand-Duchy Regulation of13January 1994), aswellasbytheInstitut desréviseurs d'entreprises
(Institute ofStatutory Auditors), which plays adisciplinary role, issues recommendations, ensures
observance oftherules ofprofessional conduct anddefends theinterests oftheprofession.
Portugal
Bylaw,onthebasis oftheprovisions explained under answer toquestion 1.
3. Arethere anyprovisions toprotect company names, whether national orforeign, inyour
country?
Nolegislation atCommunity level.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page7
Austria
InAustria there arestrict legal regulations concerning theuse,wording andprotection of
professional titlesofnatural persons andoffirms (legal persons, partnerships). According toArticle 2
andArticle 30oftheWTBO onlythefollowing legalnames areallowed tobeusedbyfirms:
1. Asageneral comprehensive term(Article 30WTBO)
(a) "Public Accountancy Company" ("Wirtschafstreuhandgesellschaft ")
2. According tothespecific profession (Article 2WTBO)
(a) Certified Public Accountancy Company ("Wirtschaftsprüfungs -and
Steuerberatungsgesellschaft ")
(b) Licensed TaxAdvising Company ("Steuerberatungsgesellschaft" )
3. Legal persons mayaddthewording oftheirfirm(Article 30,paragraph 4WTBO)
4. Partnerships mayaddthenames ofthepartners (Article 30,paragraph 4WTBO)
Belgium
InBelgium, company names maybeprotected either byatrademark (Benelux Convention
onTrademarks, approved bytheLawof30June1969), orbyapplication ofthenotion ofunfair
competition contained intheLawof14July1991 ontrading practices andconsumer information.
Moreover, incasesofmisconduct, damage andacausal link,theinjured party mayinvoke civilliability
incourt.
Germany
Thelawregulating theprofession ofWirtschaftsprüfer andthelawregulating theprofession
ofSteuerberater(professionallaws)prescribeforinstancethatarecognized
"Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft" or"Steuerberatungsgesellschaft" must include theprofessional
designation "Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft" or"Steuerberatungsgesellschaft" aspartofitsname.
Alsoapplicable arethecommercial andcompetition law.
Denmark
StateAuthorizedPublicAccountantsandCertifiedAccountantsmayoperateabusinessinlimited
company orprivate limited company form. Thenames oflimited companies andprivate limited
companies areprotected under therespective Companies Act, Aktieselskabsloven and
Anspartsselskabsloven .Names ofcompanies mustbeclearly distinguishable fromoneanother. The
following maynotbeused: surnames, company names, proper names onrealestate, trademarks, logos,
etc.towhich thecompany isnotentitled, andthenames maynotbedeceptive.
Spain
Acompany name getsprotection when registered intheNational Board ofPatents and
Trademarks (Oficina Españols dePatentes yMarcas ),according totheLawofTrademarks (LeydeS/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page8
Marcas )of10November 1988. Protection fornames canbeobtained asatrademark orasabusiness
name.
France
Company names areprotected bylawinthecaseofbothnational andforeign firms. Partners
maychoose aname freely aslongastheydonotinfringe ontherights ofthirdparties. Onlycompanies
recognized byprofessional bodies theOrdre desExperts-comptables (Association ofProfessional
Accountants) andtheCompagnie nationale descommissaires auxcomptes (National Society ofStatutory
Auditors) i.e.members ofthose bodies, areentitled tousethetitles société d'expertise-comptable
(accounting firm) or"commissariat auxcomptes "(auditing firm).
Finland
AcompanynamegetsprotectionwhenregisteredintheNationalBoardofPatentandRegistration
inFinland, orbyestablishment ofthename.
Greece
Thegeneral provision ofCommercial Lawfortheprotection ofCompany names apply.
Italy
Provisions toprotect company names areprovided forbyArticle 2564/2566 oftheItalian Civil
Code. Asageneral provision, companies arenotallowed toconduct professional activities. However,
external auditing supervised byCONSOB (Italian Companies andSecurities Commission) must be
conducted onlybyauditing firms registered ascompanies.
Ireland
TheRegistration ofBusiness Names Act,1963, which applies tobusinesses established inthe
Republic ofIreland requires registration byevery business, whether bodycorporate firmorindividual
carrying onbusinesses under abusiness name which doesnotconsist ofitscorporate name without
anyaddition/its surname/s without anyaddition. TheMinister forEnterprise andEmployment (formally
theMinister forIndustry andCommerce) "...mayrefuse topermit theregistration under thisAct
ofanyname which inhisopinion isundesirable". Foraccountancy firms, eachprofessional body
imposes control/voting requirements which mustbemetbyindividuals holding theprofessional title
thatbodyconfers. Forfirms ofchartered accountants therelevant percentage is75,forfirms ofcertified
accountants itis51percent.
Luxembourg
Company names, whether national orforeign, maybeprotected bypriorregistration withthe
Benelux Registry ofTrademarks and/or theLawonUnfair Competition of27November 1986, amended
bytheLawof29May1992.
Réviseurs d'entreprises (statutory auditors) grouped together within onelegalentity exercise
aprofession eveniftheyaresalaried employees. Inother words, thecommercial nature ofsuchentities
isnotautomatically recognized andthiscould leadtodifficulties inthecourts, eventhecivilcourts.
TheLawonUnfairCompetitionpunishesactsorpracticeswhichcauseoraimtocauseconfusionbetween
services, products andcorporate names where commercial activities areinvolved.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page9
TheNetherlands
Companynames,whethernationalorforeign,areprotectedbylaw(Handelsnaamwet,Stb.1954,
410). Thislawisapplicable tobusiness enterprises only. Itisquestionable whether afirmofaccountants
isabusiness enterprise ornot,asitisargued thattheexercise ofaliberal profession isnotabusiness.
Asnocasehasbeenbrought before thecourts untilnow, itisuncertain howthelawonthisissuemust
beinterpreted. However, incivillaw(tortlaw)adequate protection canbefound against illegal use
ofacompany name. Acompany maybecalled Accountantskantoor ifanAAorRAispartofthe
management ofthecompany. Thisisinlinewiththeprovision thatonlyAAsorRAsmaycall
themselves "accountants".
Portugal
Certified accountants andstatutory auditors canform companies. Registration isgoverned
bytheprovisions ofDecree LawNo422-A/93 and265/95.
Sweden
Company names areprotected either through registration ofthecompany ortheestablishment
ofthecompany onthemarket.
United Kingdom
Company names areprotected intheUnited Kingdom byoneormore means. Thenational
register oflimited companies permits acompany touseaparticular name onlyifitissatisfied that
noother exists thatislikely tocause confusion inthemind ofthepublic. Thisprotection isextended
toanycompany, national orforeign, which isabletosatisfy theregistration criteria.
Withrespect toaccountancy firms (which usually existinthelegalformofpartnerships, rather
thancompanies), theprofessional bodies concerned impose requirements relating tocontrol/voting
rights which mustbeinthehands ofindividuals holding theprofessional titlewhich thatbodyconfers.
Inorder tobeabletodescribe thefirmas"chartered accountants" 75percentofcontrol/voting power
mustbeheldbychartered accountants. Inthecaseoffirms ofcertified accountants, thepercentage
is51percent.
4. What aretheprofessional bodies inyour country? Aretheyrecognized bylawasa
regulatory ordisciplinary body fortheaccountancy profession inyour country, orarethese
functions fulfilled byother institutions (please specify)?
Austria
1. Themainprofessional bodywithobligatory membership istheChamber ofPublic Accountants
(Kammer fürWirtschaftstreuhänder )which isamember ofFEE, IFAC, CFE. Thetasks andduties
oftheChamber areregulated bylaw(Wirtschaftstreuhänder-Kammergesetz -WTKG Federal Law
Gazette20/1948,lastamendmentFederalLawGazette341/1991).TasksanddutiesarelistedinArticle2
oftheWTKG. They aresplitinautonomous duties, particularly concerning professional interests,
andduties entrusted totheChamber bytheStateasanadministrative bodythrough alimited delegation
ofpower.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page10
(a) Autonomous duties areinparticular:
- The representation ofthecommon professional interests ofthe
Wirtschaftstreuhänder(naturalpersons)andthe
Wirtschaftstreuhändergesellschaften (legal persons andpartnerships);
- toprovide sound ethical exercise oftheprofession (Article 47WTBO);
- tosettle disputes between members inprofessional questions (Article 25
WTBO);
(b) Administrative andregulatory duties entrusted totheChamber under thesupervision
oftheMinistry forEconomic Affairs areinparticular:
- admissionofnewmembers(licensingofnaturalpersons,grantingpractice-right
forlegalpersons andpartnerships);
- admission offoreign professionals;
- maintaining theRegister ofPublic Accountants andLicensed TaxAdvisors;
- organization ofprofessional examinations.
2. The "Institute ofAustrian Certified Public Accountants" (Institut Österreichischer
Wirtschaftsprüfer )isaprivate association ofChartered Accountants. Itisregulated bytheirownstatute
within theframework oftheLawofAssociations ("Vereinsgesetz" ).Thisbodyactsasabodyofinterest,
issues technical andprofessional pronouncements andisengaged incontinuing professional education;
Member ofFEEandIFAC.
Belgium
Asthere arethree different professions, there arealsothree institutions recognized bylawas
regulatory anddisciplinary bodies:
- TheInstitut desRéviseurs d'Enterprises (IRE) (Institute ofStatutory Auditors) setup
bytheLawof22July1953;
- theInstitut desExperts-Comptables (IEC) (Institute ofProfessional Accountants) set
upbytheLawof21February 1985;
- theInstitut Professionnel desComptables (IPC) (Professional Institute ofBookkeepers)
setupbytheLawof1March 1976.
Inaddition,theConseilSupérieurduRevisoratd'Enterprisesetdel'ExpertiseComptable(Higher
Council ofAuditing andAccountancy), setupbytheLawof29June1993, ensures thatexperts
comptables andréviseurs d'entreprise carry outtheirmissions intheinterests ofthegeneral public.
Denmark
Theprofessional organizations inDenmark are: withrespect toState-authorized public
accountants, theInstitute ofState-Authorized Public Accountants (Foreningen afStatsautoriserede
Revisorer, FSR)andforcertified accountants, theInstitute ofCertified Accountants (Foreningen afS/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page11
Registrerede Revisorer, FRR),bothofwhich were established voluntarily. State-authorized public
accountants andcertified accountants arenotrequired tobemembers oftheirrespective associations.
Under LSRandLRR, thetwoinstitutes haveestablished disciplinary committees towhich
complaintagainstState-authorizedpublicaccountantsorcertifiedaccountantscanbebrought,irrespective
ofwhether theaccountants inquestion aremembers oftherelevant association. Complaints cannot
bemade tothedisciplinary committees about accountants 'fees,andthecommittees cannot consider
collegiate cases.
Under Danish law,thetwoinstitutes havenoother functions.
France
Commissairesauxcomptes(statutoryauditors):TheprofessionalbodyistheCompagnienationale
descommissaires auxcomptes (National Society ofStatutory Auditors), withpowers similar tothose
oftheOrdre desExperts-comptables (Association ofProfessional Accountants) andoperating under
thesupervision oftheMinistry ofJustice.
Experts-comptables (professional accountants): TheOrder of19September 1945asamended
establishes theOrdre desexperts-comptables (Association ofProfessional Accountants) andregulates
theuseofthetitleandthepractice oftheaccountancy profession. TheOrdre hasregulatory and
disciplinary powers overitsmembers. However, certain regulations aresubject toapproval bythe
Ministry ofEconomic Affairs andFinance, which supervises theaccountancy profession.
Finland
- TheFinnish Institute ofAuthorized Public Accountants
- theRegistered Association ofApproved Accountants
- theAssociation ofChartered Public Finance Auditors
Theabove-mentioned bodies arenotrecognized bylaw.Regulatory anddisciplinary functions
arefulfilled by:
- TheAuditing Board oftheState within theMinistry ofTrade andIndustry;
- theAuditing Board oftheCentral Chamber ofCommerce (KHT);
- theAuditing Committee ofaregional Chamber ofCommerce (HTM; atthemoment
there are21Committees);
- theAuditing Board oftheChartered Public Finance Auditors within theMinistry of
Finance (JHTT).
Greece
(a) Theprofessional body foraccountants istheEconomic Chamber ofGreece, which
isrecognized bylaw.
(b) Forstatutory auditors theprofessional body (both regulatory anddisciplinary) isthe
Council ofSurveillance oftheInstitute ofStatutory Auditors.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page12
Italy
- Consiglio Nazionale Dottori Commercialisti (CNDC)
- Consiglio Nazionale deiRagionieri ePeriti Commerciali (CNRPC)
Theabove bodies arerecognized bylaw(seeanswer toquestion 1above) andsupervised by
theMinistry ofJustice.
CONSOB isincharge fortheoverseeing ofauditing firms.
Ireland
Theprofessional accountancy bodies intheRepublic ofIreland are:
- TheInstitute ofChartered Accountants inIreland;
- theChartered Association ofCertified Accountants;
- theInstitute ofCertified Public Accountants inIreland;
- theInstitute ofChartered Accountants inEngland andWales;
- theInstitute ofChartered Accountants ofScotland;
- theInstitute ofIncorporated Public Accountants.
These professional bodies arerecognized bytheMinister forEnterprise andEmployment.
Aperson whoisamember ofoneofthose bodies andholds avalid practising certificate isqualified
toactasstatutory auditor. Ajudicial review oftheMinister 'sdecision togrant recognition tothe
Institute ofIncorporated Public Accountants hasbeensought andthecasewillbeheard inAutumn
1996. Inthemeantime thebody continues toberecognized. Inobtaining suchrecognition the
professional bodies havetosatisfy theMinister forEnterprise andEmployment that:
"That thestandards relating totraining, qualifications andrepute required bythatbody for
theawarding toaperson ofpractising certificate arenotlessthanthose specified inArticles 3
to6,8and19oftheCouncil Directive, and
Astothestandards itapplies toitsmembers intheareasofethics, codes ofconduct andpractice,
independence, professional integrity, technical standards, disciplinary procedures..."
TheMinister hasthepower torequire submission tohimforapproval acodeprescribing
standards ofprofessional conduct forthemembers ofarecognized accountancy body with, insuch
circumstances, thefurther power tomake provision forthefunction ofmonitoring compliance by
individuals withthatcode.
Portugal
1. Chamber ofStatutory Auditors -membership ofthisbody, which represents andgroups together
statutory auditors, iscompulsory. Itisapublic legalperson.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page13
2. Association ofCertified Accountants -membership ofthisbody, which represents theinterests
ofthisprofessional category, iscompulsory. Itisapublic legalperson.
3. Portuguese Accountancy Society -aprivate association whose members aregraduates ofthe
Higher Institutes ofAccountancy, orhavealicenciatura (fulluniversity degree) fromspecific institutes
where these subjects aretaught.
4. Portuguese Accountancy Association -same characteristics astheabove.
5. APOTEC -Portuguese Association ofAccountants -private association ofaccountants.
6. APECA-PortugueseAssociationofAccountancy,AuditandAdministrationfirms-anon-profit
making employers 'association.
Sweden
TheSwedishAssociationofAuthorizedPublicAccountantsandtheSwedishSocietyofRegistered
Accountants. Itisnotmandatory tobeamember ofthese bodies. Theregulatory anddisciplinary
functions arefulfilled bytheSupervisory Board ofPublic Accountants.
Seealsoanswers inChapter AofIFAC survey forallmember States except: Greece, Portugal
andFinland.
5. Howmany members dothese professional bodies have? What istheestimated proportion
ofthose:
- Inpublic practice
- inindustry orcommerce
- inthepublic sector
- ineducation
- unoccupied (retired, etc.)
- other
Austria
Chamber Institute
- Inpublic practice 4,992 (see(1)below) 500
- inindustry orcommerce
- inthepublic sector
- ineducation 2,320 (see(2)below)
- unoccupied (retired, etc.) n.a.(see(3)below)
1. Chamber ofPublic Accountants: 4,992 members, 953are"certified public accountants",
4,039 are"licensed taxadvisors". Members areinpublic practice only.
2. Candidates tobecome licensed taxadvisors: 2,176, candidates tobecome certified public
accountants 144.
3. Public accountants whogiveuppublic practice foronlyashort timedonotloose membership
buthavea"dormant licence" forthisparticular time(Article 40,paragraph 5WTBO: Ruhen der
Befugnis ).S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page14
4. Institute ofAustrian Certified Public Accountants: approximately 500members, onlyinpublic
practice.
Belgium
Asof31December 1995, theIECcomprised 6,372 individual members ofwhich 2,967 were
internal and3,045 wereexternal, and1,082 accountancy firms. TheIREhad923individual members
and196auditing firms.
Amore detailed breakdown bysector isunavailable.
Denmark
Ofatotalof2,805 State authorized public accountants inApril 1996 theInstitute ofState
Authorized Public Accountants (FSR) had2,585 members ofwhom 1,959 withlicence and626with
deposited licence (retired oremployed elsewhere).
Theestimated proportions ofmembers are:
- Inpublic practice 2,000
- inindustry orcommerce 500
- inthepublic sector 10
- ineducation 10
- unoccupied (retired, etc.) 100
Membership oftheInstitute ofState Authorized Public Accountants isnotmandatory, but
approximately 95percentofStateauthorized public accountants withlicence (inpublic practice) are
members oftheInstitute.
TheFRRcounts 3,254 members composed of2,940 ordinary members and314extra-ordinary
members.
Statistics forproportions ofmembers ofFRRworking indifferent sectors arenotavailable.
Oftheordinary members oftheFRR, however, avastmajority isemployed inprivate accountancy
practices.
France
Commissairesauxcomptes(statutoryauditors):13,000membersoftheprofessionalorganization,
ofwhich 750arelegalpersons.
In1995, theOrdre desexperts-comptables (Association ofProfessional Accountants) comprised
15,500 independent accountants.
Finland
There are567KHT-accountants, 1,134 HTM-accountants 21KHTfirms ofauditors, 26HTM
firms ofauditors and127JHTT auditors atthemoment.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page15
Theestimated proportions being:
- Inpublic practice 80%*
- inindustry orcommerce 10%*
- inthepublic sector 100%**
- ineducation 5%*
- unoccupied (retired, etc.) -
- other 5%*
___________________
* KHT-accountants
** JHTT-auditors
Greece
Thetotalnumber ofcertified members oftheEconomic Chamber is30,000, which includes
professionals other thanaccountants.
TheInstitute ofStatutory Auditors has850members allinpublic practice.
Theregistry ofaccountants -taxconsultants, aswellasconsultants isinthedevelopment stage.
Italy
CNDC : about 42,000 (80percentinpublic practice)
CNRPC : 35,000 (80percentinpublic practice)
Ireland
- 2,475 inpublic practice
- 1,421 employed inpractice
- 661retired, maternity leave, unemployed, etc.
- 6,173 members inbusiness
- 398education
- 505public sector
These statistics areasat1June1996 andcover membership inthiscountry only. Some of
thebodies based herehaveasignificant membership inNorthern Ireland andintheUnited Kingdom.
Portugal
Therearecurrently959namesonthelistofstatutoryauditorsand140firmsofstatutoryauditors.
Theprocess ofregistering certified accountants and/or firms isstillunder wayanditistherefore
impossible tosayhowmany there are.
There isnoinformation available onthebreakdown ofaccountants among thedifferent
professional categories.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page16
Sweden
TheSwedish Association ofAuthorized Public Accountants has2,354 members. TheSwedish
Society ofRegistered Accountants has2,180 members.
Seealsoanswers inChapter AofIFAC survey forallmember States except: Greece, Portugal
andFinland.
6. What isthescope ofactivities regularly practised byaccountants inyour country?
- Statutory audit
- audit ofmergers
- audit ofcontributions inkind
- public sector audit
- other audits
- accounting
- insolvency practice
- taxadvice
- taxrepresentation
- investment advice
- consulting
- expert witness inaccounting
- other
Forallmember States except Luxembourg, Greece, Ireland: seeanswers inColumn 4ofOECD
survey (S/WPPS/W/4/Add.1 of5January 1996). ForIreland, Luxembourg: seequestion B.4ofIFAC
survey andadditional information hereunder.
Austria
1. With theexception of"public sector audits" allactivities areregularly practised bypublic
accountants. Within thisprofessional group thedifferent activities areattributed bylawtothetwo
different professions intheaccountancy sector. Therelevant professional authorization isregulated
intheWTBO:
Article31WTBO:CertifiedPublicAccountant(BeeideterWirtschaftsprüferundSteuerberater)
andCertifiedPublicAccountancyCompany(Wirtschaftsprüfungs-und
Steuerberatungsgesellschaft )
- inparticular statutory audit
- from thelistabove: allactivities except public sector audit
Article 33WTBO: Licensed TaxAdvisor (Steuerberater )andLicensed TaxAdvising Company
(Steuerberatungsgesellschaft )
- from thelistabove: "accounting", "insolvency practice", "tax advice", "tax
representation", "investment advice", "consulting".
Belgium
Thetableappearing onpage9ofdocument OCDE S/WPPS/W/4/Add.1 isincorrect, andshould
berevised inconnection witheachoftheitems taken upunder question 6.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page17
Statutory audit
Thisactivity isexercised exclusively byréviseurs (statutory auditors), subject tothepower
torepresent partners granted toexperts-comptables (professional accountants) under Article 64§2of
theLawof13April 1995incases where theappointment ofacommissaire-réviseur (statutory auditor
within acompany) isnotrequired inviewofthesizecriteria setforthinArticle 12§2oftheaccountancy
lawof17July1975.
Asarule,acommissaire-réviseur isrequired inalllarge companies (seesizecriteria inthe
accountancy law)andinallcompanies withaworks council.
Audit ofmergers
Under thenewprovisions oftheLawof13April 1995 amending thecoordinated lawson
commercial companies (Article 174/3 and174/29) itispossible tohaverecourse totheservices of
aréviseur oranexpert-comptable incases where there isnocommissaire-réviseur.
Audit ofcontribution inkind
Activity restricted exclusively tothecompany 'scommissaire -réviseur or,where thereisnone,
toaréviseur d'entreprise appointed forthatpurpose (Article 34§2,Lawof13April 1995).
Public sector audit
Activity restricted toréviseurs .
Other audits
Notrestricted totheaccountancy professions.
Accounting
Thisactivity ismainly restricted toexperts-comptables andcomptables (bookkeepers), with
réviseurs intervening onlyoccasionally pursuant toArticle 3oftheLawof22July1953.
Insolvency practice
Withtheexception ofArticle 178bisoftheLawof13April 1995providing fortheintervention
ofacommissaire réviseur ,orifthere isnone, aréviseur orexpert-comptable inconnection withthe
winding upofcompanies, whatever theirorigin, noprovision hasyetbeenmade inthisarea.
Taxadvice
Thisactivity hasnotyetbeenregulated, andmaybepractised bythethree professions.
Taxrepresentation
Monopoly oflawyers.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page18
Investment advice
Commercial activity notopentotheaccountancy profession. Moreover, thistypeofactivity
issupervised bytheCommission Bancaire etFinancière (Banking andFinance Commission).
Consulting
Notregulated, andmaybepractised bythethree professions.
Expert witness inaccounting
Open totheaccountancy professions.
Denmark
Theactivities ofState authorized public accountants andcertified accountants areregulated
bylegislation. Forbothgroups theareaofbusiness isdefined as"auditing ofannual accounts etc.
andproviding advice andassistance inconnection therewith, andwithin related areas". Under the
definition, theprimary activity isauditing ofannual accounts.
Finland
- Statutory audit X
- audit ofmergers X
- audit ofcontributions inkind X
- public sector audit X
- other audits X
- accounting -
- insolvency practice -
- taxadvice X
- taxrepresentation -
- investment advice -
- consulting X
- expert witness inaccounting X
Greece
Statutory audit; consulting oninvestment, taxandfinancial issues; business management and
monitoring ofaccounting department, fullpreparation andsigning ofannual accounts ofbusiness
enterprises.
Italy
Activities regularly practised:
- Statutory audit (Article 2394 Civil Code andDPR 136/75)
- audit ofmergers (DPR 136/75 andArticle 2501 Quinquies Civil Code)
- audit ofcontributions inkind(Article 2343 Civil Code)
- other audits
- accounting
- taxadvice
- taxrepresentationsS/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page19
- insolvency practice
- financial andmanagement consulting
- expert witness inaccounting
Activity notregularly practised:
- Assignment injudicial proceeding
Activity forbidden toaccountants:
- Commercial activity
Auditing companies authorized byCONSOB mayconduct onlythefollowing:
- Statutory andvoluntary auditing
- Audit ofmergers andopinion ontheincrease ofcapital withexclusion ofpre-emptive
rights
- Accounting organization
Ireland
Yestoall.
Portugal
Besides activities inthetaxfield, accountants canalsowork inconsultancy oreducation. They
canwork onaself-employed oranemployed basis.
