The new EU rules to improve the quality of statutory audits(1) establish the procedure for approval and registration of statutory auditors seeking to operate in another Member State. Registration of audit firms and statutory auditors in the host Member State is compulsory and the supervision of statutory audits is conducted by each competent authority on activities carried out at national level.

Concerning the Engagement Quality Control Review (EQCR) of the statutory audits of public-interest entities(2) (PIEs), the new EU rules now provide that the reviewer must be a statutory auditor, meaning a person approved in accordance with the directive, and who was not involved in the performance of the statutory audit to which the review relates.

In the case of audit firms, the reviewer must therefore be another statutory auditor from the firm that carried out the audit, unless every statutory auditor of the firm was involved in the audit, in which case the reviewer will be a statutory auditor from outside the firm.

As for sole practitioners, the reviewer must be another statutory auditor registered in the Member State where the audit took place.

Against this background, the Commission can therefore confirm that the EQCR of a PIE can be performed by a statutory auditor approved and registered in another Member State, provided that such a reviewer is also approved and registered in the Member State where the audit took place. It is for the host Member States to decide the procedure for approval according to Article 14 of the directive.

(1) Regulation (EU) No 537/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on specific requirements regarding statutory audit of public-interest entities and repealing Commission Decision 2005/909/EC (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32014R0537) and Directive 2014/56/EU amending Directive 2006/43/EC on statutory audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02006L0043-20140616&from=EN (2) PIEs are credit institutions