Statutory auditors carry outstatutory audits andissuethecorresponding opinion ontheaccounts
ofpublic limited companies andprivate limited companies ofacertain size,defined bylaw. The
exception ispublic undertakings asdefined inDecree-Law No.260/76 of8April, where these tasks
areperformed bytheInspectorate-General ofFinance.
Besides consultancy andteaching work, statutory auditors canperform various otherfunctions.
Some oftheactivities given intheCode ofCommercial Enterprises include:
- Public sector audits
- audit ofcontributions inkind
- mergers
- representation ofbond holders
7. Which ofthese activities areregulated inyour country?
Forallmember States except Luxembourg, Greece, Ireland: seeanswers incolumn 4ofOECD
survey (S/WPPS/W/4/Add.1 of5January 1996).
ForLuxembourg: seequestions B.4and8ofIFAC survey.
European Community
AtCommunity levelonlystatutory audit isregulated intheform ofminimum requirements
fortheapproval ofstatutory auditors (Directive 84/253/EEC).S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page20
Austria
1. Allactivities listed inquestion 6areregulated bylaw. Some ofthese activities areattributed
to"public accountants" only, others -inparticular "investment advice" and"consulting" -arenot
reserved to"public accountants" butmaybepractised alsobyother regulated professions, suchas
"business consultants andorganizers" -Unternehmensberater und-organisatoren (Article 124lit.22
oftheCrafts, Trade andIndustry Act-Gewerbeordnung 1994)or"investment consultants" -
Vermögensberater (Article 124lit.23oftheCrafts Trade andIndustry Act-Gewerbeordnung 1994)
or"insurance agents" -Versicherungsmakler (Article 124lit.24oftheCrafts, Trade andIndustry Act
-Gewerbeordnung 1994).Insolvency practice andtaxrepresentation aregenerally practised bylawyers.
Public accountants areadmitted totaxrepresentation onlybefore theFiscal Authority.
2. Inanycasealllisted activities areregulated bylawandneed aparticular professional
education/training/proof ofcompetence setbyfederal laworrespective public ordinances.
Belgium
Seetheprevious reply. Other activities arealsoopen toréviseurs (statutory auditors) and
experts-comptables (professional accountants):
- Conversion ofacompany (Articles 164§2-166and167oftheLawof13April 1995);
- conversion ofanon-profit-making association intoacompany withsocial objects
(Article 26teroftheLawof27June1921);
- limitation oftherightofpreference (Article 34bisoftheLawof13April 1995);
- share issues without designating thenominal value under theaccounting parvalue
(Article 33bis§6-Lawof13April 1995).
Denmark
Accountancy activities aregoverned bylegislation. Under theDanish Presentation ofAccounts
Act,theannual accounts ofcompanies covered bytheActmustbeaudited byStateauthorized public
accountants orbycertified accountants. Listed companies must, however, beaudited byatleasttwo
accountants, oneofwhom must beaState authorized public accountant.
Finland
- Statutory audit
- audit ofmergers
- audit ofcontributions inkind
- consulting
Greece
Generally theprofession ofeconomists isregulated.
Statutory auditors arealready regulated; regulation concerning theaccountancy taxconsultancy
ispending (i.e.draftPresidential Decree).S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page21
Italy
Theregulated activities are:statutory auditing; audit ofmergers; audit ofcontributions in
kind; public sector audit; otheraudits; expert witness inaccounting; taxrepresentation andinsolvency
practice.
Ireland
Statutory auditing, theaudit ofmergers subject totheEuropean Communities (Mergers and
Divisions ofCompanies) Regulations, 1987 -SI137of1987 (which implements intheRepublic of
Ireland theEUThird andSixth Directives), theaudit contributions inkindsubject totheprovisions
oftheCompanies (Amendment) Act,1983 (implementing intheRepublic ofIreland theEUSecond
Directive), aswellastheprovision of"investment services" asdefined bytheInvestment Intermediaries
Act,1995, areallactivities carried onbyaccountants subject tostatutory regulation. Seealsoanswers
toquestions B.4and8ofIFAC survey.
Audits inthepublic sector areeither governed byspecific legislation relating totheentity
concerned, oraresubject tothegeneral statutory framework governing converging theactivities of
theComptroller andAuditor General andtheactivities oflocalauthority auditors under theremit of
theDepartment oftheEnvironment. Insolvency practice issubject totherequirements oftheCompanies
Acts, 1963 to1990, andinthecaseofCourt Liquidations, bytheRules oftheSuperior Counts.
Theprofessional bodies havebye-laws/rules withwhich members inpublic practice arerequired
tocomply including technical standards which thework carried outmustmeet, ethical considerations
tobeborne inmind, holding ofprofessional indemnity insurance, etc.
Portugal
Inaddition totheabove answers itshould benoted thatstatutory auditors must pursue their
activities withcomplete operational andhierarchical independence.
8. Which ofthese activities arereserved bylawtoaccountants, shared byaccountants with
other professions (please specify), orevenforbidden toaccountants inyourcountry, e.g.byfull
prohibition orbynotallowing cumulation ofcertain activities which areconsidered incompatible
ormutually exclusive?
Forallmember States except Luxembourg, Greece, Ireland: seeanswers incolumn 4ofOECD
survey (S/WPPS/W/4/Add.1 of5January 1996).
ForLuxembourg: seeIFAC survey.
Austria
1. Reserved bylawtothecertified public accountant Beeideter Wirtschaftsprüfer undSteuerberater
andcertified public accountancy company Wirtschaftsprüfungs- undSteuerberatungsgesellschaft :
- Statutory audit;
- allauditing tasks (statutory audit, audit ofmergers, audit ofcontributions inkind);
- expert witness inaccounting;
- alltasks attributed tothelicensed taxadvisor.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page22
2. Reserved bylawtopublic accountants (both regulated professions: certified public accountant
Beeideter Wirtschaftsprüfer- und Steuerberater and certified public accountancy company
Wirtschaftsprüfungs -undSteuerberatungsgesellschaft aswellaslicensed taxadvisor Steuerberater
andlicensed taxadvising company steuerberatungsgesellschaft :
- Accounting;
- consulting inbookkeeping work;
- bookkeeping work.
3. Share withother professions:
- Taxadvice andtaxrepresentation withlawyers;
- consulting (economically) inparticular with"business consultants and-organizers"
(seequestion 7above);
- investment advice inparticular withthebanking sector, "investment consultants" (see
question 7above) and"insurance agents" (seequestion 7above);
- consulting (legally) withlawyers; legalconsultancy ofpublic accountants isrestricted
toconsulting onlyifdirectly connected withother matters carried outfortheprincipal.
4. Forbidden orincompatible to"public accountants" (alltwoprofessions):
- Consulting inlegal matters (with exceptions ofmatters directly connected with
accountancy work);
- personal performance ofatrade;
- work asanemployee;
- work asacivilservant;
- work asanauthorized representative ofajointstock company ifnotcompatible with
hisprofessional tasks.
Belgium
Seeanswer toquestion 7.
Denmark
Seeanswer 7above. There isnoprohibition against auditing byState authorized public
accountants.
Thesame applies tocertified accountants, apart from thefactthatcertified accountants may
notaudit listed companies alone, andmaynotaudit bank andsavings bank limited companies and
companies inwhich thebalance sheet sumexceeds DKr75million, andifthenetturnover exceeds
DKr150million, oriftheaverage number offull-time employees during thefinancial yearexceeds
250andeither thebalance sheet orthenetturnover hasexceeded theabove limit.
Finland
Statutory audit, audit ofmergers andaudit ofcontributions inkindcanbeexercised onlyby
auditors.
Greece
Statutory audit canbeexercised onlybyauditors.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page23
Specific accounting functions suchaspreparation ofcompany accounts, aswellasanalysis,
development andimplementation ofaccounting systems canonlybeperformed bybusiness school
graduates withthenecessary professional experience. Other functions, suchasapplication oftax
legislation canalsobeperformed bylawyers.
Italy
- Statutory auditing: reserved toaccountants andlawyers
- audit ofmergers: notexplicitly reserved toaccountants bylaw
- public sector audit: reserved toaccountants
- other audits: notreserved
- accounting: notreserved
- taxadvice: shared (lawyers andothers)
- consulting: notexplicitly reserved toaccountants bylaw
- expert witness inaccounting: notexplicitly reserved bylaw
- taxrepresentations: shared withlawyers
- insolvency practice: shared withlawyers
- commercial activity: forbidden toaccountants
Ireland
None oftheactivities listed inAareprohibited toaccountants inIreland. However, inthe
particular circumstances ofanindividual undertaking/group ofundertakings, thecarrying outofone
ormore ofthese activities byanaccountant/firm ofaccountants maypreclude him/them -because of
statutory and/or professional requirements inrelation tointegrity andindependence -from carrying
outother activities onthelistforthatundertaking/group ofcompanies.
Statutory auditing isrestricted bylawtomembers oftherecognised professional bodies of
accountants,orotherindividualsthattheMinisterissatisfiedholdanequivalentaccountancyqualification
suchaswould entitle him/her tobegranted apractising certificate byoneoftherecognized bodies,
oraperson whoholds anauditqualification granted under thelawofanother country andtheMinister
issatisfied thattheperson applying "...haveanadequate knowledge ofthelawandpractice inthe
State relevant totheaudit ofaccounts... ".
Where theaudit ofmergers orofcontributions inkindrelate tocircumstances governed by
theCompanies (Amendment) Act,1983andthe1987"Merger Regulations" (seeanswer 6above) such
work isreserved tothose persons acting asauditors oftheundertaking/s concerned orwhoarequalified
sotoact.Where anaudit iscarried outofcontributions inkindormergers notgoverned bythis
legislation suchaudits may(butinpractice rarely are)becarried outbynon-accountants.
CertainauditsinthepublicsectorcanonlybecarriedoutbytheComptrollerandAuditorGeneral
orbylocalauthority auditors. Theother activities maybecarried outbypersons without anaccounting
professional qualification. However, professionally qualified accountants arethemarket leaders in
suchactivities.
Portugal
Seeanswer toquestion 7.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page24
II. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
9. What arethequalification requirements forthese activities inyour country interms of
university/higher education degree, practice andprofessional exam? Specify thenumber ofyears
required foreachelement, andthedifferences according totheactivities (audit, insolvency, tax,
etc.)covered bythequalification.
European Community
Minimum qualification requirements forprofessionals approved forcarrying outstatutory audits
aresetoutinCouncil Directive 84/253/EEC (Eighth Company LawDirective). [Member States may
gobeyond these minimum requirements andoften doso,atleastinsome respects.]
Theminimum education andqualification requirements are:
(1) Tohaveattained university entrance level;
(2) Tohavethencompleted a(post-secondary) course oftheoretical instruction. [Ingeneral
member States require thecompletion ofatleastthree years oftheoretical instruction
inauniversity, higher education establishment oranother establishment ofsimilar level
culminating inauniversity orhigher education degree. Some member States require
longer university studies.]
(3) Tohaveundergone practical training ofatleastthreeyears'duration, carried outunder
persons providing adequate guarantees regarding training. Twothirds ofthepractical
training mustbecompleted under astatutory auditor approved inaccordance withthe
Directive. Thepractical training mustcover, interalia,theauditing ofannual accounts,
consolidated accounts orsimilar financial statements.
(4) Tohave passed anexamination ofprofessional competence ofuniversity, final
examination levelorganized orrecognized bytheState. Theexamination mustcover
thesubjects specified under 11unless theyarecovered bytheuniversity degree or
anequivalent examination.
TheDirective alsoallows member States toapprove professionals whohave, for15years,
engaged inprofessional activities which haveenabled them toacquire sufficient practical experience
inthefields offinance, lawandaccountancy andhavepassed theprofessional examination referred
tounder (4),oriftheycanshow thattheyhave, forseven years, engaged inprofessional activities
inthose fields andhave, inaddition, undergone thepractical training referred tounder (3)andhave
passed theprofessional examination referred tounder (4).
Seealsoanswers intheOECD survey column 2(seedocument S/WPPS/W/4/Add.1).
Austria
1. Certified public accountant Beeideter Wirtschaftsprüfer undSteuerberater andcertified public
accountancy company Wirtschaftsprüfungs- undSteuerberatungsgesellschaft :
- University degree incommercial science, economics, law,political science, technical
science, agricultural science;S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page25
- Professional practice ofatleastthree years asacandidate inanoffice ofacertified
publicaccountant(BeeideterWirtschaftsprüferundSteuerberater)orofacertifiedpublic
accountancy company (Wirtschaftsprüfungs- undSteuerberatungsgesellschaft )orin
anoffice ofalicensed taxadvisor (Steuerberater )orofalicensed taxadvising company
(Steuerberatungsgesellschaft );
- Professional examination forlicensed taxadvisor (Steuerberater )
- Practical experience ofatleastthree years asalicensed taxadvisor (Steuerberater )
orasamanaging director inalicensed tax advising company
(Steuerberatungsgesellschaft );
- Professional examination forCertified Public Accountant (Beeideter Wirtschaftsprüfer
undSteuerberater ).
2. Licensed tax advisor (Steuerberater )and licensed tax advising company
(Steuerberatungsgesellschaft ):
- University degree incommercial science, economics, law,political science, technical
science, agricultural science;
- Professional practice ofatleastthree years asacandidate inanoffice ofacertified
publicaccountant(BeeideterWirtschaftsprüferundSteuerberater)orofacertifiedpublic
accountancy company (Wirtschaftsprüfungs- undSteuerberatungsgesellschaft )orin
anoffice ofalicensed taxadvisor (Steuerberater )orofalicensed taxadvising company
(Steuerberatungsgesellschaft );
- Professional examination forlicensed taxadvisor (Steuerberater ).
Belgium
Access totheprofession ofexpert -comptable (professional accountant) issubject toauniversity
oruniversity-level diploma, orattheveryleastagraduat (technical oradministrative diploma). Access
totheprofession ofcomptable (bookkeeper) issubject toatechnical secondary education diploma.
Germany
Thequalification requirements forWirtschaftsprüfer ,areidentical, irrespective oftheactivity
exercised.
Denmark
Stateauthorized public accountants andcertified accountants mustpassspecial examinations,
described below under 11,andafterreaching theageof18,havecompleted three years oftraining
intheperformance oftasks predominantly involved intheauditing ofannual accounts, consolidated
accounts orsimilar financial statements inaStateauthorized public accountant 'soffice, butwithregard
tocertified accountants, intheoffice ofaStateauthorized public accountant oracertified accountant.
France
Qualification requirements forexperts-comptables (professional accountants):S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page26
Anaccountancy diploma awarded bytheMinistry ofEducation following completion ofacourse
ofhigher education including:
(a) Anaverage offouryears oftheoretical studies divided intothree parts:
- Apreparatory studies diploma prior toaccountancy andfinance studies
(DPECF);
- accountancy andfinance studies (DECF);
- higher diploma inaccountancy andfinance (DESCF).
(b) three years'practical training;
Following thisperiod oftraining, thecandidate mustdefend adissertation inorder toobtain
theaccountancy diploma (DEC).
Once hehasobtained thisdiploma, hemayregister withtheOrdre desexperts-comptables
(Association ofProfessional Accountants), aprerequisite topractising theprofession inFrance.
Thequalification andtraining requirements fortheprofession ofcommissaire auxcomptes
(statutory auditor) areasfollows:
Oneofthefollowing twomethods:
- Obtaining anaccounting diploma involving practical training before obtaining an
auditor 'sdiploma (Article 5oftheDecree of12August 1969); or
- sitting thequalifying examination forcommissaires auxcomptes aftercompleting a
satisfactory period ofpractical training under atraining supervisor approved bythe
regional council (Article 3-1etseq.oftheDecree of12August 1969).
Period ofpractical training (Article 4oftheDecree):
Thislaststhree years. Itmust bewithanatural person oracompany appearing onthelist
ofcommissaires auxcomptes andapproved forthepurpose bytheregional council. Itmayalsobe:
(a) Under aperson approved byamember State oftheEuropean Communities forthe
statutory audit ofaccounts, foraperiod ofuptotwoyears;
(b) under anyperson other thanthose carrying outthestatutory auditofaccounts inFrance
andother European Community member States whooffers sufficient guarantees with
respect tothetraining oftheperson inquestion, foraperiod ofuptooneyear.
Once thepractical training hasbeendulycompleted, acertificate isissued giving anassessment
bythechairman oftheregional council based onthereport bythetraining supervisor.
Inorder tobeabletositthequalifying examination thecandidate must beinpossession of
oneofthediplomas appearing onthelistestablished bytheOrder of11January 1991, which includes,
interalia:S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page27
- Thediplôme national d'enseignement supérieur (national higher education diploma)
awarded oncompletion ofatleastthree years ofstudy following thebaccalaureate
examination;
- Diploma countersigned bytheMinister forNational Education, granted byahigher
education establishment forbusiness andmanagement studies recognized bytheState
andempowered todeliver suchadiploma;
- Higher Diploma inAccountancy (DECF);
- Accountancy andFinance Diploma (DECF);
- Higher Diploma inAccountancy (DESCF);
- engineering degree orPhdinengineering fromoneoftheengineering schools appearing
onthelistestablished bythecommittee onengineering qualifications.
French nationals, aswellasnationals ofother countries, holding adiploma deemed tobeof
equivalent leveltothose covered bytheOrder of11January 1991 bytheMinister forJustice andthe
Minister forHigher Education arealsoentitled tosittheexamination forcommissaires auxcomptes
oncetheyhavecompleted thetraining period.
Finland
KHT
- 4-5years ofuniversity/higher education
- 5years ofpractice
- professional examination
HTM
- 3years ofuniversity/higher education
- 5years ofpractice
- professional examination
JHTT
- 3years ofuniversity/higher education
- 5years ofpractice
- professional examination
Thedifference between thetwofirstmentioned groups exists intheireducation requirements
andintheiraudit rights. KHT-accountants mayaudit alltypes ofcompanies andHTM-accountants
mayauditallothercompanies except forthelargest companies andthelisted companies. JHTT-auditors
audit inpublic sector.
Greece
Higher education oruniversity degree andpractical experience willdetermine therankwithin
thethree qualification levels. FortheInstitute ofStatutory Auditors theprerequisites are:universityS/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page28
degree, practical experience andpassing theprofessional examination. However, asithasbeen
mentioned above, theprofession ofaccountant-tax consultant isintheprocess ofbeing regulated.
Italy
Registration totheprofessional listforbothcategories ofprofessionals.
Dottore Commercialista requirements: university degree ineconomics orinpolitical science
(four years) +three years ofpractice +professional exam.
RagioniereePeritoCommercialerequirementsforregistrationareprovidedforunderArticle31
ofDPR 27October 1953 No.1068 asamended byLawof12February 1992 No.183. According
tothepresent regulation, inorder toberecognized asaprofessional accountant thecandidate must
be:
- Licensed asRagioniere ePerito Commerciale +university degree (only three years)
+three years training +professional exam; or
- licensed asRagioniere +university degree inlaworeconomics +twoyears training
+professional exam.
Registered auditors requirements: university degree ineconomics orlaw+threeyears training
+professional exam.
Ireland
Toactasastatutory auditor aperson mustbeamember oftherecognized professional bodies
ofaccountants,oranindividualthattheMinisterissatisfiedholdsanequivalentaccountancyqualification
suchaswould entitle him/her tobegranted apractising certificate byoneoftherecognized bodies,
oraperson whoholds anauditqualification granted under thelawofanother country andtheMinister
issatisfied thattheperson applying "...haveanadequate knowledge ofthelawandpractice inthe
State relevant totheaudit ofaccounts ...".
Itispossible forastudent, having completed hisorhersecond level schooling andhaving
obtained aspecified qualification standard totraintobeaprofessionally qualified accountant overa
period offiveyears. However, nowadays over 90percentofaccountancy students inthe
Republic ofIreland areuniversity graduates.
Thetraining period foruniversity graduates iffromthree tothree andahalfyears, depending
onthedirect relevance ofaccounting tothedegree acquired andwhether thestudent hassubsequently
completed arecognized post-graduate programme. Thestudents enter intoatraining contract with
afirmofpractising accountants. Astudent mustserve inthedesignated training office foraminimum
period oftwoandahalfyears. Aminority opttotraininindustry, following which theymustcomplete
aspecific conversion iftheywishtobeadmitted induecourse asregistered auditors.
Students mustsuccessfully complete aseries ofexaminations, upto17intotal. Exemptions
areavailablefromcertainpapersforthoseholdingrelevantdegreesorotherqualificationsbutallstudents
must sitallpapers inthefinaladmitting examination.
Prior toadmission tomembership, students ofsome accounting bodies must alsocomplete
aspecial computer applications programme Personal Computing forAccountants. Following admissionS/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page29
tomembership ofoneoftheindividually recognized accountancy bodies, amember must complete
twotothree years relevant postqualifying experience before theycanbeadmitted topractice.
Luxembourg
Recognition ofthestatus ofréviseur d'entreprise (statutory auditor) isgranted topersons who:
- Have passed thefinalsecondary education examination inLuxembourg oraforeign
examination recognized asequivalent;
- hold oneormore diplomas certifying thattheyhave thenecessary theoretical
qualifications (seereply toquestion 11);
- provide proof thattheyhavecompleted athree-year period ofpractical training; and
- possess adiploma obtained following aqualifying examination.
Or:
- Have beenaccredited inanother member State oftheEuropean Communities; and
- produce adocument certifying thattheyhavepassed anaptitude testonthesubject
oftaxlaw,company law,banking law,insurance law,labour lawandsocial security
inLuxembourg.
Or:
- Fulfil theconditions foraccreditation setforthinArticle 1(a)ofEECDirective 89/48
of21December 1988 inanother European Community State; and
- produce adocument certifying thattheyhavepassed aqualifying examination onthe
above-mentioned subjects.
Or:
- Have beenaccredited inathirdcountry thatimposes conditions which arethesame
as,orequivalent to,those setforth inArticles 3to8ofEEC Directive 84/253 of
10April 1984 andobserved reciprocity forLuxembourg candidates; and
- produce adocument certifying thattheyhavepassed aqualifying examination onthe
above-mentioned subjects.
Portugal
Thequalifications forstatutory auditors arethose laiddown bytheEighth Council Directive.
They must:
- Havea"licenciature" (fulluniversity degree) inlaw,economics, business management,
auditorotherequivalentcoursesora"bacharelato"(intermediatedegree)inaccounting;S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page30
- havesuccessfully completed thepractical training course which usually laststhreeyears
oraminimum of700hours peryear;
- havepassed theexams.
Certified accountants must:
- Have ahigher education/intermediate university degree (bacharelato )inaccounting.
Thehigher education institutes musthavechairs incostaccounting, Portuguese taxation
andgeneral accounting; or
- havefollowed aspecific training course forcertified accountants.
Theexamination forstatutory auditor covers thefollowing subjects:
- Financial accounting
- management accounting
- financial management
- audit
- information technology
- regulation andperformance ofprofessional activities
- professional ethics andcodeofconduct
- lawandtaxation
- mathematics andstatistics
- economics
United Kingdom
Toberegistered foraudit purposes intheUKitisnecessary tobea"qualified individual".
Aqualified individual istheholder ofanappropriate qualification andapractising certificate. An
appropriate qualification isdefined intheCompanies Acts. Itcanbegained byholding:
- Arecognized accountancy qualification awarded byarecognized qualifying body;
or
- anapprovedoverseasorotherqualificationand,whererequired,successfullycompleting
anadditional test.
Thefollowing twoother areas ofaccountants 'work arealsostatutorily regulated:
- Insolvency practice: TheInsolvency Act1986requires thatmosttypes ofinsolvency
work berestricted tolicensed insolvency practitioners. Licences areissued tonamed
individualsbyvariousrecognizedprofessionalbodies(RPBs)whichincludeaccountants
andlawyers.
These bodies prescribe detailed regulations forthegranting andrenewal oflicences.
TheDepartment ofTrade andIndustry alsolicenses practitioners.
- Investment business: Thisisanareainwhich regulation intheUnited Kingdom is
veryextensive, stemming fromtheFinancial Services Act1986. TheFinancial Services
Act1986 (asamended bytheCompanies Act1989) makes itacriminal offence for
anyone toconduct investment business without authorization. TheDepartment ofTradeS/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page31
andIndustry hasdesignated theSecurities andInvestments Board ("SIB") tooversee
theregulation ofinvestment business. There arecurrently three self-regulating
organizations ("SROs") andninerecognized professional bodies ("RPBs") responsible
fortheauthorization offirms toconduct investment business.
TheRPBs comprise thethree Institutes ofChartered Accountants, theChartered
Association ofCertified Accountants, thethree LawSocieties, theInsurance Brokers
Registration Council andtheInstitute ofActuaries. Afirmofaccountants canchoose
either togototherelevant professional bodyforauthorization ortooneoftheSROs.
ASelfRegulating Organization isoneoftheprofessional bodies whose members would
beengaged full-time onthisactivity. Members oftheRPBs (recognized professional
bodies), ontheother hand, onlydoalimited volume ofinvestment business, restricted
toeither 20percentor49percent(depending onwhich RPB) ofthetotalprofessional
practice. Inthecaseofaccountants, these limits stand typically at20percent. If
exceeded, thefirm(oranaffiliated company) willneedtoseekSROauthorization.
10. Arethere anypre-conditions tomeet tostarttheprofessional education: minimum age,
particular diploma ortitle, prior education, registration withaprofessional body, payment of
afee,other (please specify)?
European Community
AtCommunity level there arenoother requirements setthan those stated inthe
Eighth Directive 84/253/EEC concerning minimum qualifications forapproved statutory auditors.
Seeexplanation under question 9.
Austria
1. Minimum age: 22years attheearliest (maturity exam +university degree).
2. Diploma: University degree incommercial science, economics, law,political science, technical
science, agricultural science.
3. Prior education: University education.
4. Registration: Registration asacandidate intheRegister ofPublic Accountants -Liste der
Wirtschaftstreuhänder atthe Chamber ofPublic Accountants (Kammer Für
Wirtschaftstreuhänder ).
5. Payment ofafee:Chamber-fee asacandidate.
Belgium
Applicants mustbemembers oftherelevant institute, meetthediploma andpractical training
requirements, andpayafee.
Denmark
Conditions forundertaking training inaccountancy: there isnofixed minimum age,andthe
applicant willtypically beahighschool graduate aged 18-20. Noobligations apply concerningS/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page32
membershipofanyprofessionalbodyorthepaymentofanyfeeforundertakingthetheoreticaleducation,
which isavailable inpublic education institutions atuniversity level.
France
Commissaires auxcomptes (statutory auditors): inaddition totheconditions mentioned under
question 9,persons from thirdcountries wishing tosittheaptitude testprovided forbytheOrder of
4February 1993, must submit anapplication totheMinister forJustice including:
- Arecord ofpersonal details andnationality orother suchdocument;
- diplomas, certificates andother qualifications earned and,where appropriate, the
attestation mentioned inArticle 5-1,paragraph B,oftheabove-mentioned Decree of
12August 1969;
- anydocument showing theprecise nature ofthehigher education studies successfully
completedandstatingwhethertheapplicanthascompletedtherequiredpracticaltraining;
- where applicable, alldocuments submitted mustbeaccompanied byaFrench language
translation produced byatranslator appearing onthenational listoflegalexperts or
oneofthelistsoflegalexperts drawn upbytheappeal courts.
Exceptions:
Individuals having exercised, overaperiod ofatleast15years, apublic orprivate activity
thathasallowed themtoacquire experience inthefinancial, accounting andlegalaspects ofcommercial
companies deemed sufficient bytheMinister forJustice maybeallowed tositthequalifying examination
forcommissaires auxcomptes andbeexempted from thepractical training.
Exemptions from practical training andtheexamination:
Holdersofaccountancydiplomas,professionalaccountants'certificatesordiplomasareexempted
from practical training andtheprofessional examination.
Theexemption isonlyapplicable, however, ifatleasttwothirds ofthepractical training
stipulated inArticle 1oftheDecree of12May1981 concerning accountancy diplomas hasbeen
completed either under aperson appearing onthelistofcommissaires auxcomptes andauthorized
bytheregional council ofcommissaires auxcomptes toreceive trainees or,subject toanauthorization
granted tothetrainee under conditions setforthinanorder issued bytheMinister forJustice andthe
Minister fortheBudget, under aperson approved byamember State oftheEuropean Communities
tocarry outstatutory audits (Article 3oftheDecree).
Persons whoarenotnationals ofanEEC member State (Article 5-2oftheDecree) maybe
registered onthelistofcommissaires auxcomptes without completing thepractical training, sitting
thequalifying examination orpossessing thediplomas stipulated inArticle 3provided theyhave
successfully completed acourse ofstudy thatmeets therequired conditions fornationals oftheEEC
member States:
(a) Aforeign diploma deemed bytheMinister forJustice tobeofalevelequivalent to
thequalifying examination forcommissaires auxcomptes ortheaccountancy diploma
andallowing themtoexercise theprofession inthecountry ofwhich theyarenationals;
(b) three years ofprofessional experience inthefieldofstatutory audit.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page33
Theapplicant mustsitanaptitude testinaccordance withtheconditions applicable tocitizens
ofanEEC member State.
Experts-comptables (professional accountants): DPECF (first-level diploma) candidates must
havepassed either thebaccalaureate examination oranofficially accepted equivalent orsubstitute.
Finland
None. Seeanswer toquestion 9above.
Greece
Theonlypre-condition istheeducational prerequisite (higher oruniversity education).
Italy
Seeanswer toquestion 9above.
Ireland
Astudent mustbeatleast18years ofagewhen attempting hisorherfirstexamination. Given
thegraduate status ofalmost allaccountancy students inthiscountry, theminimum ageonentering
atraining contract tends tobeintheregion of20-21 years.
Certain degrees, diplomas, certificates andprofessional qualifications arerecognized for
exemption purposes.
Applicants arerequired tosubmit anannual registration fee,exemption fees(ifapplicable)
andtopayanannual subscription.
Portugal
Seeanswer toquestion 9.
Sweden
There arenopre-conditions tomeetinorder tostarttheprofessional education.
United Kingdom
Theprofessional bodies intheUKsettheirownentry requirements foreligibility tostartthe
professional education andtraining which willultimately leadtomembership. Therequirements relate
primarily toprior education andvaryfrom body tobody. InthecaseoftheICAEW, forexample,
itispossible tostarttheprofessional education with"A"levels; theACCA, ontheother hand, has
anopenentry policy.
11. What arethesubjects tobecovered bytheeducation: accounting, audit, tax,general
law,economics, ethics, information technology, other (please specify)?
European Community
Theeducation ofstatutory auditors must cover atleastthefollowing subjects:S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page34
Auditing, analysis, critical assessment ofannual accounts, general accounting, consolidated
accounts, costandmanagement accounting, internal audit, standards relating tothepreparation
ofannual andconsolidated accounts andtomethods ofvaluing balance sheet items andof
computing profits andlosses, legalandprofessional standards relating tothestatutory auditing
ofaccounting documents andtothose carrying outsuchaudits; insofarastheyarerelevant
toauditing: company law,thelawofinsolvency andsimilar procedures, taxlaw,civiland
commercial law,social security lawandlawofemployment, information andcomputer systems;
business, general andfinancial economics, mathematics andstatistics, basic principles ofthe
financial management ofundertakings.
Since therequirements setatCommunity levelareminimum standards, theyareoftencompleted
bymember States. Thisisthecasefor:
Austria
1. Certified Public Accountant (Beeideter Wirtschaftsprüfer undSteuerberater ):
Financial reporting, auditing, taxlaw(international), business andmanagement
economics, general law,ethics, information technology; costaccounting, financing,
internal audit, special questions intaxes, lawonjointstock companies, lawofallother
types ofenterprises withinclusion oftrading andother cooperative associations and
mutual insurance companies, cartel law,lawonindustrial property rights, insolvency
law,constitutionalandfundamentaladministrativelaw,provisionsregardingcomplaints
intaxmatters before supreme courts, foreign exchange, bankandsecurities law.
2. Licensed TaxAdvisor (Steuerberater ):
Accounting,auditing,taxlaw,generallaw,businessandmanagementeconomics,ethics,
information technology; costaccounting, financing, internal audit.
Belgium
Thesubjectscoveredbytheregulationsapplicabletotheprofessionsofréviseur(statutoryauditor)
andexpert-comptable (professional accountant) arethose listed intheDirective.
Forcomptables (bookkeepers), thediploma mustbeinasubject closely related toaccounting.
Germany
Incompletion tominimum standards atCommunity level condition foradmission tothe
professional examination asaWirtschaftsprüfer isthatthecandidate hasatleastfouryears experience
intheconduct ofexaminations, fortheSteuerberater three years. Thesubjects covered bythe
professional examination ofWirtschaftsprüfer andassuchrelevant fortheeducation ofacandidate
areauditing, business administration andeconomics, commercial lawincluding professional law,tax
law.Fortheprofession ofSteuerberater thesubjects aretaxlaw,accounting, business administration
andeconomics, commercial lawandprofessional law.Thecontent ofthedifferent subjects isdefined
anddetailed bytheprofessional laws.
Denmark
Thetheoretical partofthecourse forStateAuthorized Public Accountants covers thesubjects
accountancy, auditing, taxlawandcommercial law.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page35
Thetheoretical partofthecourse forCertified Accountants covers accountancy, auditing, tax
law,commercial law,business economic tools, andEnglish. Students alsoundertake anobligatory
major assignment.
When thestudent haspassed thetheoretical partofthecourse, he/she mustpassanexamination
inauditing tobecome aState authorized public accountant andqualifying examination tobecome a
certified accountant.
Thepurpose ofthelatter examinations istoensure thatthestudent isabletoapply his/her
theoretical knowledge ofstatutory audits topractical tasks, andisthusqualified toundertake statutory
audits (ch.Articles 5and8ofDirective 84/253/EEC).
Spain
Theexamination subjects foradmittance totheOfficial Register ofAuditors (ROAC) arethose
setoutinArticles 5and6oftheEighth Company Directive andasspecified inArticle 24ofthenational
regulation implementing theLawonAudits.
France
Forcommissaires auxcomptes (statutory auditors), training covers thefollowing subjects:
general accounting andmanagement accounting; business management andeconomics; taxation;
commercial law,andcompany law; criminal law,andlabour andsocial security law.
Thediploma forexperts-comptables (professional accountants), chiefly covers thefollowing
subjects: professional conduct andethics; accounting andauditing; disputes, legal relations;
management control; credit law; lawofcollective procedures; taxlaw; company law; labour law;
economics; expression andcommunication; financial management; informatics; quantitative methods;
applied mathematics; andbusiness management andorganization.
Finland
From 1January 1997, thesubjects tobecovered arethose defined inArticle 6ofthe
Eighth Company LawDirective (84/253/EEC).
Italy
Accounting, audit, taxlaw,private law,company law,bankruptcy law,economics, ethics,
information technology, banking, management techniques, actuarial andfinancial mathematics.
Ireland
Thetopics covered byICAI students during theirtraining period include auditing, business
managementandstrategy,companylaw,financialaccounting,managementaccounting,taxation,business
information systems, financial analysis, information technology, ethics, economics, executorship and
trustlaw.
Luxembourg
Thediploma establishing thetheoretical qualification isgranted attheendofacourse ofat
leastfouryears ofhigher studies focusing primarily onthefollowing subjects:S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page36
- Audit;
- analysis andcritical assessment ofannual accounts;
- general accounting;
- consolidated accounts;
- costaccounting andaccounting;
- internal audit;
- standards concerning theestablishment ofannual accounts andconsolidated accounts
andmethods ofevaluating balance sheet items anddetermining results;
- legalandprofessional standards concerning thestatutory auditofaccounting documents
andthepersons conducting suchaudits totheextent thatitaffects theauditing of
accounts;
- company law;
- bankruptcy lawandanalogous procedures;
- civillaw,commercial law,labour andsocial security law;
- information systems andinformatics;
- business economics, political economics andfinancial economics;
- mathematics andstatistics;
- basic principles ofthefinancial management ofcompanies.
Finally, theabove-mentioned threeyears ofpractical training mustcover, interalia,theaudit
ofannual accounts, ofconsolidated accounts orofsimilar financial results, andatleasttwothirds of
itmusttakebecompletedinLuxembourgoranotherEuropeanCommunitymemberStateunderanatural
orlegalperson approved bythatStateandauthorized totakeontrainees. InLuxembourg, onlyréviseurs
d'entreprises (statutory auditors) withmore thanthreeyears ofprofessional experience areauthorized
totakeontrainees.
Portugal
Seeanswer toquestion 9.
Sweden
These are:accounting, audit, tax,general law,economics, ethics, information technology,
mathematics andstatistics.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page37
United Kingdom
Itshould bepointed outthatintheUnited Kingdom there aresixprofessional accountancy
bodies, eachofwhich imposes itsowneducation andtraining experience requirements formembership.
Thefollowing subjects can,however, beregarded ascoresubjects tobestudied inqualifying forany
ofthesixbodies.
- Financial accountancy andreporting;
- Management accounting;
- Business andcompany law;
- Management information andcontrol;
- Business planning andfinance;
- Taxation;
- Auditing;
- Information technology andsystems;
- Economics;
- Quantitative techniques;
- Ethics.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page38
III. TECHNICAL STANDARDS AND ETHICS
12. Inrelation towhich activities donational standards exist(audit, accounting, insolvency,
other)? Please specify their main policy objectives.
European Community
AtCommunity levelthere areharmonized rules asfarasthepreparation andpublication of
annual andconsolidated accounts ofcertain commercial companies (Directives 78/660/EEC and
83/349/EEC), banks andotherfinancial institutions (Directive 86/635/EEC) andinsurance undertakings
(Directive 91/674/EEC) areconcerned. There arealsoharmonized minimum requirements forthe
approval ofstatutory auditors (84/253/EEC). Allthesedirectives contain onlyminimum requirements
andtherefore member States haveoften amore detailed legislation.
Austria
1. Generally regulations bylaw.
2. Technical pronouncements issued bytheChamber areinterpretations andclarifications within
theframework ofexisting law.
Belgium
Pursuanttotheabove-mentionedDirectivesthereareanumberofnationalstandards,particularly
inthefields ofbanking, insurance andmutual insurance companies, where theauditors appointed must
beapproved bytheCommission Bancaire etFinancière (Banking andFinance Commission), theOffice
deContrôle desAssurances (Insurance Supervisory Board) orbytheOffice deContrôle desMutualités
(Mutual Insurance Supervisory Board).
Germany
Foranyactivity national standards areapplicable assetoutintheprofessional lawsandother
laws(inparticular Aktiengesetz, GmbH-Gesetz, Handelsgesetzbuch )andtheprofessional charters. In
addition, technical standards fortheexercise oftheprofession ofWirtschaftsprüfer inaconscientious
manner result fromlaws(inparticular Aktiengesetz, GmbH-Gesetz, Handelsgesetzbuch )and-issued
bytheInstitutderWirtschaftsprüfer-Fachgutachtenandothertechnicalstatementsandpronouncements.
Denmark
There isnolegislative regulation ofaccountancy services inDenmark. Theabove Directives
havebeenimplementedinDanishlaw,buttheycontainnorequirementsforspecialaccountancyservices.
Neither dotheaccounting standards issued bytheInstitute ofState-Authorized Public Accountants
(theDanish association ofState Authorized Public Accountants) provide regulations withregard to
professional accountancy services. Some rules withrespect toaccounting maybeimplied incertain
oftheauditing standards issued bytheInstitute.
Theprovisions ofaudit, accounting andinsolvency services inDenmark areregulated by
legislation. Technical Committees ofaccounting andauditing within theInstitute ofState-Authorized
Public Accountants issue technical standards andguidelines based onthelegalstandards "generally
accepted auditing standards" and"generally accepted accounting practice".S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page39
Spain
Thetechnical standards referexclusively toaudits. Thecurrent technical standards govern:
- General technical standards;
- special report onexclusion from theright ofpreferential subscription inthecase
described inArticle 159oftheconsolidated textofthecompanies law;
- special report inthecasecovered byArticle 292oftheconsolidated textofthe
companies law;
- special report inthecasesdescribed inArticles 64,147,149and225oftheconsolidated
textofthecompanies law;
- special report oncapital increase byoffsetting claims inthecaseprovided forin
Article 156oftheconsolidated textofthecompanies law;
- special report oncapital increase bydrawing onstatutory reserves inthecasedescribed
inArticle 157oftheconsolidated textofthecompanies law;
- technical standard onsubsequent events;
- technical standards onrelations between auditors;
- technical standard onquality control;
- technical standard onapplication oftheprinciple ofagoing concern, firm;
- technical standard onperiodic disclosure tothepublic ofinformation byissuers of
securities listed onthestock exchange;
- technical standard ontheobligation tocommunicate major internal auditdeficiencies;
- technical standard oncomplementary audit report onannual accounts ofcredit
institutions;
- technical standard ondrawing upaspecial report complementary totheauditing of
theannual accounts ofinsurance bodies.
France
Withrespect tocommissaires auxcomptes (statutory auditors), statutory auditisgoverned by
LawNo.66/537 of24July1966. Thechief duties ofacommissaires auxcomptes are:
- Audit andcertification thattheaccounts submitted (annual andconsolidated accounts)
meetthelegalcriteria oftrueandfairview;
- specific tasks inconnection withcertification forthepurpose of:S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page40
• verifying theaccuracy ofcertain items ofinformation (information provided
intheannual report, documents senttoshareholders onthefinancial situation
andannual accounts);
• ensuring compliance withcertain specific legalguarantees;
• taking anyaction provided forbylawupon ascertainment ofcertain facts
(initiation ofthewarning procedure ifthecommissaire discovers anyelements
thatcould threaten thefuture operation ofthebusiness -cf.Law of
1March 1984 (insolvency); disclosure ofanycriminal actstotheState
prosecutor (Article 233oftheLawof24July1966)).
- specific tasks relating tocertain operations;
- communication ofopinions tothebodies andpersons stipulated bythelawintheform
ofageneral report.
With respect toexperts-comptables (professional accountants), thekeeping andauditing of
company accounts onanindependent basis isrestricted toexperts-comptables belonging totheOrdre
desexperts-comptables (Association ofProfessional Accountants).
There arealsonational accounting standards which companies must apply. Theregulations
onaccounting aresetforthintheCommercial Code (Articles 8to17)andthePlanComptable Général
(General Accounting Plan) of1982 (updated in1986). These textsformasingle body ofregulations
withwhich companies must comply.
Finland
Audit. There areprofessional recommendations fortheKHT-accountants, confirmed bythe
Finnish Institute ofAuthorized Public Accountants.
Greece
With respect toauditing thenational standards arethose mentioned intheEighth Directive.
Themainobjectiveistoensuretheproperdegreeofqualityandindependence.Withregardtoaccountant
domestic legislation hasincorporated allthedirectives mentioned inthefirstparagraph ofthereply.
Italy
Accounting standards:
Ingeneral, regulations towhich companies must comply withindrawing uptheirfinancial
statements areprovided bylaw. With respect tospecial companies asbanks, insurance andfinancial
companies,inadditiontothelaw'sprovisions,thesecompaniesmustcomplywithregulationsconcerning
presentation offinancial statements, issued bysupervisory authorities (i.e.forthebanks, regulations
areissued bytheBank ofItaly).
AccountingprinciplesexertaninterpretativeandcomplementaryfunctionintotheItaliansystem.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page41
Auditing standards:
CONSOB isresponsible forrecommending theadoption ofprinciples andprocedures toconduct
auditing, having consulted the"Consiglio Nazionale deiDottori Commercialisti" andthe"Consiglio
Nazionale deiRagionieri ePeriti Commerciali" .
CONSOBrecommends,ingeneralterms,auditingprinciplesissuedbythe"Consiglio Nazionale
deiDottori Commercialisti" andthe"Consiglio Nazionale deiRegionieri ePeriti Commerciali" .
Furthermore,CONSOBgivesspecificinstructionstoauditingcompanieswithrespecttoparticular
topics.
Ireland
Theobjective ofcompanies legislation regarding statutory auditors isthatthefunction becarried
outbysuitable qualified persons, tohighandrelevant standards -bothtechnical andethical. Companies
legislation alsospecifies theformat andcontent offinancial statements toensure thatthose financial
statements areprepared inamanner andtoastandard which willensure presentation ofa"true and
fairview" ofthecompany 'sstateofaffairs andofitsresults.
TheaimsoftheAccounting Standards Board -ASB-aretoestablish andimprove standards
offinancial accounting andreporting, forthebenefit ofusers, preparers andauditors offinancial
information. TheBoard seeks toachieve itsaimsby:
(1) Developingprinciplestoguideitinestablishingstandardstoprovideaframeworkwithin
which others canexercise judgement inresolving accounting issues;
(2) issuing newaccounting standards, oramending existing ones, inresponse toevolving
businesspractice,neweconomicdevelopmentsandefficienciesbeingidentifiedincurrent
practice;
(3) addressing urgent issues promptly.
TheobjectivesoftheAuditingPracticesBoard-APB-aretoestablishhighstandardsofauditing,
meetthedeveloping needs ofusersoffinancial information, andensure public confidence intheauditing
process. Toachieve these objectives theAPBintends to:
- Takeanactive roleinthedevelopment ofstatutes, regulations andaccounting standards
which effect theaudit profession;
- promote waysofincreasing thevalue ofaudits andofensuring theircosteffectiveness;
- consult withtheusers offinancial information toensure thattheAPB provides an
effective andtimely response totheirdeveloping needs andtoissues raised bythem;
- advance thewider public 'sunderstanding oftherolesandresponsibilities ofauditors;
- establish andpublish statements oftheprinciples andprocedures withwhich auditors
arerequired tocomply intheconduct ofaudits, andother explanatory material toassist
intheir interpretation andapplication. Pronouncements willhave dueregard to
international development.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page42
Luxembourg
Auditing, accounting, bankruptcy, liquidation andtrusts aregoverned bylegalandregulatory
provisions. Réviseurs d'entreprises (statutory auditors) cover audit andaccounting, while receivers
andliquidators arechosen from among themembers oftheLuxembourg BarAssociation under the
supervision ofabankruptcy judge.
Thepurpose oftheinstitution ofréviseurs d'entreprises istoensure thereliable, transparent,
honest andindependent auditandkeeping ofcompany accounts inparticular, butalsotocarry outother
auditing, orcontractual bookkeeping andtoprovide taxadvice.
Theroleofthereceivers andliquidators istorepresent thebankrupt party, manage hisbusiness
andorganize thesaleanddistribution ofassets forthebenefit ofthecreditors inaspirit oftransparency,
independence andfairness.
Portugal
TheChamber ofStatutory Auditors drewuptechnical standards forstatutory audits which were
approved in1983.
TheTechnical Standards Commission, which operates under theaegis oftheChamber, draws
upamanual andprovides answers -technical interpretations -toquestions ofgeneral interest posed
bystatutory auditors.
InPortugal properly organized accounts mustcomply withtheOfficial Accounting Plan, which
isapproved byDecree-Law andfollows therelevant Community guidelines andconsequently abides
bythegenerally accepted accounting principles developed byIASC.
TheCommission ofAccounting Standardization, which includes representatives ofthe
administration andthesocial partners, regularly publishes guidelines onspecific topics initsofficial
publication.
Sweden
National standards existinrelation toaudit. Themainpolicy objective istoensure thatlegal
persons areaudited inanobjective manner.
United Kingdom
Theprovision ofaudit, insolvency andfinancial services intheUnited Kingdom isregulated
bylegislation. Theday-by-day regulation offirms practising inthereserved areas isundertaken by
theirprofessional bodies whose requirements include theneedtocomply withtechnical standards.
Thepolicy objective inthecaseofauditors istoensure thataudits arecarried outby
appropriately qualified persons, toaproper standard andwithaproper degree ofintegrity and
independence. Thepolicy objectives inthecaseofinsolvency andfinancial services aretoprovide
protection tocreditors andinvestors respectively inthelightofpotential forabuses. Theform and
content ofcompany accounts arealsospecified inlegislation withtheobjective ofensuring thataccounts
present atrueandfairviewofthestateofaffairs andresults ofoperations ofthecompany concerned.
Separate bodies ofaccounting andauditing standards exist(seequestion 13below), although
theydonothavetheforce oflaw. Thetechnical standards forinsolvency andfinancial services areS/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page43
intheform ofsecondary legislation inthecaseofinsolvency (viatheInsolvency Service ofthe
Department ofTrade andIndustry) andintheform ofconduct ofbusiness rules setoutintherule
book ofeachoftheregulators inthecaseoffinancial services.
13. Which body orinstitution develops these standards andmonitors their implementation?
What aretheconsequences ofabreach ofthestandards (fortheprofessional, forclients, etc.)?
European Community
TheEuropean Commission hastheresponsibility forensuring thecorrect implementation of
theabove-mentioned Directives. Theresponsibility todevelop national standards andtodealwith
theconsequences ofabreach ofthese standards isregulated atnational level.
Austria
1. Notapplicable, since generally federal lawapplies.
2. Technical pronouncements andlegal opinions aredeveloped bytheChamber (technical
committees) andtheInstitute ofAustrian Certified Public Accountants.
Belgium
Thepurposes oftheCommission desNormes Comptables (Accountancy Standards Committee)
established byaRoyal Decree of21October 1975 include thedevelopment ofasetofaccountancy
principles andofthefoundations ofaproper accounting system byissuing opinions orrecommendations.
EachofthethreeInstitutes develops itsownprofessional standards accompanied bydisciplinary
measures ifthese arebreached.
Civil andpenal sanctions aretheresponsibility ofthecourts.
Germany
TheWirtschaftsprüferkammer andSteuerberaterkammer -bothestablished under public law-
areauthorised bylawtoregulate specific rights andduties intheexercise oftheprofessions (ethics).
TheWirtschaftsprüferkammer hasadopted aprofessional charter regulating therights andduties in
theexercise oftheprofession byWirtschaftsprüfer andvereidigte Buchprüfer ,also the
Steuerberaterkammer willsoonadopt acharter. Technical standards, statements orpronouncements
fortheactivities oftheWirtschaftsprüfer areissued andcompliance monitored bytheInstitut der
Wirtschaftsprüfer foritsmembers.
Denmark
TheNational Accounting Standards areissued bytheInstitute ofState-Authorized Public
Accountants. TheStandards aredeveloped bytheTechnical Accounting Board, themembers ofwhich
aredirectly elected bythePlenary Meeting oftheInstitute. TheDraft Standards aresubject toacceptance
byaPanel ofRepresentatives ofIndustry andFinance. TheNational Audit Standards arelikewise
issued bytheInstitute ofState-Authorized Public Accountants. Heretheyaredeveloped bytheTechnical
Audit Board, themembers ofwhich aredirectly elected bythePlenary Meeting oftheInstitute.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page44
Thelegislation onfinancial accounting isprovided bytheAnnual Accountants Act(Cons. Law
No.526of17June1996) andonbookkeeping bytheBookkeeping Act(Cons. LawNo.60of
19February 1986).
TechnicalCommitteeswithintheInstituteofState-AuthorizedPublicAccountants(FSR)develop
andmonitor standards andguidelines binding onmembers.
Auditing standards areissued bytheAuditing Standards Committee. Accounting standards
issued bytheAccounting Standards Committee areprepared bythiscommittee onFSRincooperation
withpreparers andusers offinancial statements (Confederation ofDanish Industries, Danish Bankers '
Association, Danish ShipOwners Association, Danish Securities Dealer Association, Danish Labour
Market Supplementary Pension, Employees Capital Fund Pension, TheDanish Insurance Association,
theCounsel forLabour Market Pension Schemes, theAssociation ofCompany Pension Funds and
theInstitute ofCertified Accountants).
ApeerreviewprogrammeestablishedundertheInstituteofState-AuthorizedPublicAccountants
applies toallmembers oftheInstitute. Furthermore issues mayonrequest beraised before the
Disciplinary Board, anindependent institution situated atCopenhagen CityCourt.
Breaches ofstandards canresult inlegal action against themanagement ofthecompany or
theauditor ordisciplinary action against theauditor depending onthenature ofthebreach andthe
parties involved.
TheDanish legislation hasinstituted adisciplinary system forbreach ofstandards comprised
bythewords "god revisorskik", initself astandard. Anyclient maylodge -toacomplaint board -
acomplaint against theState-authorized public accountant orcertified accountant forhaving broken
thestandard "god revisorskik" .
Theboard iscompetent tocaution, tosentence afine(max. DKr200,000) andeventodeprive
anauthorization resp.acertification. Anycaution, sentence anddeprivation canbeproved byahigher
(administrative) instance (Revisornævnet )andfinally betaken tothecourt ofjustice.
Byitsdecisions thedisciplinary system develops andsetsthestandard (godrevisorskik )in
Denmark.
Spain
Thetechnicalauditingstandardsareestablishedbythebodiesrepresentingauditorsandpublished
bytheICAC (Accounting andAuditing Institute); thelatter hasthepower todraw uprules where
thebodies inquestion donotdoso(Article 5oftheLawonAudits).
Failure tocomply mayentail theimposition ofanadministrative sanction bytheICAC for
aserious orlessserious infringement ofArticle 16oftheLawonAudits. Application ofthatsanction
hasnoeffects vis-à-vis thirdparties.
France
ForCommissaires auxcomptes (statutory auditors), professional accounting standards aredrawn
upbytheConseilNationaldelaComptabilité(CNC)(NationalAccountancyCouncil)andtheCompagnie
Nationale desCommissaires auxComptes (CNCC) (National Society ofStatutory Auditors), in
cooperation withtheservices oftheMinistry ofJustice, which isresponsible forCommissaires aux
comptes .S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page45
Breaches ofprofessional standards inanyfieldmayresult indisciplinary action inaccordance
withArticle 88oftheDecree of12August 1969. Inascending order ofgravity, these sanctions are:
- Warning;
- reprimand, possibly notified tooneormore ofthecompanies inwhich theperson
concerned isacting ascommissaire auxcomptes ;
- temporary suspension foraperiod notexceeding fiveyears, either ingeneral orlimited
tooneormore forms orcategories ofenterprise;
- striking offthelist(Article 29oftheDecree of12August 1969).
Thelasttwopenalties, oncetheyaredefinitive, arebrought totheattention ofthecompanies
inwhich thecommissaire auxcomptes inquestion exercises hisactivities, andarealsopublished in
theBulletin Officiel desAnnonces Civiles etCommerciales (Official Gazette ofCivil andCommercial
Notices) (Articles 107,108and110oftheDecree of12August 1969).
Moreover, attherequest ofthePublic Prosecutor, andincases ofemergency, acommissaire
auxcomptes against whom criminal proceedings havebeeninstituted maytemporarily bebarred by
theregional disciplinary board fromexercising hisactivities foramaximum period ofoneyearinone
ormore types orcategories ofenterprise (Article 112oftheabove-mentioned Decree).
Regardless ofwhere thealleged breaches werecommitted, theregional registration committee
meets astheregional disciplinary board inorder todecide upon thedisciplinary action tobetaken
against members oftheregional society.
Thenational registration committee meets asthenational disciplinary board todecide onappeal
against decisions oftheregional disciplinary board.
Experts-comptables(professionalaccountants):onlypersonsbelongingtotheOrdre(Association)
areentitled tousethetitleof"expert-comptable" andexercise theprofession.
TheOrdre orthePublic Prosecutor 'sOffice maydecide toinitiate proceedings against those
whoignore theseprovisions. Illegal exercise oftheprofession ofexpert-comptable constitutes anoffence
punishable byimprisonment.
Accountancy lawhasavariety ofsources. Themain standard-setting body iscurrently the
Conseil National delaComptabilité ,whose roleistoissue opinions andrecommendations inthe
accountancy fieldwithrespect toallsectors oftheeconomy. Itshould benoted, however, thatreforms
arecurrently being introduced withaviewtounifying thedevelopment ofaccounting standards.
Finland
TheFinnish Institute ofAuthorized Public Accountants develops these standards.
Themonitoring bodies are:
- TheAuditing Board oftheState within theMinistry ofTrade andIndustry;
- theAuditing Board oftheCentral Chamber ofCommerce;S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page46
- theAuditing Committee ofaregional Chamber ofCommerce; and
- theAuditing Board oftheChartered Public Finance Auditors within theMinistry of
Finance.
Theconsequence ofabreach ofthestandards fortheauditor iscancellation ofauthorization.
Alsosanctions, warning andremark, canbeused, when aKHT- orHTM-accountant isinquestion.
Greece
Theimplementation ofthese standards iscontrolled bytheInstitute statutory auditors andthe
taxauditors. Penalties existforbreach ofthese standards.
Italy
Pursuant toCONSOB 'sdecision of1March 1994, accounting principles issued byConsiglio
Nazionale deiDottori Commercialisti andConsiglio Nazionale deiRagionieri ePeriti Commerciali
constitute points ofreference inconducting auditing. However, noncompliance withsuchprinciples
implies thattheauditor would havetoreferexclusively toprinciples provided bylaw.
Ireland
Accounting standards aredeveloped bytheAccounting Standards Board -ASB-which isa
division oftheFinancial Reporting Council -FRC. TheFRCisanindependent body notcontrolled
bytheprofession.
Auditing standards aredeveloped bytheAuditing Practices Board -APB-which isaCommittee
ofthemain accountancy bodies.
Monitoringofcompliancewithaccountingandauditingstandardsisundertakenbytheindividual
professional bodies. Breaches ofstandards arelikely toresult indisciplinary action bytheprofessional
body against themember and/or firmconcerned which mayresult, iffaultisproven, inarange of
penalties from admonishment tolossofpractising rights intheareaconcerned toexpulsion fromthe
professional body.
Clients whobelieve theyhavesuffered lossasaresult ofthefailure ofamember and/or firm
tocomply withrelevant standards mayseeklegalredress through theCourts.
Luxembourg
TheLawof28June1984 andtheGrand Duchy Regulations of29January 1993 provide for
criminal sanctions against persons illegally exercising theprofession orcarrying thetitleofréviseur
d'entreprise (statutory auditor). Criminal lawandordinary civillawalsoapply (e.g: forgery).
Moreover, theInstitut desRéviseurs d'Entreprises (Institute ofStatutory Auditors) hasadisciplinary
board whose chairman isalsochairman oftheDistrict Court ofLuxembourg andwhich hasdisciplinary
powers overallmembers oftheprofession withrespect to:
- Violation oflegalandregulatory provisions concerning theexercise oftheprofession;
- professional misconduct ornegligence;
- actsthatareinconsistent withprofessional tactanddignity, honour andintegrity.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page47
Receivers andliquidators actunder thesupervision ofabankruptcy judge whose authorization
isrequired foranyimportant decisions. Aslawyers, however, theyareunder thedisciplinary authority
oftheConseil del'Ordre desAvocats (BarCouncil), without prejudice toanycivilorcriminal judicial
proceedings towhich theiractsmaygiverise.
Clients aresubject toordinary civil, commercial orcriminal law.
Portugal
Seeanswer toquestion 12.
Sweden
Thepublic accountants monitor theimplementation ofnational standards andareinturn
monitored bytheSupervisory Board ofPublic Accountants.
United Kingdom
Accounting standards aredeveloped bytheAccounting Standards Board (ASB), which isa
subset oftheFinancial Reporting Council (FRC). Compliance bylisted companies withaccounting
standards ismonitored byasister bodyoftheASB, theFinancial Reporting Review Panel. TheFRC
isanindependent bodynotcontrolled bytheprofession. Statutory compliance ismonitored onalimited
basis bytheCompanies Division oftheDepartment ofTrade andIndustry.
Auditing standards aredeveloped bytheAuditing Practices Board, which isaCommittee of
thesixmainaccountancy bodies. Monitoring ofcompliance isundertaken bytheindividual professional
bodies intheirroles asregulators.
Breaches ofstandards inalltheareasarelikely toresult indisciplinary action bytheprofessional
body against themember and/or firms involved andmayalsoresult inalossofpractising rights in
theareaconcerned, forexample, theremoval ofaninsolvency licence ortherighttoundertake the
audits ofcompanies.
Clients whohavesuffered losscan,ofcourse, seeklegalredress and/or compensation incertain
limited circumstances.
14. Aretheinternational standards developed byIFAC (International Education Standards
andGuidelines, International Standards onAuditing) andIASC (International Accounting
Standards) recognized orusedinyourcountry? Ifyes,please explain how. Ifno,please explain
why.
Austria
1. UseofInternational Accounting Standards (IASs) onlyincases where theyarecompatible to
national law.Inthiscasetheymaybepartly orfullyintroduced intonational technical pronouncements.
2. International Standards onAuditing (ISAs) arerecognized andpartly introduced intonational
technical pronouncements.
3. National education requirements areingeneral more advanced thanthose recommended by
International Education Guidelines.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page48
Belgium
While theyhavenotactually beentransposed intodomestic lawassuch, theIASC andIFAC
standards areusedinthedevelopment ofaccounting andauditing standards.
Germany
International standards developed byIFAC andIASC arerecognized andusedinGermany
totheextent thattheyhavebeenimplemented intonational lawandstandards. Implementation is
committed toharmonization wherever possible.
Denmark
Thestandards ofIFAC andIASC arerecognized bytheInstitutes ofState-Authorized Public
Accountants andCertified Accountants. They alsohaveastrong impact onthecontent ofthenational
standards. Thestandards arenotrecognized inthelegislation. Duetorecent trends intherelationship
between theEUAccounting Directives andtheInternational Accounting Standards, theIASs atleast
mayplayanindirect roleinthepreparation oflegislation onaccounting, especially withregard to
accounting rules forlisted companies.
TheInstitute ofStateAuthorized Public Accountants isthrough membership ofIFAC committed
topublish guidelines published byIFAC eventhough theymaynotnecessarily respect theDanish legal
standard"generallyacceptedauditingstandards".Theinternationalstandardsarerecognizedandreflected
inthework oftheDanish Institute wherever possible when preparing andissuing Danish Auditing
Standards.
Membership ofIASC implies thattheInstitute hasagreed tosupport theobjectives ofIASC,
hence international accounting standards agreed upon inIASC arepublished. When issuing national
accounting standards, standards issued byIASC arereflected whenever inaccordance withnational
legislation.WhenissuingaccountingstandardsastatementofaccordancewithIASCstandardsisincluded
asanappendix.
International auditing standards fromIFAC andaccounting standards fromIASC aresubmitted
toallmembers ofFSR.
Spain
International Accounting Standards (IASC) arenotapplicable; thestandards applicable are
those contained inthecommercial codeanditsdetailed implementing rulesandintheaccounting rules
applying tospecific sectors.
International Accounting Standards arenotapplied owing totheneedforspecial rulesgeared
tothecharacteristics ofSpanish firms andthefactthatSpanish accounting standards necessarily derive
from Community directives which insome cases areatvariance withtheIASs.
Spanish technical accounting standards forthemostpartinclude those laiddown inInternational
Accounting Standards withsome exceptions stemming fromthepeculiarities ofSpanish auditing and
commercial law.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page49
France
TheinternationalstandardsdevelopedbytheIASCarenotrecognized.Theregulationsapplicable
intheaccountancy fieldarebased solely onnational accounting standards. TheGovernment hasjust
tabled abillproviding forthecreation ofa"Comité deReglementation Comptable (Accountancy
Regulatory Committee) which willbeabletotakesteps withaviewtorecognizing acertain number
ofinternational standards.
Finland
TheFinnishInstituteofAuthorizedPublicAccountantsisplanningtoreformitsrecommendations
tobeinaccordance withIFAC asfarasapplicable.
Provisions ofIASs aretaken intoaccount when reforming national accounting legislation.
Notallprovisions areimplemented andsome ofthose implemented arevoluntary.
Greece
TheGreek standards conform boththeCommunity Directives andtheInternational Accounting
Standards (IASC).
Italy
Theinternational standards maybeusedonlyifthenational onesdonotcover certain subjects
andprovided thattheyareincompliance withtheItalian law. National auditing standards are,in
substance, inlinewithIFAC 'sstandards.
Ireland
Both theAccountancy Standards Board andtheAuditing Practices Board takeaccount of
international standards developed byIASC andIFAC when promulgating theirguidance. Bothbodies
seektoensure thattheirguidance isequivalent andconsistent, totheextent possible, withinternational
standards.
Portugal
Seeanswer toquestion 12.
Sweden
Yes,theyarerecognized asguidelines fornational standards.
United Kingdom
International standards arerecognized totheextent thattheyarereflected innational standards
andboth theAccounting Standards Board andtheAuditing Practices Board arecommitted to
harmonization wherever possible.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page50
15. Inrelation towhich activities does aparticular ethical code exist (audit, accounting,
insolvency, other)? Please specify itsmain policy objectives.
Austria
1. Ageneral ethical codeforallprofessional activities islaiddown intheWTBO supplemented
byWTDO (seequestion 2above). There existnospecific ethical codes forparticular professional
activities. Theethical codesetbylawisextended byChamber Decisions andlegalopinions adopted
bytheChamber dealing withparticular aspects (e.g.confidentiality).
2. Thepolicy objectives ofthelegalethical codeareinparticular:
- Tosafeguard theclients (Article 35WTBO);
- toavoid incompatible professional activities (Article 34WTBO);
- toguarantee theesteem oftheprofession (Article 47WTBO).
Belgium
There isnospecial ethical code, butmembers oftheprofession aresubject totheethical
requirements imposed bythelawandbytheirrespective Institutes.
Germany
Theethical codelaiddown bylawsandtheprofessional charters govern allactivities performed
bytheprofessionals. There isnodifferentiation according totypeofactivities.
Denmark
AnethicalcodeonaccountingonlyexistsinasmuchasitisimpliedinthePreferredBestPractices
onAccounting. Thisis,however, asmuch acodeforthepreparers ofaccounts, i.e.theBoard of
Directors ofaCompany, asitisrelevant fortheAuditors.
InDenmark nocomprehensive ethical codeofauditing andconsulting hasbeendeveloped but
ethical guidelines existinterms oftechnical papers published byanddistributed tomembers ofthe
Institute ofState Authorized Public Accountants. Furthermore, itshould bestated thattheDanish
legislation onauditors contains provisions onethical behaviour, e.g.restrictive rules onauditors '
independence. AlsotheInstitute assists members intheidentification ofoccasions inwhich theymight
beatriskoffailing torecognize orconform tothehighstandards ofconduct expected ofmembers
oftheInstitute.
TheInstitute hasnotissued acodeonethical behaviour forinsolvency asthisisnotaservice
traditionally provided byauditors, butprovided bylawyers inDenmark.
Spain
Thethree associations havetheirowncodegoverning thegeneral conduct oftheirmembers
although itapplies chiefly toauditing. After theentry intoforce ofthelawonaudits suchcodes should
beconsidered asasource ofobligations andofinternal corrective measures applied bytheassociations
totheirmembers andnotasinfringements andadministrative sanctions; thisisbecause onlytheICAC
canapplyadministrativesanctionsinthesemattersinlinewiththeprocedure,infringementsandsanctions
setoutintheLawonaudits (Article 15).S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page51
France
There isacode ofprofessional ethics forcommissaires auxcomptes (statutory auditors)
constituting abodyofrulesapplicable toallmembers oftheSociety. Thecodelaysdown ruleswith
respect totheexercise oftheprofession. Itaddresses thefollowing points: general ruleofindependence,
useoftitlesandposition,relationsbetweencommissairesauxcomptesandtheirprofessionalassociations,
relations among commissaires ,andprofessional training.
Thecodealsoestablishes ruleswithrespect topractice. Itaddresses therulesofindependence
when practising andthewayinwhich duties aretobecarried out,relations withthird parties, and
fees.
Experts-comptables (profession accountants) arecalled upon torespect anumber ofspecific
ethical rules, bothintheirpersonal behaviour (e.g.noadvertising), aswellasintheirrelations with
clients (e.g.professional secrecy), withtheircolleagues, withprofessional associations orwiththe
public authorities. These rulesareembodied intheamended Order of19September 1945establishing
theOrdre desexperts-comptables (Association ofProfessional Accountants) andregulating thetitle
andtheprofession ofexpert-comptable ,inthecodeofprofessional duties andintheinternal regulations
oftheOrdre .Moreover, professional practices andrecommendations byprofessional bodies provide
auseful reference forprofessional behaviour.
These professional ethics arebased ontheprinciple that,asprofessionals, experts-comptables
must, intheirrelations withtheirsurroundings, liveuptotheconfidence placed inthembyrespecting
certain rules ofbehaviour, particularly withrespect toprofessional integrity andindependence.
Finland
Inrelation toauditing.
Greece
Withregard toauditaparticular ethical codeexists. Intheaforementioned presidential decree
tobefinalized anethical codeforaccountants isincluded.
Italy
Aparticular ethical codeexists forallactivities carried outbytheDottori Commercialisti and
Ragionieri. Forfirms registered byCONSOB, DPR31March 1975 No.136contains specific rules
relating toindependence andprofessional qualifications.
Ireland
Each oftherecognized accountancy bodies hasanEthical Guide forMembers and/or aCode
ofProfessional Ethics andConduct. These setoutcertain fundamental principles which aninstitute
should respect inalltheirprofession andbusiness relationships. Allmembers arerequired toobserve
proper standards ofprofessional conduct andtorefrain frommisconduct. Detailed statements within
thatGuide dealwithcertain issues particular to,forexample, auditing ortoinsolvency.
Luxembourg
Réviseurs d'entreprises (statutory auditors) andlawyers alikearerequired toobserve certain
ethical principles. These arenotintheform ofacodeassuch, butcover abroad range ofelementsS/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page52
including, inparticular, integrity, tact,dignity, honour andindependence. They areendorsed bythe
disciplinary board andtheBarCouncil.
TheNetherlands
Aparticular ethical codedoesnotexistinregard tospecial activities suchasaudit, accounting,
insolvency, etc. Different ethical rules exist withregard tothefactifaRegister-Accountant or
Accountant-Administratieconsulent actsas:
(1) Apublic accountant;
(2) anaccountant intheemploy ofgovernment orindustry;
(3) notasanaccountant.
These rules apply toallactivities undertaken inoneofthethree categories.
Portugal
InJuly1987 anethical codewaspublished forstatutory auditors intheperformance oftheir
professional activities.
Thecertified accountants 'statute includes standards ofanethical nature covering accountants '
relations withclients, thetaxauthorities, colleagues andtheirassociation.
TherespectiveChamberhasdisciplinaryjurisdictionoverstatutoryauditorsandfirmsofstatutory
auditors. Itsbodies include adisciplinary council.
Thedisciplinary measures imposed oncertified accountants bytheirassociation are:warning;
fine; suspension ofuptothree years andexpulsion.
Sweden
Anethical codeexistforaudit. Itsmain policy objective istoguarantee independence for
public accountants.
United Kingdom
ThethreeInstitutes ofChartered Accountants haveajointethical code("Guide toProfessional
Ethics"). Theremaining three bodies eachhavetheirownseparate codes. Thecodes apply toany
fieldofendeavour inwhich theirmembers earntheirlivings.
Thecodesdealwithallaccountancyroles,includingthoseofaccountantsemployedincommerce,
industry andeducation. Specific guidance exists onaudit, other financial reporting roles and
non-reporting roles, aswellasindividual ethical statements oninsolvency practice andcorporate finance
advice. Themainpolicy objective istoassist members intheidentification ofoccasions inwhich they
might beatriskoffailing torecognize orconform toanyofthehighstandards ofconduct expected
ofmembers bytheprofessional bodies inquestion.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page53
16. Which body orinstitution develops thiscode andmonitors itsimplementation? What
aretheconsequences incaseofbreach oftheethical codebyaprofessional orafirm?
Noethical code/enforcement thereof atCommunity level.
Austria
1. Parliament setsthegeneral rules, theChamber develops detailed regulations.
2. Monitoring isingeneral thetaskoftheChamber, theMinistry forEconomic Affairs isthe
supervising authority.
3. Breaches ofethics arehandled byabodyonethics (disciplinary committee) runbytheChamber
according tolegaldisciplinary proceedings regulated bylawinWTDO. Fines areregulated bylaw
(Article 48WTBO).
4. There areparticular regulations (e.g. exclusion ofpartners) concerning legal persons and
partnerships (Article 49WTBO).
Belgium
Each oftheInstitutes isqualified tomonitor compliance withtheexisting ethical rules:
- Royal Decree of10January 1994 forréviseurs (statutory auditors);
- Article 88oftheLawof21February 1985 forexperts-comptables (professional
accountants.
Denmark
TheInstituteofState-AuthorizedPublicAccountantsdevelopstechnicalpapersonethicalmatters
aswellasstandards ontechnical issues toitsmembers. TheBoard oftheInstitute mayinparticular
situations expel amember, ifthemember hasbehaved improperly.
France
Commissaires auxcomptes (statutory auditors): thereisacodeofprofessional ethics laiddown
bytheCompagnie nationale descommissaires auxcomptes (National Society ofStatutory Auditors)
andannexed tothecodeofprofessional standards (audit standards).
Experts-comptables (professional accountants): acodeofprofessional duties hasbeendrawn
upbytheConseil Supérieur del'Ordre (Council oftheAssociation) andissued bytheMinister for
Economic Affairs andFinance. Therules ofprocedure aredrawn upbytheConseil supérieur and
endorsed bytheMinister forEconomic Affairs andFinance. Their observance ismonitored bythe
Conseil supérieur .
Professional liability resulting from anybreach oftheabove-mentioned rules mayberaised
before thedisciplinary boards oftheOrdre which have thesovereign authority todetermine the
seriousness ofthebreaches reported. Disciplinary measures maygoasfarasexpulsion fromtheOrdre.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page54
Finland
TheFinnish Institute ofAuthorized Public Accountants.
Greece
TheEconomic Chamber willmonitor theimplementation oftheethical code-according to
theabove-mentioned presidential decree -andsanctions suchaslicence removal areforeseen. The
Council ofSurveillance oftheInstitute ofStatutory Auditors monitors theaudit'scode.
Italy
Noncompliancewith"Consiglio Nazionale deiRagionieri ePeriti Commerciali" and"Consiglio
NazionaledeiDottoriCommercialisti"standardsmayresultinmeasuresdisciplinaryinnature.Violation
oflegalnorms inmatters related toindependence andprofessional skillofauditing firms registered
byCONSOB mayleadto:
- Therevocal oftheauditing contract;
- asuspension ofthefirm;
- thestriking offofthefirmfrom theregister.
Ireland
Seeanswer 15above.
Where amember and/or afirmbreaches theethical codethemember and/or firmconcerned
maybesubject, iffaultisproven, inarange ofpenalties fromadmonishment tolossofpractising rights
intheareaconcerned toexpulsion from theprofessional body.
Monitoringofcompliancewithaccountingandauditingstandardsisundertakenbytheindividual
professional bodies.
Clients whobelieve theyhavesuffered lossasaresult ofthefailure ofamember and/or firm
tocomply withrelevant standards mayseeklegalredress through theCourts.
Luxembourg
TheInstitut desRéviseurs d'Entreprises (Institute ofStatutory Auditors) (aswellastheBar
Association) areresponsible fordetermining professional andethical standards, whose observance is
monitored bythedisciplinary board oftheInstitut (andbytheBarAssociation Council).
Thefollowing disciplinary measures maybeapplied inascending order ofgravity:
- Warning;
- reprimand;
- fineofBF50to500,000;
- suspension oftheright ofmembership oftheBoard oftheInstitut desRéviseurs
d'Entreprises foraperiod ofuptosixyears;S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page55
- suspension foraperiod ofuptofiveyears;
- definitive banonexercising theprofession.
Anappeal maybelodged before thecivildivision oftheCourt ofAppeal. Legal persons are
convicted through thenatural persons ofwhich theyarecomposed andwhohavethepower tocommit
them.
Portugal
Seeanswer toquestion 15.
Sweden
Theethical codeisdeveloped bytheSwedish Association ofAuthorized Public Accountants,
theSwedish Society toRegistered Accountants andtheSupervisory Board ofPublic Accountants which
haspreferential rightofinterpretation. TheBoard hasarange ofdisciplinary measures incaseofbreach
oftheethical code, theultimate istorevoke theauthorization/approval.
17. Arethere restrictions onmarketing, solicitation, advertising?
Thisisnotregulated atCommunity level.Seeanswers inSection I.C.6 ofOECD survey
(document S/WPPS/W/4/Add.2) except forGreece andItalyandinformation provided hereunder.
Austria
1. Marketing andadvertising isonlypermitted inaccordance withrules setbytheChamber
(Article 39WTBO). Ingeneral itisverylimited.
2. Solicitation isregulated indetail bytheAllgemeine Auftragsbedingungen für
Wirtschaftstreuhänder -AABsetbytheChamber (seequestion 2above).
Belgium
Yes,except withrespect tothecommunication ofobjective information:
- Articles 26and27oftheRoyal Decree of10January 1994 forréviseurs (statutory
auditors);
- Articles 32to36ofthedraft Royal Decree establishing ethical rules for
experts-comptables (professional accountants).
Denmark
InDenmark, thegeneral legislation onmarketing applies. There arenospecific restrictions
onmarketing byauditing firms.
Finland
Therearenorealrestrictions.Whenadvertisingandmarketingtherequirementsofgoodbusiness
practice andhighprofessional ethics must beconsidered.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page56
Greece
Advertising isprohibited onlyforstatutory auditors.
Italy
Solicitation andadvertising byprofessional accountants areforbidden bytheethics code.
Ireland
Subject toprohibitions onpromotional material containing disparaging references/comparisons
totheservices ofothers, promotion which amounts toharassment ofaperspective client, "cold calling",
ortheprovision ofacommission/fee tothirdparties fortheintroduction ofaninvestment business
client -suchrestrictions arespecified intheEthical Guide -there arenorestrictions onmarketing,
solicitation oradvertising.
Portugal
Already answered (OECD andIFAC studies).
18. Arethere restrictions onfee-setting (minimum/maximum levels imposed, indicative scale,
etc.)?
Thisisnotregulated atCommunity level.Seeanswers inSection I.C.7 ofOECD survey
(document S/WPSS/W/4/Add.2) except forGreece andPortugal andinformation hereunder.
Austria
Regulatedminimumfees.Rulesoffee-setting(Honorarordnung)aresetbytheChamber(Article
17WTKG).
Belgium
No,therearenorestrictions inthisarea,which isgoverned bytheordinary rulesofcompetition.
Denmark
IntheDanish legislation onauditors isstated thatfeesshould bewithin reason. TheInstitute
ofState-AuthorizedPublicAccountantshassetupaspecialcommitteetodealwithcomplaintsconcerning
feescharge byState authorized public accountants.
France
Commissaires auxcomptes (statutory auditors): although feesaredetermined freely, there
isascale establishing theminimum number ofhours tobeworked according totheturnover ofthe
company audited.
There arenorestrictions onfee-setting forexperts-comptables (professional accountants).
Finland
None.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page57
Greece
There isonlyaminimum fee-setting forthestatutory auditors.
Italy
Professional: Minimum/maximum levels offeesareproposed bytheprofessional andapproved
bytheMinistry ofJustice.
Auditingfirms:CONSOBmonitorsthecongruityoffeesproposedbytheauditingfirms,having
regard tothequalitative levelofauditing performance.
Ireland
There arenorestrictions onfee-setting.
Portugal
Theruleforfee-setting iscontractual freedom. Forstatutory auditors minimum levels are
setaccording tothesizeofthefirm.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page58
IV. LICENSING REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES
19. Apart from thequalification requirements, what arethelicensing requirements for
individuals inyour country?
European Community
Inrelation toaccountants carrying outstatutory audits there arethefollowing minimum
requirements setunder Directive 84/253/EEC:
- Membership ofaprofessional body (inthejurisdiction, elsewhere): noobligation at
Community level;
- registration withtheMinistry oranyother institution: yes,approval hastobegranted
byadesignated authority orbyaprofessional association provided thattheyare
authorized bynational lawtogrant approval;
- subscription toaprofessional indemnity insurance: noobligation atCommunity level;
- taking ofanoath: noobligation atCommunity level;
- absence ofanycriminal record: yes,onlypersons ofgood repute andprofessional
integrity maybeapproved;
- police enquiry: depends ontherelevant Member State;
- minimum age: noprovision atCommunity level;
- other (please specify).
Most member States havefurther requirements: seeanswers inSection I.B.1 andpartly I.C.1
ofOECD survey (document S/WPPS/W/4/Add.2) andinformation hereunder.
Austria
1. Obligatory membership within theChamber ofPublic Accountants (Kammer für
Wirtschafstreuhänder ).
2. Professional licence (Berufsbefugnis )issued bytheOffice oftheChamber according tothe
legalrequirements concerning professional qualification; intabulation intothe"Register ofAustrian
Public Accountants" maintained bytheChamber.
3. Obligatory professional indemnity insurance (Article 16WTBO).
4. Obligatory oathbefore theMinister forEconomic Affairs (Article 21WTBO).
5. Absence ofanycriminal record necessary (Article 5WTBO).
6. Nopolice inquiry foreseen.
7. 24years bylaw;inpractice 26years forLicensed TaxAdvisor, 30years forCertified Public
Accountant (Article 4WTBO).S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page59
8. Other requirements: inparticular proof ofsound economic conditions (e.g.nobankruptcy)
(Article 6WTBO).
Belgium
- Membership ofanInstitute;
- subscription toaprofessional insurance;
- takingofanoath:forréviseurs(statutoryauditors)andexperts-comptables(professional
accountants);
- absence ofanycriminal record: yes;
- police enquiry: no;
- minimum age: 25years forréviseurs andexperts-comptables .
Denmark
StateAuthorization orcertification isissued bytheDanish Commerce andCompanies Agency
which isapartoftheMinistry ofBusiness andIndustry. Afeeispayable totheAgency foritsgranting
ofthestatus State-Authorized Public orCertified Accountant.
Theapplicant mustbedomiciled inDenmark. Thisdoesnot,however, apply toEUcitizens.
Theapplicant mustbeoflegalageandnotsubject toguardianship, notbeinsuspension ofpayments
orunder bankruptcy proceedings.
Further conditions include: thattheapplicant beinsured against anyfinancial claims which
might ariseinconnection withhis/her work asaState-Authorized Public Accountant. TheDanish
Commerce andCompanies Agency regulates thisissue, including thescope andnature oftheinsurance
anditsduration.
Certainethicalrequirementsmustbefulfilled.AnapplicationforcertificationasState-Authorized
Public orCertified Accountant maythusberejected iftheapplicant hasacriminal record involving
matters which giveground forfearthattheposition asState-Authorized Public orCertified Accountant
maybeabused. Information onthispoint isobtained from theDanish central crime register, with
theapplicant 'sconsent.
Anapplicationmayalsoberejectedifthereisreasontosuspectthattheapplicantwillnotconduct
his/her business asanaccountant inasound manner. Thebasis ofsuchassessment must bethe
applicant 'sprior performance inpositions asemployed orself-employed.
Finally, anapplication mayberejected iftheapplicant hasadebtofDKr50,000 ormore to
theState.
France
Noonemaystyle himself anexpert-comptable (professional accountant) orexercise the
profession without being amember oftheOrdre (Association).S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page60
Finland
- Membership ofaprofessional body (inthejurisdiction, elsewhere): no;
- registration withtheMinistry oranyother institution: yes;
- subscription toaprofessional indemnity insurance: no;
- taking ofanoath: no;
- absence ofanycriminal record: yes;
- policy enquiry: no;
- minimum age: no;
- other: giveanaffirmation before thecourt: yes.
Greece
Inrelation tostatutory auditors there aretherequirements setunder theEighth Company
Directive (EClegislation). Fortheaccountant -taxconsultants therequirements are:membership
ofEconomic Chamber ofGreece andabsence ofacriminal record.
Italy
- Membership ofaprofessional body (inthejurisdiction, elsewhere);
- registration withtheMinistry oranyother institution;
- subscription toaprofessional indemnity insurance (only forregulated auditing firms);
- absence ofanycriminal record.
TheMinistryofJusticeholdstheRegistrodeirevisoricontabili(registerofauditors)D.1gs88/92
andCONSOB holds thespecial register ofAudit Companies DPR 136/75.
Ireland
Seeanswer toquestions 7and9above.
Luxembourg
Natural persons must:
- Provide proof oftheirprofessional good repute;
- haveaprofessional establishment inLuxembourg;
- where theyexercise theirprofession individually, dosoonlyintheirownname, and
refrain from using anypseudonym orimpersonal title;S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page61
- refrain from exercising anyactivity thatmight infringe ontheir professional
independence andfromoccupying anysalaried postother thaninalegalentity engaged
instatutory-auditing;
- beindependent withrespect totheperson orbodywhose accounts theyarecalled upon
toaudit.
Portugal
InPortugal statutory auditors musthaveacivilliability insurance, withaminimum limitof
Esc25,000,000.
Theminimum ageis25.
Thejobofauditor totheSecurities Market, provided forinthecorresponding code, maybe
performed onlybyfirms ofstatutory auditors.
TheSecuritiesMarketCommissionhassetalimitofEsc500,000forthecivilliabilityinsurance.
20. Arethere anyconditions imposed tobeeligible formembership oftherelevant professional
body(ies)? Please specify.
Austria
ObligatorymembershipattheChamberofPublicAccountants,entryfeeandannualChamber-fee
(Kammerumlage ).
Belgium
Thereplies tothisquestion given bythedelegation oftheNetherlands arealsovalidforBelgium,
withtheexception ofthelastcondition, which isnotapplied, andthelastbutone,since there isno
entry fee,butanannual membership fee.
Germany
Thecondition ofmembership oftheprofessional bodies isthatanindividual hassuccessfully
completedtheprofessionalexaminationandhasbeenofficiallyappointedasWirtschaftsprüfer/vereidigter
Buchprüfer/Steuerberater .Ifthese conditions arefulfilled theprofessional isautomatically member
oftheprofessional body (compulsory membership) established under public law. Themembership
ofprivate organizations isvoluntary.
Denmark
Eligible formembership oftheInstitute ofState-Authorized Public Accountants andpersons
having obtained licence from theDanish Commerce andCompanies Agency. Membership canbe
retained eveniflicence isdeposited.
Asmembership oftheInstitute requires achievement oflicence, thecondition foradmission
totheInstitute ofState-Authorized Public Accountants implies thefollowing licensing conditions:
State-authorized public accountants shallbeappointed bygrant oflicence from theDanish
Commerce andCompanies Agency.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page62
Eligible forlicence isanyperson:
- Whoisresident inDenmark (orinanyother EUMember Stateorcountry which has
enacted theEESAgreement);
- whohasnotbeendeclared incapable ofmanaging hisownaffairs;
- against whom proceedings inbankruptcy havenotbeentaken;
- whohaspassed aspecial examination;
- whoforthelastthree years afterhaving completed his/her theoretical education has
beenemployed inanoffice ofaState-authorized public accountant; and
- whohasinsured against orgiven security foranyfinancial liability he/she mayincur
during his/her performance oftheduties ofaState authorized public accountant.
Criteria formembership oftheInstitute ofCertified Accountants arethefollowing:
- Accountants whoareregistered intheregister ofaccountants (revisorregisteret )in
compliancewithexistinglegislationhavetherighttomembershipoftheFRRasordinary
members (FRR Regulations §3,1);
- anaccountant canbecome anextraordinary member oftheFRR byapproval ofthe
executive board, aftertheaccountant inquestion hasrequested deletion fromtheregister
ofaccountants (FRR Regulations §3,5).
Spain
Conditions formembership ofaprofessional bodyvary, butgenerally involve payment offees
andadherence toitsrules. Sometimes aspecific academic qualification isrequired oraspecial
authorization tocarry outaudits. Nonetheless, membership ofaprofessional body doesnotimply
thatitsmembers areauditors asthisdepends onregistration withtheROAC andcompliance withthe
appropriate requirements.
France
Inorder tobeeligible formembership oftheCompagnie descommissaires auxcomptes (Society
ofStatutory Auditors), thecandidates must:
- Meettheconditions forregistration andforstatutory auditing (seereplies toquestions 9
and10);
- notbesubject toanyoftheprohibitions orforfeitures provided forintheDecree Law
of8August 1935 andtheLawof20August 1947;
- notbebanned;
- notbepersonally bankrupt (Article 186ofLawNo.85-98 of25January 1985);
- havetaken anoath(cf.Article 219-4 oftheLawof24July1966);S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page63
- payasubscription;
- notcome under anyofthegeneral disqualifications setforthinArticle 219-3 ofLaw
No.66-537 of24July1967 (violation ofindependence, salaried employment,
commercial activity) orthespecific disqualifications setforth inthelawof1996 for
different types ofcompany.
Professional body concerned: Ordre desexperts-comptables (Association ofProfessional
Accountants). Membership confirmed byentry intheOrdre 'sregister. Inaddition topossessing the
necessary qualifications, inorder tobeincluded intheregister, thecandidate must:
- BeaFrench national oranational ofaEuropean Community member State (special
procedure forforeigners);
- beinpossession ofhiscivilrights;
- nothavebeenconvicted ofanycriminal offence affecting hisgoodrepute, inparticular,
anyconviction banning himfrom managing oradministering acompany;
- possess theFrench accountancy diploma;
- provide theguarantees astogood character deemed necessary bytheOrdre ;
- beinasituation compatible withmembership oftheOrdre :suchmembership is
incompatible withanyoccupation oractthatcould infringe hisindependence, aswell
asanysalaried employment except withanother member oftheOrdre ,withany
commercial act,anyauthority toreceive, holdorhandoverfunds (Article 22ofthe
Order of19September 1945). These disqualifications alsoapply tothecandidate 's
spouse andtoallpersons having close tiestoorsubstantial interests withhim.
Members oftheOrdre working inaprivate capacity must provide abusiness address.
Experts-comptables arerequired totakeoutinsurance covering civilliability fordamage caused
inthecourse oftheirwork.
Finland
Theexamination hastobepassed before onecanbeaccepted asamember oftheprofessional
body. Themembership is,however, notcompulsory.
Greece
No.
Italy
These conditions are:nationality; residence; prioracademic qualification; honorability test;
tobeappointed toaboard ofstatutory auditors, i.e.individuals must beincluded intheregister of
auditors keptbytheMinistry ofJustice; practice andexamination.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page64
Ireland
Eachoftheaccountancybodiesimposesitsownconditionsregardingeligibilityformembership.
Thecriteria relate toeducation (passing therelevant professional examinations), satisfactory
training/professional experience, aswellasfitness formembership.
Tobeadmitted tomembership ofthisInstitute astudent hastocomplete atraining period of
atleastthree years, andbesuccessful inaseries ofexaminations toachieve therelevant professional
qualification. Tobeeligible fora"practising certificate" anindividual musthaveatleasttwoyears
relevant post-qualifying experience.
Luxembourg
Theconditions arethesameasthose setoutintheanswer toquestion 19.Inaddition, candidates
must payasubscription totheInstitut desRéviseurs d'Entreprises (Institute ofStatutory Auditors),
which isalsoempowered torequire thepayment ofaprofessional insurance premium.
TheNetherlands
Theconditions foradmission tothemembership oftheprofessional bodies are:
- Sufficient qualification;
- declaration ofgood behaviour (absence ofacriminal record);
- notbeing bankrupt;
- notbeing placed under guardianship;
- notbeing prohibited from exercising theaccountants profession bypenal sentence;
- payment ofanentry feeofNLG 250;
- ballot (objection tomembership canbemade during aperiod ofonemonth afterwhich
theCouncil oftheprofessional body willdecide).
Foreign accountants should havetheirdiplomas assessed andtakepartinanaptitude test.
Portugal
Inaddition totheabove requirements, themembership conditions forstatutory auditors stipulate
thattheymust:
- Bemorally fittopractise theprofession;
- enjoy fullcivilandpolitical rights;
- nothavebeenconvicted ofaserious offence ordeclared incapable ofadministering
persons orgoods byjudgment ofthecourt oflastresort, unless judicial rehabilitation
isobtained;S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page65
- havePortuguese nationality orinthecaseofforeigners, fulfil alltheconditions of
membership always provided thattheircountry oforigin allows Portuguese citizens
topractise theprofession corresponding tothatofauditor onequal conditions with
itsnationals.
Inaddition tothose already mentioned, themembership conditions forcertified accountants
stipulate thattheymust:
- Befittopractise theprofession;
- notbebanned ordisqualified from practising theprofession;
- nothavebeenconvicted offelony, specifically ofatax,economic orfinancial nature,
unless granted rehabilitation, nordisqualified ordeclared unfit;
- havePortuguese nationality orinthecaseofforeigners resident inPortugal, theymust
haveaknowledge ofPortuguese andmeettheremaining requirements -always provided
thatthere isreciprocal treatment intheircountry oforigin.
Sweden
Requirements formembership areapproval orauthorization from theSupervisory Board of
Public Accountants. TheSwedish Society ofRegistered Accountants alsorequires proof ofcontinuous
training.
United Kingdom
Asspecified above, eachofthesixUKaccountancy bodies imposes itsownconditions regarding
eligibility formembership. These criteria relate generally toeducation (passing theprofessional
examinations), experience andfitness formembership.
21. Arethere specific licensing requirements forprofessional firms?
(a) Minimum capital
Noobligation atCommunity level.
Finland
Only inalimited liability company -FIM15,000.
Ireland
No.
Sweden
Yes,forpublic orprivate limited companies.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page66
(b) Number ofpartners
Noobligation atCommunity level.
Finland
No.
Ireland
No.
Sweden
No.
(c) Membership ofaprofessional body
Noobligation atCommunity level.
Finland
No.
Ireland
Yes.
Sweden
No.
(d) Registration withtheMinistry oranyother institution
Yes,designated authority orprofessional associations authorized bynational lawtogrant
approval.
Finland
Yes.
Ireland
Yes.
Sweden
Yes,registration withtheSupervisory Board ofPublic Accountants inrespect ofauthorized
orapproved accountants.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page67
(e) Professional indemnity insurance
Noobligation atCommunity level.
Finland
No.
Ireland
Yes.
Sweden
Yes.
(f) With reference tonatural persons carrying outaccountancy activities onbehalf ofthefirm
Natural persons whocarry outstatutory audits onbehalf offirms ofauditors mustsatisfy the
conditions setoutintheDirective, inparticular asregards qualification requirements; member States
mayprovide thatsuchnatural persons must alsobeapproved.
Finland
No.
Ireland
Yes.
Sweden
No.
(g) With reference tovoting rights
Amajority ofvoting rights mustbeheldbynatural persons orfirms ofauditors whosatisfy
therequirements oftheDirective, inparticular asregards qualification requirements, member States
mayprovide thatsuchnatural persons must alsobeapproved.
Finland
No.
Ireland
Yes.
Sweden
No.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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(h) With reference tomanagement/administration ofthefirm
Amajority ofthemembers oftheadministrative ormanagement body ofafirmofauditors
mustbenatural persons orfirms ofauditors whosatisfy therequirements oftheDirective, inparticular
interms ofqualifications; member States mayprovide thatsuchnatural persons orfirms ofauditors
mustalsobeapproved. Where suchbodyhasnomore thantwomembers, oneofthose members must
satisfy atleastthose conditions.
Finland
Yes.
Ireland
Yes.
Sweden
Yes.
(i) Other (please specify)
Since requirements atCommunity level areminimum, most member States setoften more
detailed rules.
Austria
Particular requirements forlegal persons andpartnerships arelaiddown inArticle 7and
Article 29oftheWTBO. Ingeneral thelegalframework fornatural persons isapplicable withthe
following additional requirements:
- Firms may incorporate inthefollowing legal forms: joint-stock companies
(Aktiengesellschaft),privatelimitedcompanies(GesellschaftmitbeschränkterHaftung),
unlimited partnership (Offene Handelsgesellschaft ),limited partnership
(Kommanditgesellschaft ),registered business pool(Erwerbsgesellschaft );
- partners orshareholders, members oftheboard andlegalrepresentatives must have
Austrian orEEA citizenship, localqualification, residency inAustria;
- personal shares forjoint-stock companies;
- shareholders orpartners havetobepublic accountants ortheirhusband/wife ortheir
children;
- ownership anddecision making: more than51percentlocally qualified public
accountants, upto49percenthusband/wife andchildren;
- under GATS-commitment: foreign public accountants -whomust beauthorized
according tothelawoftheirhome country -mayonlyholdequity participation and
shares inoperating results upto25percent; inthiscasenolocalresidency, nolocal
qualification, nomembership toChamber, noAustrian orEEA citizenship.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page69
Belgium
Theconditions applicable arethose setoutin(c),(d),(e)(except forréviseurs (statutory
auditors), towhom asimilar measure willapply inthenearfuture), (f),(g)(except fornon-members,
whomayonlyholdalimited number ofshares) and(h).
InBelgium, firms ofréviseurs orexperts-comptables (professional accountants) mayactin
theirowncapacity, buttheymust obligatorily berepresented byaclearly identified natural person.
Denmark
Onspecific licensing requirements forprofessional firms, State-authorized public accountants
andcertified accountants mayonlyconduct business asaone-man business, apartnership, orasapublic
orprivate limited company.
Public andprivate accountancy companies mustfulfilthegeneral requirements oftherelevant
Danish Companies Act. Thus theymusthaveaminimum capital ofDKr500,000 andDKr125,000
respectively, andtheymust beregistered withtheDanish Commerce andCompanies Agency. The
twonational institutes impose additional requirements onpublic andprivate accountancy companies.
Inprivate orpublic accountancy companies, allboard members mustbeState-authorized public
accountants orcertified accountants. Thesame applies tocompany managers.
Theshares maybeheldonlybyState-authorized public orcertified accountants. Certain
exemptions apply tocertain employees whomayownalimited number ofshares andwho,within strict
limits, mayalsoholdvoting rights.
Nospecial insurance applies tothecompany assuch. Thecompany persecannot be
State-authorized/certified asanaccountant. Theprofessional responsibility fortheactivities carried
outrestswiththeindividual accountant personally, whoiscovered byhismandatory indemnity and
guarantee insurance.
Theobjects ofthecompany maynot,however, exceed theprofessional activities which the
accountants arepermitted toconduct under statutory regulations. Exemptions may,however, begranted
bytheDanish Commerce andCompanies Agency.
Apartnership involves bydefinition atleasttwomembers, andnorequirements apply tothe
minimum number ofmembers.
Spain
Registration ofcompanies withtheROAC requires, pursuant toArticle 10oftheLawonAudits,
that:
- Allmembers arenatural persons;
- themajority ofmembers areauditors andtheyholdthemajority ofthevoting rights
andcompany capital;
- themajority oftheadministrators anddirectors areauditors; inthecaseofasole
administrator thatperson should beanauditor.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page70
France
There arespecial requirements inthecaseofthestatutory auditing ofaccounts byfirms of
commissaires auxcomptes (statutory auditors) (Article 218oftheLawof24July1996). Forthese
firms, which arelegalpersons, authorization issubject tothefollowing criteria:
- Three quarters ofthefirm'scapital must beheldbycommissaires auxcomptes ;
- theposts ofmanager, chairman oftheboard ofdirectors, ofthesupervisory board
ormanaging director must beheldbynatural persons whoarecommissaires aux
comptes ;
- thefunctions ofcommissaires auxcomptes mayonlybeexercised within onefirm
(Article 218mentioned above);
- registration onthelistdrawn upbytheregional commission ineachplace where a
court ofappeals hasitsseat;
- registration ofthefirmwiththeclerk ofthecourt ofappeals;
- professional insurance.
Requirements fornatural persons:
There arethree general conditions (Article 3oftheaforementioned Decree):
- Domicile within thejurisdiction ofthecourt ofappeals oftheplace where itisdesired
toexercise theprofession;
- minimum ageof25years;
- satisfactory guarantees good character.
Reciprocal conditions fornon-GATS citizens:
- Professionalqualifications(recognitionofqualificationsatanequivalentlevelispossible);
- aminimum oftwoyears ofprofessional practice involving knowledge ofFrench
legislation onauditing (Article 5oftheaforementioned Decree).
Experts-comptables (professional accountants) areauthorized topractice:
- either within apartnership (sociétés civiles professionnelles (professional partnerships))
whose company name must becomposed solely ofthenames ofallthepartners;
- orincertain commercial firms (sociétés d'exercice libéral (SEL) (professional firms);
sociétés anonymes (SA)(public limited companies); sociétés àresponsabilité limitée
(SARL) (private limited companies)) thatarenamed accountancy firms.
They maynothowever practise infirms whose name implies thatthepartners aretraders (for
example sociétés ennomcollectif ,(general partnerships)).S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page71
Requirements regarding capital:
- Insociétés civiles :sociétés civiles professionnelles Article 6oftheOrder, allthe
partners must bemembers oftheOrdre (Association);
- inother companies (SA,SARL, SEL) amajority ofthecapital mustbeheldbyexperts-
comptables (thepercentage varies according totheform ofthecompany).
Firms practising theaccountancy profession areincluded inaspecial section oftheOrdre 's
Register.
Firms registered withtheOrdre enjoy thesamerights andobligations asmembers oftheOrdre
withtheexception ofvoting andeligibility rights.
Inaddition, firms musttransmit toregional councils alistoftheirmembers andanychanges
made thereto.
Italy
Professional firms
Seeanswer toquestion 3above.
Auditing firms
Auditing firms which apply toberegistered byCONSOB must comply withthefollowing
requirements:
- They maynotconduct activities other thanauditing andconsulting inaccounting
organizations when related toauditing;
- themajority ofvoting rights must restwithnatural persons registered asauditors;
- members oftheboard should nothaveviolated company criminal laworcommitted
serious criminal offences;
- aninsurance policy inoperation.
Individuals
Management restriction -legal representatives andmajority ofpartners/directors must be
registered auditors.
Ireland
No.
The"Yes/No" answers given above refertothecarrying outofstatutory audits oracting as
investment intermediaries byamember oramember firmoftheprofessional bodies. Seealsoanswer
toquestions 3and7above.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page72
Where amember ofaprofessional accountancy body iscarrying onaninsolvency practice
he/she willberequired tocarry adequate professional indemnity insurance and,inparticular types
ofassignment where control isexercised overanundertaking 'sasset, tohave adequate bonding
arrangements inplace withregard tothose assets.
Foranindividual orafirmofchartered accountants toattain thestatus of"registered auditor"
andsobepermitted tocarry outstatutory audits under theCompanies Act,1963to1990, he/they must
meetandcontinue tocomply withtheAudit Regulations promulgated bytherelevant professional body.
Greece
Regarding companies carrying outstatutory audittherequirements arethose mentioned inthe
Eighth Company Directive (EClegislation). Regarding accountancy firms allofthepartners should
bemembers oftheEconomic Chamber.
Luxembourg
Inorder toobtain alicence, legalpersons must meetthefollowing requirements:
- Have aprofessional establishment inLuxembourg;
- beanational ofaEuropean Community StateoraStatethatallows legalpersons from
Luxembourg topractise auditing without anydiscrimination incomparison withits
ownlegalpersons;
- natural persons whocarry outthestatutory auditing ofthedocuments mentioned under
Article 1onbehalf ofalegal person must meet thenecessary requirements (see
question 19)andhavetheauthority tomake undertakings onbehalf ofthelegalperson;
- themajority ofdirectors ormanagers mustbenatural persons whomeettheconditions
mentioned inquestion 19;
- themajority ofvoting rights attached totheshares ofthelegalperson must beheld
bynatural persons whomeettheaforementioned requirements orbyauthorized legal
persons.
Where necessary, theMinister forJustice maycancel thelicence granted toalegalperson that
doesnotmeet oneorother oftheabove requirements, buthemaygrant aperiod oftwoyears to
regularize thesituation:
- Where theaudit iscarried outbyalegal person, thedocuments must besigned by
anatural person whomeets therequirements laiddown;
- legalpersons maynotvoteorbeeligible formembership oftheInstitute
TheNetherlands
Firms assuchcannot actasauditors inTheNetherlands. Therefore therearenospecial licensing
requirements forfirms.
However, theprofessional bodies havemade special rules forthose members whoexercise
theprofession intheemploy ofalimited company. Thisisonlyallowed if:S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page73
- Themajority ofshares isheldbyaccountants intheemploy ofthecompany;
- themajority ofthedirectors areaccountants whoalsoholdthemajority ofthevoting
rights intheBoard ofDirectors;
- adequate provisions aremade foranindemnity insurance;
- adequate provisions aremade fortheconfidentiality offilesifthecompany isended.
Portugal
Firms ofstatutory auditors arenon-stock corporations whose members arenecessarily statutory
auditors.
Their constitution issubject topriorapproval ofthedraftarticles ofassociation bytheChamber
ofStatutory Auditors andoncesetuptheyregistered withthisbody.
They musthaveaminimum capital ofEsc400,000 andcivilliability insurance ofaminimum
amount of25,000,000 permember.
Public accountants mayalsosetupfirms ofaccountants.
Sweden
Theaccountants must beprofessionally active aspublic accountants.
United Kingdom
There arerequirements onlyfortheregulated activities setoutbelow:
RequirementRegulated area
Company auditing** Insolvency* Investment business**
Minimum capital No No No
Number ofpartners No No No
Membership of
professional body Yes Yes Yes
Registration withMinistry
orother institution Yes Yes Yes
Professional indemnity
insurance Yes Yes Yes
Re-activities ofnatural
persons within firms Yes No Yes
Onvoting rights Yes No Yes
Onmanagement and
administration Yes No Yes
Other -Bonding ofclients '
assets No Yes Yes
*Against anactivity indicates thattheindividual isregulated;
**Against anactivity indicates thatthefirmisregulated.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page74
22. Cananapplication forlicensing befiledatanytimeoftheyearorarethere specific dates
torespect? How longdoesittaketocomplete thewhole licensing procedure? Please specify in
caseofdifferences between individuals andfirms.
Seequestion C.5inIFAC survey except forGreece andPortugal.
Austria
1. Nospecific dates tobeobserved forfiling anapplication.
2. Sixmonths atmost, ingeneral onemonth.
3. Nodifferences between individuals andfirms.
Belgium
TheTraining Committee andtheLicensing Committee oftherespective Institutes fixtheexact
dates.
Denmark
Seeanswer 21above.
France
Anapplication forregistration maybemade atanytimetotheregional council oftheOrdre
(Association) intheareainwhich theindividual livesorthecompany hasitsheadoffice. Theregional
council musttakeadecision within aperiod ofthree months fromthedateoffiling oftheapplication.
Finland
KHT- andHTM-examinations arearranged onceayear. Anatural person canfileanapplication
fortheKHT- orHTM-examination yearly by30April (in1996).
Thewhole procedure takes about eight months.
Firms canfileanapplication anytimeoftheyear. Theprocedure takes about onemonth.
When thefirmfulfils theconditions laiddown, theBoard oftheCentral Chamber ofCommerce or
thecommittee ofaregional chamber ofcommerce accepts thenewapplicant.
Greece
Concerning thestatutory auditors, applications canbefiledatanytimeoftheyear, where as
theexamination takesplace onceayear. Accountants mayfileanapplication atanytimeandthelicence
procedure iscompleted in30days.
Italy
Individuals: oncequalified, application forregistration maybefiledatanytimeoftheyear.
Thesameapplies tofirms when registration inCONSOB 'sregister issought. Duration forregistration:
sixmonths forcompanies, twomonths forindividuals.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page75
Ireland
Anapplication forformal recognition as"registered auditor" or"investment intermediary"
canbemade atanytimeduring theyear. Theperiod forconsideration anddecision onsuchapplication
would usually notexceed eightweeks, theprecise period depending onthecircumstances ofeachcase.
Portugal
Theexam tobecome astatutory auditor isheldatleastonceayear.
Sweden
Anapplication forlicensing canbefiledatanytimeoftheyear. Thelicensing procedure does
normally taketwomonths.
23. Arethere differences interms oflicensing requirements and/or procedures, according
totheactivities covered bythelicence (audit, insolvency, etc.)? Please specify. What kindof
documentation isnecessary/accepted? Aredocuments issued inother countries acceptable? Please
specify.
European Community
Licensing requirements under theEighth Directive 84/253/EEC onlyapply tostatutory auditors
orfirms ofstatutory auditors. Bydefinition, theyapply toallaccountants orfirms ofaccountants,
which are,interalia,entitled tocarry outstatutory audits.
Directive 89/48/EEC, which onlyapplies incases where individuals whoarenationals of
ECmember States move within theCommunity, provides thatincases where thehostmember State
requires proof ofgood character orrepute orthattheapplicant hasnotbeendeclared bankrupt, or
where acertificate thattheincoming professional isofgood physical ormental health isrequired by
thehostState, thehostmember Stateisobliged torecognize documents issued forthatpurpose inthe
member Statefromwhich theincoming professional comes. Thehostmember Statemayrequire that
thedocuments arepresented nomore thanthree months aftertheirdateofissue.
Austria
1. Licensing covers thewhole spectrum ofactivities oftherespective profession. Thespectrum
ofactivities isdefined bylaw(WTBO).
2. Arestriction toparticular activities -e.g.withrelation toprofessional examination orproof
ofcompetence -isnotpossible.
3. Nospecific regulation regarding acceptance ofdocumentation issued inother countries asfar
astheyallow adecision. Theessential documents havetobetranslated intoGerman.
Belgium
Partnership withaforeign réviseur (statutory auditor) isallowed onlyifthelatter'squalifications
arerecognized asequivalent inaccordance withtheEighth Directive.
Ineachinstance, theCouncil oftheInstitute requires proof oftheprofessional qualifications
oftheperson concerned inhiscountry oforigin, together withacertificate showing thathehasbeenS/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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responsible foraudits (Articles 4teroftheLawof22July1953). Asimilar procedure isprovided
forexperts-comptables (professional accountants) inArticle 3oftheRoyal Decree of22November 1990
ondiplomas.
Germany
Once theprofessional hasbeen officially appointed asWirtschaftsprüfer/vereidgter
Buchprüfer/Steuerberater bytheHighest LandAuthority hehastherighttoperform alltypesofactivities
towhich heisauthorized. There arenodifferences interms oflicensing requirements and/or procedures
according totheactivities covered bytheappointment.
France
Asaccountancy andauditing aretwodifferent professions, therequirements forregistration
andpractice differ. Membership oftheOrdre desexperts-comptables (Association ofProfessional
Accountants) allows allactivities covered bytheOrdre 'smonopoly tobepractised without restriction
(bookkeeping, centralization, organization andchecking ofaccounts ...).
Thesame requirements forlicensing andregistration onthelistapply tocommissaires aux
comptes (statutory auditors), bothinrelation totheirgeneral auditing tasks andspecific duties such
asimplementing theearly-warning procedure (insolvency cases) (Article 29,Lawof1March 1984).
Finland
None. Only auditing iscovered bythelicence.
Natural persons havetogiveproof of:
- Working experience;
- basic education;
- studies; and
- examination.
Foreign documentation isaccepted incertain parts.
Italy
Yes. Differences interms oflicensing requirements andprocedures:
Individuals
Requirements andprocedures forbeing registered intheAlboofDottori Commercialisti and
intheAlboofRagionieri ePeriti Commerciali areprovided forrespectively byDPRNo.1067dated
27October 1953 andDPR No.1068 dated 27October 1953 modified byLawof12February 1992
No.193(seeanswer toquestion 9above).
Documentation: citizenship, residence, civilrights, professional exam. Documents issued
inother countries inprinciple areaccepted onlywhen mutual recognition isoperating.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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Auditing firms
Thefollowing documentation isrequired fortheregistration inCONSOB 'sregister:
- Acopyofthememorandum ofincorporation;
- insurance policy;
- registration 'scertificate asauditor forthemajority ofthepartners andboard 'smembers;
- copyofappointment asboard 'smembers andinternal auditors members, withtheir
relevant filenumbers;
- copyoffinancial statements, including theboard ofdirectors report andinternal auditors
report ofthelastthree years. Foreign firms operating inItalyhaving apermanent
organization mustprovide, inaddition toitsannual accounts, thefinancial statements
ofthefirm;
- report onthefirm'shistory, organizational andoperational structure anditsrelevant
means, offices, staff, distinct bycategories; listofauditing contracts completed and
those currently undertaken andanyother useful information which maydemonstrate
ethical qualifications, efficient organization andadequate technical skillinItalyand
abroad.
Thefollowing documentation isrequired forregistration ofprofessional auditor attheMinistry
ofJustice 'sRegister:
Forindividuals
- Domicile inItaly;
- absence oforders ofdisqualification orsuspension formanagerial postsincorporations
andcompanies; absence ofprecautionary measures andcustodial sentences forspecific
offences;
- university degree orprofessional school certificate afteracourse which lastsatleast
three years, covering economic, business orlegalsubjects;
- athree-year training period intheauditing ofcompany balance sheets andconsolidated
balance sheets withanauditor orapublic official engaged inauditing activities;
- passing awritten andoralexam onthefollowing subjects: accounting, management
accounting, company balance sheets andconsolidated balance sheets, auditing of
company books andbalance sheets, civilandcommercial law,bankruptcy law,tax
law,labour andsocial security law,information andcomputer technology, economics
andbusiness management, basicprinciples infinancial management, mathematics and
statistics.
Forcompanies
- Astanding headoffice orother office inItaly;S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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- thecompany 'spurpose must belimited toauditing andaccounting organization;
- thelegalrepresentatives responsible forauditing andthemajority ofdirectors must
beregistered auditors;
- inassociation ofpersons (partnership andlimited partnerships) themajority ofmembers
calculated onthebasis oftheirnumbers andshares mustbeconstituted byregistered
auditors;
- incapital companies (public companies), società inaccomandita perazioni ,private
companies) registered auditors musthavethemajority ofvoting rights inthemembers
meetings; inpublic companies andinsocietà inaccomandita perazioni registered
shares andnotbyendorsement.
Theimplementation regulations provided forbytheaforesaid decree arebeing drawn upand
shalllaydown thepapers required forregistration.
Ireland
Forauditing therequirements are:
(a) Evidence ofvoting majority ofprincipals inpossession ofauditing qualification
recognized bytheState inaccordance withtheEUEighth Directive;
(b) evidence ofpossession ofprofessional indemnity insurance cover;
(c) application forlicence instandard form which creates aregulatory contract between
theprofessional body andthefirm.
Forinvestment business, therequirements are:
(a) Evidence ofmembership ofprofessional body orofanundertaking toaccept its
standards anddiscipline;
(b) evidence ofpossession ofprofessional indemnity insurance cover;
(c) application forlicence instandard form which creates aregulatory contract between
theprofessional body andthefirm.
Luxembourg
Seequestion 9.
Portugal
Already answered (IFAC study).
Sweden
There arenodifferences inthisrespect. Diplomas andcertificates oftheoretical andpractical
education issued inother countries areacceptable.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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United Kingdom
IntheUKthere arenodifferences inlicensing requirements related totheactivity which the
individual/firm wishes toconduct: audit, insolvency orinvestment business.
1. Statutory auditing
Under theCompanies Act1989, acompany musthaveitsannual accounts audited byasole
practitioner, apartnership oracorporate practice which hasbeenregistered byoneoftheRecognised
Supervisory Bodies (RSBs). Thefollowing bodies havebeengranted RSBstatus bytheDepartment
ofTrade andIndustry:
- TheInstitute ofChartered Accountants inEngland andWales (ICAEW);
- theInstitute ofChartered Accountants ofScotland (ICAS);
- theInstitute ofChartered Accountants inIreland (ICAI);
- theChartered Association ofCertified Accountants (ACCA);
- theAssociation ofAuthorised Public Accountants (AAPA).
Thefirststepforanon-EU national wishing toundertake audit work intheUnited Kingdom
istoestablish whether he/she hasanappropriate qualification asdefined bytheAct.
Once aforeign accountant hasestablished thathe/she holds anappropriate qualification, he/she
hastoapply toanRSBforregistration asacompany auditor. Theapplicant mustalsocomply with
rules relating to:
(a) Theownership andcontrol ofregistered auditors;
(b) thefitandproper status ofregistered auditors;
(c) theindependence andintegrity ofregistered auditors;
(d) registered auditors 'compliance withtechnical standards;
(e) themaintenance ofcompetence byregistered auditors;
(f) registered auditors 'ability tomeetclaims arising from audit work.
2. Insolvency practice
Under theprovisions oftheInsolvency Act1986 andtheInsolvency (Northern Ireland)
Order 1989, allpersons wishing toundertake insolvency appointments inrelation toUnited Kingdom
registered companies must holdaninsolvency licence.
Thenormal routeforholders ofaccountancy qualifications obtained outside theUnited Kingdom
istoapply totheSecretary ofState forTrade andIndustry (orasappropriate theMinister ofState
forEconomic Development inNorthern Ireland) foralicence.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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InthecaseoftheInsolvency Act1986, applicants mustpassanexamination ininsolvency set
bytheJointInsolvency Examination Board, andmustapply totherelevant Recognized Professional
Body foralicence.
3. Investment services
Under theprovisions oftheFinancial Services Act1986anyfirm(including asoletrader) that
wishes tocarry oninvestment business must beauthorized todoso.Authorizations aregranted on
thebasis ofexperience requirements andarequirement thatapplicants are"fitandproper" persons;
inaverylimited number ofcases, proof ofcapital adequacy mayalsoberequired. Investment business
forwhich authorization isrequired, asdefined intheAct,covers awidespanofinvestment activity
including giving investment advice, managing investments andarranging investment deals.
Holders ofaccountancy qualifications obtained outside theUnited Kingdom must either be
covered bytheiremployer 'sauthorization orwillneedtoapply tooneoftheSROs orRPBs ifthey
wishtoengage ininvestment business asdefined bytheAct.
Theappropriate route forauthorization willbedetermined bythenature oftheactivities
undertaken bythefirm,bytheamount ofinvestment business tobecarried out,andbythequalifications
ofthose principals managing thefirm. Authorization isgranted toindividuals andtofirms, depending
ontheroute taken.
24. What happens when thelicensing conditions arenolonger respected bytheindividual
orthefirm?
European Community
Under Directive 84/253/EEC member States mustseetoitthatpersons whocarry outstatutory
auditaredoing soinaproper wayespecially asregards professional integrity andindependence. Where
therequirements inrelation tonatural persons carrying outstatutory audits onbehalf ofafirmorin
relation tovoting rights andmembers oftheadministrative ormanagement bodyofafirmarenolonger
fulfilled theapproval ofafirmofauditors must bewithdrawn.
Belgium
Thedisciplinary board ofeachinstitute maycancel thelicence given toanindividual orfirm.
Germany
Incases where thelicensing conditions arenolonger respected theofficial appointment ofa
professional ortheofficial recognition asaprofessional firmistoberevoked bytheHighest Land
Authority. Inaddition, disciplinary measures (i.e.areprimand, afine,exclusion fromtheprofession)
maybetaken.
Spain
FailuretoabidebytherequirementslaiddownforregistrationwiththeROACbynaturalpersons
orauditing firms willentail temporary ordefinitive removal fromtheregister depending onwhether
thecause canberemedied ornot.
Voluntary resignation, administrative sanction (temporary ordefinitive removal), death orthe
winding-up ofthecompany mayresult inremoval fromtheROAC (Article 33oftheAudit Regulation).S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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Failure tomaintain theguarantees forexercise oftheactivity (insurance, deposit orspecial
guarantee laiddown inArticle 35oftheRegulation) willentail removal ofthefirmsinceonlypractising
auditors mayberegistered. Inthecaseofnatural persons theabsence oftheguarantees willnotentail
removal from theregister butcancellation ofregistration asapractising auditor andregistration as
anon-practising auditor oraprovider ofservices onbehalf ofathirdparty.
France
Ifacommissaire auxcomptes (statutory auditor) nolonger meets therequirements laiddown
fortheprofession, hemaybesubject todisciplinary sanctions andcriminal proceedings andsuspended
orstruck offthelist.
Forlegalpersons, thedecision onstriking offestablishes theliquidation ofthefirmandorders
thatitshould bewound up.
Experts-comptables(professionalaccountants):Fornaturalorlegalpersons,theRegionalCouncil
oftheOrdre (Association) towhich theaccountant belongs mayrequire himtoregularize hissituation
and,ifthisisnotdone, maydecide tostrike himofftheOrdre 'slistofmembers, either through the
application ofadisciplinary sanction orapenal sentence, orexofficio (failure topayprofessional
subscriptions ortomeetthecriteria forremaining onthelist).
Finland
Cancellation ofauthorization. Alsosanctions, warning andremark, canbeused. TheAuditing
Board oftheStatehasto,onthemotion oftheAuditing Board oftheCentral Chamber ofCommerce,
cancel theauthorization, where anauditor isnolonger professionally qualified ordoesnotmeetother
requirements forauthorization. Thesame applies where anauditor hasdeliberately oroutofgross
negligence violated against theAuditing Actoranyprovisions prescribed byvirtue thereof, orhas,
inspiteofawarning, repeatedly violated hisduties asanauthorized auditor.
Greece
Disciplinary oradministrative sanctions.
Italy
Individuals: disciplinary penalties (temporary suspension, striking off).
Firms: measures byCONSOB (temporary suspension, striking off): seeabove.
Ireland
Apparent non-compliance with, forexample, relevant auditing standards, would beexamined,
inthefirstinstance, byamember ofthisInstitute 'sMonitoring Unit. Thematter (together withthat
person 'sfindings) would bereferred totheAudit Registration Committee fordecision. TheCommittee
could restrict, suspend, orwithdraw registration. Depending onthecircumstances, thematter may
alsobereferred totheInvestigation andDisciplinary Committee.
Allfirms arevisited onafive-year cycle.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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Inthecaseofalltheprofessional bodies, iftheconditions/requirements under which entitlement
topractise asa"registered auditor" oractas"investment intermediary" arenolonger met,thenfollowing
necessary investigation, thelicence topractise intheparticular areawould bewithdrawn.
Luxembourg
TheMinister forJustice maywithdraw thelicence ofpersons whonolonger meetoneofthe
conditions.
Nevertheless, hemaygrant legalpersons thatnolonger fulfiloneand/or other ofthefollowing
requirements aperiod oftwoyears inwhich toregularize theirsituation:
- Themajority ofdirectors ormanagers mustbenatural persons whomeetthestipulated
requirements;
- themajority ofvoting rights attached totheshares ofthelegalperson must beheld
bynatural persons whomeettherequirements orbyauthorized legalpersons.
Withdrawal ofalicence leads tostriking offthelistoftheInstitut desRéviseurs d'Entreprises
(Institute ofStatutory Auditors).
TheNetherlands
When anaccountant doesnotrespect thelicensing conditions theprofessional bodymaylodge
acomplaint withtheDisciplinary Board. Ifthecomplaint isfound valid thismayleadtosuspension
orexpulsion ofthemember andtosuspension ordeletion ofhisinscription intheaccountants register
(hislicence). Onecanappeal todecisions oftheDisciplinary Board attheCollege vanBeroep voor
hetbedrijfsleven (Court ofappeal forthebusiness sector).
Anindividual accountant isresponsible totheprofessional body thattherules forfirms (see
question 21)arerespected.
Portugal
Asalready stated, statutory auditors andcertified accountants mustregister withtheprofession 's
disciplinary bodies prior totaking uptheirprofessional activities.
Sweden
Theauthorization/approval isrevoked.
United Kingdom
Iftheconditions arenolonger met,thenthelicence topractise intheparticular areais
withdrawn. Depending onthereasons forthewithdrawal, membership oftheprofessional bodymay
alsobelost.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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V. RECOGNITION OFQUALIFICATIONS
25. Arethere anypossibilities fortaking account ofqualifications acquired byforeign
professionals inanother country? Arethere bilateral agreements withother countries inthis
respect?
European Community
Fornationals ofECmember States, whoholdadiploma inaccountancy delivered inan
ECmember State, orwhoholdadiploma obtained inathirdcountry which hasalready beenrecognized
byanECmember Stateandwhohaveacquired additional professional experience inthatmember State
(atleastthree years), andwhomove from onemember State toanother, theGeneral System forthe
Recognition ofProfessional Qualifications, andinparticular Directive 89/48/EEC onageneral system
fortherecognition forhigher-education diplomas awarded oncompletion ofprofessional education
andtraining ofatleastthree years'duration, applies.
Foraccess toanaccountancy profession thefirstrecognition ofthirdcountry diplomas held
bynationals ofECmember States andtherecognition ofdiplomas heldbynationals ofthirdcountries
isgoverned bythelegislation ofmember States andagreements orarrangements concluded bymember
States orprofessional bodies. According toDirective 84/253 member States mayapprove asstatutory
auditors persons whohaveobtained allorpartoftheirqualifications inathirdcountry provided they
consider thequalifications equivalent tothose required under thelawoftherelevant member State
inaccordance withDirective 84/253 andiftheincoming professionals candemonstrate thattheyhave
acquired thelegalknowledge required inthatmember State forpurposes ofstatutory audit.
Forexplanatory noteonCommunity System ontherecognition ofprofessional qualification
ofprofessionalswhoareECnationals,seeCommunicationindocumentS/WPPS/W/3.Forarrangements
made bymember States, other thantheECGeneral System, seeresponses contained inSection B.5
andB.6ofOECDsurvey(documentS/WPPS/W/4/Add.2)exceptforGreece,Italy,PortugalandFinland;
Ireland, Luxembourg andBelgium inpart,andtheinformation hereunder.
Austria
1. Recognition (Nostrifikation )ofuniversity studies, recognition ofprofessional practice, both
onanindividual basis.
2. Inanycasenocredit forprofessional examination.
3. There existnobilateral agreements.
Belgium
Yes. Thereference concerning theIREistoArticle 4teroftheLawof22July1953 and
Article 14ofthetraining regulations. Thereference concerning theIECistoArticle 3oftheRoyal
Decree of22November 1990 ondiplomas.
Germany
Forrecognition ofqualifications acquired byforeign professional inanother country thereare
noother arrangements thantheEUGeneral System (Directive fortheRecognition ofHigher Education
Diplomas 89/48/EEC). There arenobilateral agreements withother countries.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page84
Denmark
Danish legislation allows recognition ofState-authorized public andcertified accountants from
thirdcountries whoareabletodocument thattheyhavecompleted studies inanother country which
arecomparable withtheDanish course required forState-authorized public orcertified accountants,
andwhootherwise fulfiltheconditions required togainthestatus ofState-authorized public orcertified
accountant.
Nobilateral agreement exists withanyother country concerning automatic mutual approval
ofState-authorized public orcertified accountants.
France
Commissaires auxcomptes (statutory auditors)
Yes,inaccordance withthesystem fortheverification ofqualifications. Seethereply to
question 10.
Experts-comptables (professional accountants)
Anaptitude testisprovided forthepurpose ofverifying qualifications:
- Forallcandidates nationals ofanon-member StateoftheEuropean Community who
request registration andarenotinpossession ofaFrench accountancy diploma;
- forcitizens ofmember States oftheEuropean Community when theyhavereceived
training thatfocuses onsubjects thataresubstantially different fromthose intheFrench
accountancy diploma programme orwhen theState inwhich theypractised the
profession doesnotregulate theprofession orregulates itdifferently.
Finland
Yes,acitizen ofaState oftheEuropean Economic Area withprofessional qualification in
anymember country oftheEEAmaybeauthorized asaKHT-accountant. Prior totheauthorization,
theapplicant mustpassapartoftheexamination ofprofessional competence asspecified bytheAuditing
Board oftheCentral Chamber ofCommerce andgiveanaffirmation before theCourt.
Theabove-mentioned applies equally toHTM accountants.
Incaseaperson doesnothaveanauthorization foranaccountant intheEEA hehastofulfil
thegeneral requirements forauthorization according totheAuditing Act.
Greece
The"Diploma Directive" applies. There arenobilateral agreements.
Italy
Firstquestion: Yes. Under theconditions provided fortheEUlegislations.
Second question: No.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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Ireland
Asnoted inanswer 8above, theMinister forEnterprise andEmployment isentitled togrant
"registered auditor" status toaperson whoholds anauditqualification granted under thelawofanother
country. TheMinister must besatisfied thattheperson applying "...has anadequate knowledge of
thelawandpractice intheState relevant totheaudit ofaccounts ...". Furthermore, Section 189of
theCompanies Act,1990, specifically empowers theMinister tosimilarly recognise thequalification
ofpersons whohold:
(a) aqualification entitling them toaudit accounts under thelawofaspecified country
outside theState; or
(b) aspecified accountancy qualification recognized under thelawofacountry outside
theState.
Before making suchadecision, theMinister:
(a) Must besatisfied thatthequalification concerned isofastandard notlessthanis
required bythecompanies actstoqualify aperson forappointment asauditor ofa
company orapublic auditor; and
(b) Maydirect thatsuchaperson should notbetreated asqualified forthepurposes of
Subsection (1)unless heholds suchadditional education qualifications astheMinister
mayspecify forthepurpose ofensuring thatsuchpersons haveanadequate knowledge
ofthelawandpractice intheState relevant totheaudit ofaccounts; and
(c) Mayhaveregard totheextent towhich persons qualified under thecompanies acts,
forappointment asauditor ofacompany orapublic auditor arerecognized bythelaw
ofthecountry inquestion asqualified toaudit accounts there.
Luxembourg
Seequestions 3and11.
Portugal
Wedohavetherequisite information toanswer these questions.
United Kingdom
TheIFAC survey suggests fortheICAEW/ICAS/ICAI thatalllocalrequirements havetobe
metbythird country nationals. However, thethree Institutes ofChartered Accountants intheUK
(theInstitute ofChartered Accountants inEngland andWales, theInstitute ofChartered Accountants
ofScotland andtheInstitute ofChartered Accountants inIreland) have reciprocal membership
arrangements with:
- TheInstitute ofChartered Accountants inAustralia;
- NewZealand Society ofAccountants;
- theSouth African Institute ofChartered Accountants;
- theCanadian Institute ofChartered Accountant.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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Members ofeachofthese bodies canbecome members oftheICAEW/ICAS/ICAI subject to
passinganaptitudetestinareasofdifferencebetweentheiroriginalqualificationandtheUnitedKingdom
chartered accountants qualification. TheACCA hasareciprocal membership arrangement withthe
NewZealand Society ofAccountant.
26. Arethere anyautomatic recognition ormutual recognition agreements between your
professional bodies andtheir counterparts inother countries? Ifso,please specify themain
characteristics ofsuchagreements; ifnot,please explain why.
There isnorecognition offoreign (i.e.non-EC nationals) qualifications assuchatCommunity
level;thisisexercised bythemember States.
AtCommunity levelthebenefits ofthe"Diploma Directive" areextended totheEEAcountries.
With thecountries withwhom theEuropean Community anditsmember States have concluded
association agreements, thepossibility toconsider thebenefits ofthe"Diploma Directive" hasbeen
foreseen butnoconcrete action hasbeenundertaken.
Seeanswers inC.10 ofIFAC survey.
Agreements/arrangements bymember States
Austria
No.Theprofessional bodies, inparticular theChamber, arenotentitled toconclude legally
binding agreements.
Belgium
No.
Germany
There arenoagreements onmutual recognition.
Denmark
Thepositions asState-authorized public accountant andcertified accountant areregulated by
lawandthecompetence torecognise accountants from other countries isvested inthecompetent
authority, theDanish Commerce andCompanies Agency.
France
Inprinciple, no.France has,however, concluded agreements withcertain French-speaking
African countries tofacilitate access bynationals oftheseStates tovarious services activities (including
professional services).
Finland
No.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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Greece
No.
Italy
There arenomutual recognition provisions fornon-EU accountants andbetween professional
bodies, since thatisnotallowed bynational law.
Ireland
Inaddition totheInstitute ofChartered Accountants inIreland andtheInstitute ofCertified
Public Accountants inIreland, thethree GB-based professional accountancy bodies referred toin
answer No.4arerecognized bytheMinister forEnterprise andEmployment asprofessional bodies
whose members mayqualify toholdapractising certificate toactasstatutory auditor.
Similar mutual recognition isgranted under theGBCompanies Act,1985, totheInstitute of
Chartered Accountants inIreland.
TheMutual Recognition Directive permits astatutory auditor, whoisrecognized inanother
member State toapply forrecognition asstatutory auditor intheRepublic ofIreland. Theperson 's
qualification isobjectively assessed inrelation tothescope ofeachmember State'sdomestic legislation.
Thenormal conversion testapplied isthatofcompany lawandtaxation.
Portugal
Answers havealready beenprovided forstatutory auditors andcertified accountants. The
professions ofstatutory auditor andcertified accountant andthefirms setupbythemaretheonlyones
forwhich thereisspecial legislation, thesalient points ofwhich havebeendescribed inthisdocument.
External audit firms aresetupinaccordance withthegeneral lawapplicable tocommercial firms.
Hence there arenospecial rules governing theconstitution offirms ofthistypebyforeign national.
Wehavetherefore notanswered Sections VItoVIIofthequestionnaire.
Sweden
There are-except fortheagreement withtheNordic countries -nosuchagreements. The
professional bodies areonlyopenforaccountants thathaveacquired approval orauthorization from
theSupervisory Board orPublic Accountants.
United Kingdom
Seeadditional answer given under question 25.
27. Where possibilities oftaking account offoreign qualifications exist, isafulllocal
examination oralocal training exceeding 12months required? Pease specify. Isalocal licence
always necessary topractice aregulated accountancy activity? Please specify when thisisnot
thecase.
Seeanswers toquestions B.5and6oftheOECD Categorized Inventory (document
S/WWPS/W/4/Add.2) except forFinland, Greece, ItalyandPortugal andadditional information
hereunder.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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Austria
1. Ingeneral afulllocalprofessional examination isnecessary. Thisrelates inanycasetonatural
persons ("sole practitioners") andtoshareholders orpartners whoholdmore than25percentequity
participation andshares intheoperating results.
2. Thelocal professional qualification iswaived forshareholders upto25percentunder the
GATS-commitment provided theyarefullyauthorized fortheprofessional activities according tothe
lawoftheirhome country.
3. Whether localtraining asanemployed person isuseful, islefttotheapplicant. Inanycase
ithastobeconsidered asadditional totheprofessional examination. There exists noparticular
regulation.
4. Alocallicence (fornatural persons) oralocaladmittance (forlegalpersons andpartnerships)
andintabulation intotheRegister ofAustrian Public Accountants isalways necessary. Theonly
exemption under theAustrian GATS-commitment relates toforeign qualified shareholders (see
answer 27.1above) andtoforeign professionals moving intoandtemporarily staying inAustria to
provide specific services (seeanswer 35.2).
Belgium
TheConseil Supérieur duRévisorat etdel'Expertise comptable (Auditing andAccounting
Council) hasexpressed anopinion onthedraftRoyal Decrees amending theRoyal Decrees ontraining,
examination programmes andcriteria, anddiplomas foraccountancy candidates respectively (Annual
Report 93/94 -CSREC).
Denmark
Theanswer isintwoparts, oneapplying toaccountants covered byDirective 89/48/EEC, and
oneapplying toaccountants from thirdcountries.
WithregardtoaccountantscoveredbyDirective89/48/EEC,themaximumrequirementsapplying
arethattheymust passaqualifying testinwhich theymust demonstrate theirknowledge ofDanish
law,administrative practice andcourt decisions, including solving thepractical tasks which Danish
State-authorized public accountants normally meet. Theassessment isconcrete, thusdispensing with
therequirement foraqualifying testinanysingle case.
Withregard toaccountants fromathirdcountry, therearenofixedprocedures forrecognition,
andthedecision togrant orreject anapplication forrecognition willtherefore bebased entirely on
thecaseinquestion.
France
There isanaptitude testfornationals ofnon-member States oftheEC.Fornationals ofmember
States oftheEuropean Community, theaptitude testonlyapplies ifthecandidate 'straining focused
onsubjects thataresubstantially different from those studied fortheFrench diploma orifhisState
oforigin doesnotregulate access totheaccounting profession, orregulates itdifferently. Thedetails
oftheaptitude testarefixed bydecree. Thetestcomprises awritten examination onthelawand
professional regulation (QCM) andanoralexamination onregulation andprofessional practice.
Professionals arenotrequired toundergo anyon-the-job training.
Alocallicence isalways required inorder topractise asanaccountant.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page89
Finland
Afulllocalexamination isnotrequired forcitizens fromtheEuropean Economic Area(EEA).
Acitizen ofaStateoftheEEAwithprofessional qualification inanyStateoftheEEAmaybeauthorized
asanauditor. Priortotheauthorization, theapplicant mustpassapartoftheexamination ofprofessional
competence asspecified bytheAuditing Board oftheCentral Chamber ofCommerce andgivethe
affirmation before theCourt. Theauthorization forKHT- orHTM-accountant isrequired forcitizens
coming outside theEEA.
Greece
Nationality requirement exists inrelation tostatutory auditors. Asfarastheaccountant -
taxconsultants areconcerned, theissueisunder consideration sothattheexact conditions forlicensing
tobemetbytheforeign professionals willbespecified.
Italy
Second question: Yes
Ireland
Seeanswertoquestion25above.ItwillbenecessarytoholdtheIrishqualificationof"registered
auditor" or"investment intermediary" ifwishing toprovide statutory auditing services orinvestment
advice intheRepublic ofIreland.
Portugal
Seeanswer toquestion 26.
United Kingdom
Forthearrangement outlined inquestion 25,thenormal route tomembership isviaawritten
testtoexamine knowledge ofUKbusiness law(lawofcontract, company law,UKlegalsystem), UK
taxation, Accounting Standards Committee, Accounting Standards Board pronouncements, professional
ethics. Thewritten examination mayalsobesupplemented byanoralexam. Each oftheUK
professional bodies withrecognition arrangements hasresponsibility forsetting eligible candidates its
owntestformembership.
28. What aretheaccreditation/licensing requirements imposed onforeign professionals
authorized topractice intheir home country? Maycertain (regulated) activities becarried out
onthebasis ofaforeign licence?
Seeanswer toquestion I.B.3ofOECD Categorized Inventory (document S/WPPS/W/4/Add.2);
IFAC survey Sections C.7and8andadditional answers hereunder.
Austria
1. Under theAustrian lawlicensing/accreditation covers thewhole legally defined range of
professional activities fortheprofession "certified public accountancy" or"licensed taxadvisory".
Foreign professionals haveingeneral tomeetalltherequirements setbylaw.Anexemption ofcertain
requirements maytakeplace under theGATS-commitments, inparticular forshareholders upto
25percent.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page90
2. Itisnotpossible tobeadmitted onlytocertain professional activities within thewhole
professional spectrum either thatofcertified public accountant (Beeideter Wirtschaftsprüfer und
Steuerberater )oroflicensed taxconsultant (Seuklerberater ).Admittance therefore isonlypossible
iftheapplicant meets theprofessional qualifications forthewhole range ofprofessional activities.
Belgium
Forréviseurs (statutory auditors), Article 4terofthe1953basic Lawestablishing an(Institut
desRéviseurs d'entreprises (Institute ofStatutory Auditors) isapplicable, together withtheRoyal Decree
of14February 1989 (Moniteur Belge of10March 1989) prescribing theconditions foraccreditation
ofnon-residents, especially Article 2,§2and3,concerning thetypes ofattestation tobegiven totheir
nationals byforeign authorities regarding theirprofessional competence andintegrity andtobeused
insupport oftheirrequest foradmission totheIRE. Thetraining regulations contained intheRoyal
Decree of13October 1987(Moniteur Belge of23December 1987) dealwiththerecognition ofdiplomas
granted abroad (Article 14)aswellasexemption frompractical training forpersons considered tohave
obtained abroad aqualification equivalent tothatofréviseur d'entreprises (Article 24,§2).
Forexperts-comptables (statutory accountants), theapplicable provisions areArticles 72,§3,
73and74oftheLawof21February 1985 establishing thegeneral framework foradmission tothe
Institute, subsequently implemented byArticle 8oftheRoyal Decree of14June1985 setting outthe
conditions foradmission offoreign members andArticle 11defining therecognition oftheir
qualifications.
TheRoyal Decree of20April 1990onpractical training foraccountancy candidates contains
aprovisionallowingforeigncandidateswhosequalificationsobtainedabroadmeettherecognitioncriteria
tobeexempted frompractical training. Thisprovision wasreaffirmed inArticle 12oftheRoyal Decree
of20April 1990establishing theprogramme andtherequirements forthequalifying examination for
experts-comptables .
Germany
Foreign professionals whowish topractice regulated activities intheFederal Republic of
Germany are only entitled todothis after having obtained the qualification as
Wirtschaftsprüfer/vereidigter Buchprüfer orSteuerberater .Theconditions arethesame assetfor
German applicants. EUnationals mayobtain thelicence bysitting theaptitude testassetoutinthe
Directive 89/48/EEC. Fortheexercise ofnon-regulated activities anational licence isnotrequired.
Denmark
Totheextent thatStateauthorized public accountants andcertified accountants actasaccountants
inanother country, theyareexpected toconduct theirbusiness inamanner which complies withthe
regulations applying toState-authorized public accountants andcertified accountants under Danish
jurisdiction. Thiswilltherefore alsoapply toforeign accountants whohave gained thestatus of
State-authorized public orcertified accountants onthebasis oftheirexamination papers from their
various countries oforigin.
France
Forcommissaires auxcomptes (statutory auditors)
Thesame conditions asthose applying tonationals. Requirements fortherecognition of
diplomas: seethereply toquestion 10.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page91
Experts-comptables (professional accountants)
These professionals must beregistered onthelistoftheOrdre desexperts-comptables
(Association ofProfessional Accountants) inorder tobeabletopractise.
Finland
Acitizen ofaStateoftheEuropean Economic Areawithprofessional qualification inanyState
oftheEuropean Economic Areamaybeauthorized asaKHT-accountant. Prior totheauthorization,
theapplicant mustpassapartoftheexamination ofprofessional competence asspecified bytheAuditing
Board oftheCentral Chamber ofCommerce andgiveanaffirmation before theCourt.
Greece
Seeanswer given toquestion 27.
Italy
Firstquestion
Requirements
Onthebasis ofEUDirective 89/48/EEC.
Individuals
Toberesident inItaly; tohaveaneducational background equivalent totheItalian one; to
obtain themutual recognition ofhis/her foreign qualification orprofessional (orfunctional) title; to
passanaptitude test;toobtain thelocalprofessional title; toberegistered ontheprofessional register.
Auditing firms
Aforeign auditing firmmusthaveapermanent organization inItalyinorder tobeabletoobtain
registration intheCONSOB 'sspecial register anditshould comply withrequirements mentioned under
answer toquestion 23above.
Second question
No.
Ireland
Seeanswer toquestions 25and27above.
Luxembourg
ThereisnodiscriminationeitheragainstnationalsoftheCommunityofcourseoragainstnationals
ofother countries provided thattheircountry oforigin allows Luxembourg nationals topractise the
profession ofauditor without discrimination incomparison withitsownnationals.
Inanyevent,thepersonsconcernedmustmeettherequirementsdescribedabove(seeinparticular
thereplies toquestions 9and11).S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page92
Auditing maybepractised onthebasisofalicence obtained inanother country, butthepersons
concerned mustsubmit acertificate attesting thattheyhavepassed withsuccess anaptitude testrelating
toLuxembourg law(forfurther details, seethereply toquestion 9).
Portugal
Seeanswer toquestion 26.
United Kingdom
Inthecaseofaudit, theSecretary ofState haspower under Section 33oftheCompanies
Act1989 torecognize overseas audit qualifications andmaydeclare thatpersons who:
- Arequalified toauditaccounts under thelawofaspecified country orterritory outside
theUnited Kingdom; or
- holdaspecified professional qualification inaccountancy recognized under thelaw
ofacountry orterritory outside theUnited Kingdom
shallberegarded asholding an"approved overseas qualification" forUKauditpurposes. Aqualification
shallnotbesoapproved bytheSecretary ofState unless heissatisfied thatitaffords anassurance
ofprofessional competence equivalent tothatafforded byaUKrecognized professional qualification.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page93
VI. REGULATIONSGOVERNINGTHEESTABLISHMENTOFACOMME RCIALPRESENCE
29. Arethere anyrestrictions ontheform under which onecanestablish (partnership,
incorporation, other)? Please specify.
See answers 1.A.1 and 1.C.3 ofOECD Categorized Inventory (see document
S/WPPS/W/4/Add.2), except forIreland, Italy, Luxembourg andPortugal.
Austria
1. Fornatural persons ("sole practitioners") andshareholders orpartners infirms: withthe
exception ofAustrian nationality (thisprovision iswaived forGATS-members only) allprovisions
which havetobefulfilled byAustrian orEEA citizens havetobecovered. There arenospecial
restrictions other thanforAustrians.
2. Forfirms under theAustrian GATS-commitment: forforeign professionals withequity
participation andshares inoperating results notexceeding 25percent: noAustrian professional
qualification butauthorization totherespective professional activity according tothelawoftheirhome
country, noresidency ifnotmanaging director.
Belgium
Partnerships ofréviseurs (statutory auditors) mayexistintheformofprofessional partnerships
under Belgian law(Article 4bisoftheLawof22July1953). Anycompany orpartnership thathas
beengranted thestatus ofexpert-comptable (professional accountant) is,uponrequest, included inthe
listofexternal expert-comptable ifitpractises orintends topractise anyoralloftheactivities defined
inArticle 78oftheLawof21February 1985 (seealsoArticles 80and81ofthisLaw).
Denmark
When recognition hasbeengained andStateauthorization/certification issued, thesuccessful
applicant mayestablish his/her business inaccordance withtherelevant statutory regulations (cf.the
answer toquestion 21).
France
Experts-comptables (professional accountants) areauthorized topractise within partnerships,
sociétés civiles professionnelles (professional partnerships) andincertain commercial firms sociétés
d'exercice libéral (professional firms); sociétés anonymes (public limited companies); sociétés à
responsabilité limitée (private limited companies). Theymaynotpractise infirms which would involve
thepartners being traders (forexample, sociétés ennomcollectif (general partnerships)).
Finland
Yes. Only limited liability company, general partnership orlimited partnership ispossible
forKHT firms ofauditors orHTM firms ofauditors.
Greece
There arenorestrictions ontheform.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page94
Italy
InItaly, companies orpartnerships orprofessional firms (except auditing firms) arenotallowed
(seeanswer toquestion 3above).
Ireland
Statutory audits cannot becarried outthrough abody corporate, butonlybynatural persons
orbyapartnership -Section 187(2)(g), Companies Act,1990.
Luxembourg
There arenolegalortheoretical restrictions ontheforminwhich thisactivity maybepractised.
Réviseurs d'entreprises (statutory auditors) whopractise theirprofession individually mayonly
dosounder theirownname andnotunder anypseudonym orimpersonal title.
Inthecaseoflegalpersons, themajority ofvoting rights attached totheirshares mustbeheld
bynatural persons whomeettherequirements orbyauthorized legalpersons.
30. Arethere restrictions onforeign direct investment andownership, including restrictions
applying tonotlocally qualified individuals orfirms? Please specify.
European Community
There arenosuchrestrictions atCommunity level. Forfirms ofauditors approved forStatutory
Audit Directive 84/253/EEC onlysetsoutminimum requirements fornatural persons carrying out
statutory audits onbehalf oftheprofessional firm, forthemajority ofvoting rights andforthemajority
ofthemembers oftheadministrative ormanagement body ofafirmofauditors.
Amajority ofvoting rights mustbeheldbynatural persons orfirms ofauditors whosatisfy
therequirements oftheDirective, inparticular asregards qualification requirements. Member States
mayprovide thatsuchnatural persons mustalsobeapproved andmustmake surethattheyhavethe
necessary professional integrity andindependence.
Professionals from third country jurisdictions maybetreated inthesame wayaslocal
professionals, provided thattheirqualifications havebeenconsidered equivalent tothose required under
thelawofthemember State concerned. Inaddition theymust have furnished proof ofthelegal
knowledge required inthatmember Stateforthepurposes ofstatutory audit andfulfil thecriteria on
professional integrity andindependence setoutbytherelevant member State. Requirements setby
member States maybestricter.
Seeanswers 1.A.2 ofOECD Categorized Inventory (document S/WPPS/W/4/Add.2) except
forItalytheUKandadditional information hereunder.
Austria
1. Yes,ingeneral noforeign direct investment andownership ifthelegalprovisions applicable
forAustrian citizens arenotmet,inparticular localprofessional qualification, localresidency.
2. Under theAustrian GATS-commitment foreign professionals -whomustbeauthorized tothe
respective professional activity according tothelawoftheirhome country -mayinvest inandownS/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page95
anAustrian firmupto25percentinequity participation andshare inoperating results. Ifthese
professionals perform asmanaging director theymust beresident inAustria.
Belgium
- BeaBelgian citizen ordomiciled inBelgium;
- forréviseurs (statutory auditors), registration offirms under foreign lawisregulated
bytheRoyal Decree of14February 1989, pursuant toArticle 4teroftheLawof
22July1953;
- experts-comptable (professional accountants) mustbeaccredited bytheCouncil ofthe
IEC(Article 12oftheRoyal Decree of20April 1990 onaptitude requirements -
Article 24,§2,oftheRoyal Decree of20April 1990 onpractical training.
Germany
Theprofessional lawforWirtschaftsprüfer requires that:
- TheshareholdersorpartnersareWirtschaftsprüferorWirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaften
whocomply withtheprovisions oftheprofessional lawforWirtschaftsprüfer orare
vereidigte Buchprüfer, Steuerberater, Steuerbovollmächtigte (representatives intax
matters), Rechtsanwälte orother persons, whose status asmember oftheboard of
management, manager orpartner withunlimited liability hasbeenapproved under the
professional lawforWirtschaftsprüfer ;
- inthecaseoflimited companies themajority oftheshares belongs toWirtschaftsprüfer
orWirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaften who comply with theprofessional lawfor
Wirtschaftsprüfer ;
- Wirtschaftsprüfer orWirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaften whocomply withtheprovisions
oftheprofessional lawforWirtschaftsprüfer ,together havethemajority ofvoting rights
ofshares instock corporations, partnerships limited byshares, limited liability
companies orcapital subscribed bylimited partners;
- incaseoflimited companies 100percentofthecapital mustbeheldbyshareholders
whoareadmitted according totheprofessional lawforWirtschaftsprüfer ;themajority
oftheshares mustbelong toWirtschaftsprüfer orfirms ofWirtschaftsprüfer upto49per
centprovided theirqualifications aresubstantially similar toGerman requirements and
theirstatus asmember oftheboard ofmanagement, manager orpartner withunlimited
liability hasbeenapproved bytheHighest Land Authority.
Fortheprofession ofSteuerberater locals and/or foreigners musthavebeenadmitted according
totheprofessional law. Thisapplies alsototaxconsulting firms. A100percentofthecapital must
beheldbypersons whoareadmitted according totheprofessional law.
Denmark
Seeanswer toquestion 21.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page96
France
Commissaires auxcomptes (statutory auditors)
Article 218ofLawNo.66-537 provides forthecontrol ofauditing firms bycommissaires
legally registered onthelist(qualified locally). Theconditions applying tocommercial firms arethe
following:
- Three quarters ofthepartners must becommissaires auxcomptes ;
- three quarters ofthecapital must beheldbycommissaires auxcomptes ;
- theposts ofmanager, chairman oftheboard ofdirectors andofthesupervisory board,
andmanaging director must beheldbynatural persons whoarecommissaires aux
comptes ;
- thefunctions ofcommissaires auxcomptes mayonlybeexercised within onefirm.
Experts-comptables (professional accountants)
(a) Sociétés civiles (Partnerships): sociétés civiles professionnelles (professional partnerships):
Allpartners inthefirmmust bemembers oftheOrdre (Association).
(b) Sociétés anonymes (SA)andSociétés àresponsabilité limitée (SARL) (Public andprivate limited
companies respectively): accountancy firms:
- InSA,twothirds ofthecapital andvoting rights mustbeheldbyexperts-comptables ;
- inSARL, three quarters ofthecapital andvoting rights must beheldbyexperts-
comptables ;
- persons whoarenotexperts-comptables maynotholdapartofthecapital orvoting
rights likely toendanger theconditions ofexercise oftheprofession oritsindependence,
therulesinherent inthestatus ofexpert-comptable orthecodeofethics attached thereto.
(c) Société d'exercice libéral (SEL) :Professional firms (Law No.90-1258 of31December 1990
andDecree No.92-1124 of2October 1992):
- More thanhalfofthecapital andvoting rights mustbehelddirectly orindirectly by
experts-comptables working inthefirm;
- 25percentofthecapital mustbeheldbynatural orlegalpersons whohavepractised
orarecurrently practising asexperts-comptables .
Finland
Halfofthefounders ofalimited liability company must havepermanent residence inthe
European Economic Area. Anexception canbegranted bytheMinistry ofTrade andIndustry.
Anatural person notresiding within theEuropean Economic Area, oraforeign organization
orfoundation which isestablished under thelawsofacountry notbelonging totheEuropean EconomicS/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page97
Area, willrequire apermit oftheMinistry ofTrade andIndustry, inorder tobeabletobecome a
partner ofageneral partnership orageneral orsilent partner ofalimited partnership.
More thantwothirds ofpartners inageneral partnership orpersonally liable partners ina
limited partnership mustbeauditors authorized bytheCentral Chamber ofCommerce andemployed
bythefirm, orfirms ofauditors authorized bytheCentral Chamber ofCommerce. Inalimited liability
company atleasttwothirds ofallshares andofvoting rights hastobeheldbyauditors authorized
bytheCentral Chamber ofCommerce andemployed bythefirm, orbyfirms ofauditors authorized
bytheCentral Chamber ofCommerce.
Greece
No.
Italy
Forauditing firms registered byCONSOB themajority ofvoting rights mustberestwithnatural
persons registered asauditors.
Ireland
Foraccountancy firms, eachprofessional body imposes control/voting requirements which
must bemetbyindividuals holding theprofessional titlethatbody confers. Forfirms ofchartered
accountants therelevant percentage is75,forfirms ofcertified accountants itis51percent.
United Kingdom
IntheUK,theprofessional bodies concerned impose requirements relating tocontrol/voting
rights which mustbeinthehands ofindividuals holding theprofessional titlewhich thatbodyconfers.
Inorder tobeabletodescribe afirmaschartered accountants, 75percentofcontrol/voting
power must beheldbymembers oftheICAEW/ICAS/ICAI ormembers ofthefollowing overseas
bodies:
- TheSouth African Institute ofChartered Accountants;
- theCanadian Institute ofChartered Accountants;
- theInstitute ofChartered Accountants inAustralia;
- theInstitute ofChartered Accountants ofZimbabwe.
Inorder tobeabletocallafirmcertified accountants, therelevant percentage ofcontrol and
voting power which must beheldbycertified accountants is51percent.
31. Isthere arequirement ofaminimum number orpercentage oflocal directors, managers
orstaff(please specify)?
European Community
Thereisnorequirementofaminimumnumberoflocaldirectors,managersorstaffatCommunity
level.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page98
Directive 84/253/EEC onlyrequires thatamajority ofthemembers oftheadministrative or
management body ofafirmofauditors mustbenatural persons orfirms ofauditors whosatisfy the
requirements oftheDirective, inparticular interms ofqualifications. Member States mayprovide
thatsuchnatural persons orfirms ofauditors mustalsobeapproved. Where suchbody hasnomore
thantwomembers, oneofthose members must satisfy atleastthose conditions.
Professionalsfromthirdcountriesmaybetreatedinthesamewayaslocalprofessionals,provided
thattheirqualifications havebeenconsidered equivalent tothose required under thelawofamember
State, thattheyhavefurnished proof ofthelegal knowledge required inthatmember State forthe
purposesofstatutoryauditandrespectthestandardsoftherelevantmemberStateintermsofprofessional
integrity andindependence. Requirements setbymember States maybestricter.
SeeanswerstoquestionI.A.3ofOECDCategorizedInventory(documentS/WPPS/W/4/Add.2)
except forBelgium, Greece, Portugal andSpain andadditional information hereunder.
Austria
1. No.Inanycasedirectors andmanagers must belocally qualified andresident inAustria.
2. Foremployees ("staff") thehorizontal partoftheGATS-commitment isapplicable, inparticular
concerning intra-corporate transferees.
Belgium
There isnominimum number.
Germany
Theprofessional lawofWirtschaftsprüfer permits individuals whoareauthorized orappointed
asauditors inforeign states tobecome besides Wirtschaftsprüfer members oftheboard ofmanagement,
managers orpartners withunlimited liability ofWirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaften provided thatthe
requirements fortheirauthorization orofficial appointment aresubstantially thesame asunder the
German lawandthatWirtschaftsprüfer whoareentitled toexercise theprofession under thislawreceive
reciprocal treatment inthatforeign State. Thenumber oftheaforementioned foreign professionals
maynotreach thenumber ofWirtschaftsprüfer .Inaddition, theymustbeactively engaged inthefirm
asprescribed inanswer 30.
ForSteuerberater seeanswer 30.
Denmark
None oftherequirements mentioned applies.
France
Themanagers, chairman oftheboard ofdirectors orsupervisory board, managing directors
andmembers oftheboard mustbeexperts-comptables (professional accountants) belonging tothefirm;
onehalfofthedirectors ofpublic limited companies andtwothirds ofthedirectors ofprivate limited
companies must alsobeexperts-comptables .S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page99
Finland
Halfoftheordinary anddeputy members oftheBoard ofDirectors andtheManaging Director
ofalimited liability company musthavepermanent residence intheEuropean Economic Area. An
exception canbegranted bytheMinistry ofTrade andIndustry.
More thantwothirds ofallmembers anddeputy members oftheBoard ofDirectors inalimited
liability company, aswellastheChairman andtheviceChairman mustbeauditors authorized bythe
Central Chamber ofCommerce andemployed bythefirm.
TheManaging Director andtheviceManaging Director, ifany,havetobeauditors authorized
bytheCentral Chamber ofCommerce andemployed bythefirm.
Greece
Asmentioned above, theissue isunder consideration.
Italy
Yes(seeanswer toquestion 21above).
Ireland
Seeanswer 30above.
32. Arethere restrictions ontheability oflocally established firms todevelop international
relations (membership ofaninternational network, association withforeign firms, etc.)? Please
specify.
See answers toquestion I.A.5 and I.C.3 ofOECD Categorized Inventory
(document S/WPPS/W/4/Add.2) except forDenmark andGreece andadditional information hereunder.
Austria
No.Locally established firms mayhaveinternational relations according tothelegalprovisions
ofthehostcountry.
Belgium
No.
Denmark
None.
France
There arenorestrictions.
Finland
None.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page100
Greece
Asmentioned above, theissue isunder consideration.
Italy
None.
Ireland
None.
33. Istheuseofinternational orforeign names restricted forfirms?
SeeanswerstoquestionI.A.6ofOECDCategorizedInventory(documentS/WPPS/W/4/Add.2)
andadditional information hereunder.
Austria
No.Seeanswers 3.3and3.4concerning theuseofwordings offirms andpartnerships.
Belgium
No,itisallowed ifthename isthatofaforeign auditor. There arenoregulations concerning
bookkeepers andaccountants.
Denmark
No.
France
There arenorestrictions: firms may, forexample, mention theirlegalconnections withother
members ofthesameprofession orthenames andaddresses oftheirFrench andforeign correspondents.
Finland
No.
Greece
Asmentioned above, theissue isunder consideration.
Italy
No,except auditing firms.
Ireland
No,subject tothegeneral provisions oftheRegistration ofBusiness Names Act,1963 -see
answer 3above.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page101
VII. REGULATIONS GOVERNING THEENTRY AND TEMPORARY STAY OFNATURAL
PERSONS FOR THE PURPOSE OFSUPPLYING ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES
34. Istheentryandstayofprofessionalssubjecttolabourmarkettestsoranyotherrestrictions?
Please specify.
See answers toquestion I.C.2 inOECD Categorized Inventory (see document
S/WPPS/W/4/Add.2) except forBelgium, Ireland, Italy, Sweden andPortugal.
Austria
1. Distinction hastobemade between self-employed professionals orshareholders/partners and
employees. Forbothcategories theImmigration Lawapplies. Inaddition, foremployees andminority
shareholders/partners without decisive influence onthecompany/partnership, alabour market test,
according tothe"Foreign Employee Act"(Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz ),isnecessary.
2. Noeconomic needs testaccording tothehorizontal GATS-commitment concerning entry and
temporary stayforcertain categories ofnatural persons providing accountancy services, suchasinter-
corporate transferees, representatives oftheservice supplier orpersons working inasenior position.
Belgium
No.
Denmark
When auditing isastatutory requirement under Danish law,itmayonlybeperformed by
State-authorized public accountants orcertified accountants (cf.answer toquestion 8).Foreign
accountants wishing toprovide theirprofessional services inDenmark onatemporary basisaretherefore
obliged toseekrecognition under theprovisions noted under question 27.
France
No.
Finland
No.
Greece
Asmentioned above, theissue isunder consideration.
Italy
Yes.
Ireland
There arenorestrictions ontheentry ofprofessionals fromother member States orfromEEA
countries. Inother cases awork permit, anentry visaandresidence permit areusually required. Work
permits aregranted forperiods ofonemonth uptoperiods of12months. They areusually renewable.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page102
Theusual criterion applied, inassessing anapplication forawork permit, istheeconomic needtest
which isconsideration astowhether thepostcould befilled from professionals available within the
country. Visas andresidence permits areonlygranted topersons holding work permits.
35. Isthere anyprocedure facilitating thetemporary entry andstayofprofessionals tosupply
accountancy services? Please explain.
Seeanswers toquestion I.B.2ofOECD Categorized Inventory (document S/WPPS/W/4/Add.2)
except forBelgium, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal andUKandadditional information hereunder.
Austria
1. Ingeneral forthesupply ofaccountancy services anAustrian licence (fornatural persons) or
admittance (forlegalpersons andpartnerships) andtheintabulation intotheRegister ofAustrian Public
Accountants isnecessary.
2. Following theoriginal GATS specific commitments andtheextended horizontal commitment
undertaken under thethirdProtocol totheGATS, foreign service providers maymove intoandstay
temporarily intheterritory ofAustria toprovide specific professional activities inthe"accountancy
sector", namely accounting, bookkeeping andtaxadvice. However, thesespecific professional activities
aresubjecttocertainconditions,suchasexaminationbeforetheChamberandmembershiptotherelevant
professional body inthehome country. ThisGATS-commitment doesnotapply toauditing. Inany
casenorepresentation before competent authorities isallowed.
Belgium
No.
Denmark
Seeanswer toquestion 34.
France
No(seequestion 26).
Finland
No.
Greece
Asmentioned above, theissue isunder consideration.
Italy
No.
Ireland
Seeanswer 34above. Theprocedures would bethesame.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page103
36. Arethereanyrestrictionsonhiringoflocalprofessionalsbyforeignfirmsandprofessionals?
Please explain.
SeeanswerstoquestionI.C.4ofOECDCategorizedInventory(documentS/WPPS/W/4/Add.2)
except forBelgium, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal andSpain andadditional
information hereunder.
Austria
No. However, theadmission offoreign firms andprofessionals islimited (seeanswer to
question 29above).
Belgium
No.
Germany
Local professionals Wirtschaftsprüfer/vereidgter Buchprüfer areallowed toexercise their
profession asanemployee withsigning rights withamember ofaforeign audit profession orforeign
audit firmiftherequirements fortheexercise oftheforeigners 'profession correspond substantially
tothose oftheGerman lawregulating theprofession ofWirtschaftsprüfer .
Local professionals Steuerberater areallowed toexercise theirprofession asanemployee of
foreign professionals established inaforeign stateiftherequirements fortheexercise oftheforeigners '
profession correspond substantially tothose oftheGerman professional law.
Withrespect toEU-nationals ornationals coming fromtheEuropean Economic Areabyvirtue
oftheEighth Directive these requirements aremet.
Denmark
Seeanswer toquestion 34.
France
There arenorestrictions.
Finland
No.
Greece
Asmentioned above, theissue isunder consideration.
Italy
No.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page104
Ireland
No.
Luxembourg
There arenorestrictions, buttheconditions havetobemet.Recruitment policy onlyconcerns
firms ofréviseurs d'entreprises (statutory auditors) provided thattheyrespect Luxembourg 'slabour
legislation.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
Page105
VIII. NATIONALITY/RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS
37. Isacondition ofnationality/citizenship imposed topractice certain activities, tostartan
education, toobtain alicence, tobecome member ofaprofessional body, etc.? Please specify.
Seeanswers toquestion I.B.4ofOECD Categorized Inventory (document S/WPPS/W/4/Add.2)
andadditional information hereunder.
Austria
1. Ingeneral Austrian orEEAnationality isrequired toperform allaccountancy services asself-
employed either assolepractitioner orshareholder/partner inafirm.
2. Nonationality/citizenship requirement forGATS members.
Belgium
No.
Denmark
Danish lawdoesnotrequire Danish citizenship forapplicants tobecome aState-authorized
public orcertified accountant.
France
Subject toverification oftheirdiplomas, there areprocedures toallow foreign nationals to
become registered (seequestion 26).
Finland
No.
Italy
Yes: tobecome member oftheprofessional body ofDottori Commercialisti andRagionieri ,
itisnecessary tobeanItalian orEUcitizen belonging toacountry withwhom amutual recognition
agreement isoperating (seeanswers toquestions 19-20 above).
Ireland
No.Answer 34above setsouttheusual requirements.
38. Isacondition ofestablishment, prior residency orresidency imposed topractice certain
activities, toobtain alicence, tobecome member ofaprofessional body, etc.? Please specify the
conditions andthedefinition ofestablishment, residency, etc.when relevant. Isitpossible to
have aprofessional establishment inmore thanonecountry?
Seeanswers toquestion I.B.4 andI.C.1 ofOECD Categorized Inventory (document
S/WPPS/W/4/Add.2) andadditional information hereunder.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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Austria
1. Ingeneral fortheprovision ofaccountancy services establishment andresidency arerequired.
Accountancy services mayonlybeprovided ifanatural persons islicensed, afirmadmitted toperform
therespective spectrum ofprofessional activities. Obligatory membership totheChamber aswellas
intabulation intotheRegister ofAustrian Public Accountants.
2. Under theGATS-commitment foreign professionals (whomustbeauthorized totherespective
professional activity according tothelawoftheirhome country) holding anequity participation and
ashare inoperating results ofanyAustrian legal entity notexceeding 25percentarenotrequired
toberesident orprior resident andtobemember oftheChamber.
3. Aprofessional establishment inmore thanonecountry isnotforbidden according toAustrian
lawbutresidency inAustria isrequired.
Belgium
TheRoyal Decree of14February 1989 adopts averyopenposition infavour ofpractice of
theauditing profession bynatural persons domiciled abroad, except fortheconditions ofcompetence
equivalent tothose required forestablishment. Theonlyrequirement istosetupanoffice inBelgium
where theprofessional activities willinfactbecarried outandwhere therelevant acts,documents
andcorrespondence willbekept,aswellastoagree toobserve alltheethical rulesapplicable tomembers
oftheIRE.
Inparticular,wheretheprofessionaldomicilementionedisnotwithanotherréviseurd'entreprises
(statutory auditor), theIRECouncil willverify whether itisinfacttheprofessional domicile within
themeaning ofArticle 1.5oftheaforementioned Royal Decree of14February 1989(these requirements
areconsistent withtheDecision bytheCourt ofJustice of20May1992 -CCase -106/91).
Similar regulations apply toexperts-comptables (professional accountants) inaccordance with
Article 8oftheRoyal Decree of14June1985 andthesubsequent decisions bytheCouncil ofthe
Institute.
Denmark
ApplicantsmustbedomiciledinDenmarktogainthestatusofState-authorizedpublicorcertified
accountant. Thisrequirement doesnot,however, apply toEUcitizens orcitizens ofthose EFTA
countries which havesigned theEEC Agreement.
France
Commissaires auxcomptes (statutory auditors) areregistered bytheregional commission of
thecourt ofappeal within whose jurisdiction theirdomicile issituated. Firms having thecapacity to
actascommissaires auxcomptes areregistered bytheregional commission withcompetence forthe
areainwhich theirheadoffice issituated.
Registered commissaires maypractise anywhere inFrance.
Inaddition, theheadoffice ofauditing firms mustbesituated within thesphere ofcompetence
oftheregional society thathasthelargest number ofshareholders ormembers registered withthecourt
ofappeal. Iftwoormore regional societies havethesame number ofshareholders ormembers, theS/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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siteofthehead office maybeestablished bytheshareholders ormembers within thesphere of
competence ofoneorother ofthesocieties (Decree No.69-810, 12August 1969, Article 166).
Forexperts-comptables (professional accountants), there isnoprior residency requirement.
Nevertheless, itisnecessary tohaveaprofessional address inFrance inorder toberegistered with
theOrdre desexperts-comptables (Association ofProfessional Accountants).
Itisalsopossible tohaveaprofessional establishment inseveral countries.
Finland
No.Itispossible tohaveaprofessional establishment inmore thanonecountry.
Italy
Yes(seeanswers toquestions 19-20-27-28 above).
Ireland
Theresponse toquestion 34above setsouttheusual requirements. There isnoreason why
aprofessional establishment could notbesetupinmore thanonecountry.
Luxembourg
Itisnecessary tohave aprofessional establishment inLuxembourg inorder toreceive
accreditation. Current orprior residency isnotrequired.
Itispossible tohaveortooperate aprofessional establishment inoneormore other countries.
United Kingdom
There arenoresidence orestablishment requirements imposed onaccountants intheUK.
There arenorestrictions onUKprofessional accountant having more thanoneestablishment.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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ANNEX I
Explanatory Note ontheAccountancy Sector inItaly
InItalythere aretwoforms ofaudit: internal, which ispeculiar tooursystem, andexternal.
Internal audits arecarried outbyaCollegio sindacale ,which isanauditing bodyrequired by
lawincertain types ofenterprise (public limited companies -S.P.A. -,private limited companies -
SRL-subject tocertain conditions andcooperatives). Among theduties ofthisbody laiddown in
Article 2403oftheCivil Code isthatof"ensuring thatthecompany 'saccounts arekeptproperly, that
thebalance sheet isconsistent withthebookentries andthatArticle 2426onthevaluation ofcompany
assets hasbeencomplied with".
Following theentry intoforceofDecree-Law No.88of27November 1992, which implements
theEighth EECDirective, members ofthecollegio sindacale must -where suchabody isrequired
bylawandislegally responsible forauditing theaccounts -beaccountants qualified toactasauditors
andregistered withtheMinistry ofJustice (revisori contabili ).
External audits arecarried outbyauditing companies, whose legalstatus candiffer, depending
onthetypeofaudit andthetypeofcompany audited.
Theauditing companies listed inthespecial professional register keptbyCONSOB, theNational
CompaniesandStockExchangeSupervisoryCommission,carryouttheso-calledmandatorycertification
ofcompanies quoted onthestock exchange andother similar undertakings aslaiddown inspecial laws,
namely checks ontheproper keeping oftheaccounts, consistency between thebalance sheet andthe
profits andlossaccount withthebook entries andcompliance withArticle 2425oftheCivil Code on
thevaluation ofcompany assets (Article 1ofPresidential Decree No.136of31March 1975).
Thelegalstatus ofthese companies wasupdated bytheabove-mentioned Decree 88/1992 so
astoalign itwiththeprovisions implementing theEighth Directive.
Thecompulsorycertificationofunlistedcompanies,whenlaiddownbyspeciallaws,willlikewise
becarried outbycompanies which aretobelisted intheregister ofqualified auditors referred toabove,
pursuant toArticle 6ofDecree 88/1992.
The"old" auditing companies approved bytheMinistry ofIndustry maynowcarry outonly
voluntary certifications.
Other accountancy professionals (natural persons), holders ofadegree ineconomics andtrade
(dottore commercialista )andholders ofabookkeeping oratechnical diploma inbusiness science
(ragioniere, perito commerciale )ontheregisters oftherelevant professional organizations (independent
public bodies regulated bythisMinistry), inaccordance withthesystem ofregulation oftheprofessions
laiddown inArticle 2229 oftheCivil Code, maycarry outonlyvoluntary certifications, unless they
arealsoregistered asqualified auditors.
Article 12ofDecree 88/1992 made transitional provision foraccountants whometcertain
requirements atthetimethelawcame intoforce toregister asqualified auditors.
Thesetting-up ofcompanies byaccountants forthecollective exercise oftheprofession is
prohibited byLawNo.1815/1939, although theymaysetupprofessional associations inwhich they
exercise asindividuals.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.23
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Decree LawNo.115of27November 1992 implementing Directive 89/48/EEC onthe
recognition ofprofessional diplomas makes provision fortherecognition offoreign accountancy
qualifications forthepurpose ofentry ontheregisters ofaccountancy professionals (dottori
commercialisti, ragionieri, periti commerciali )andforadmission totheexamination toqualify asauditor
asprovided forinArticles 3etseq.ofDecree 88/1992.
Thefreemovement ofqualified auditors (natural andlegalpersons) within theEuropean Union
andwhether Directive 89/48/EEC applies tothequalification ofauditor arematters stillunder
consideration bytherelevant authorities.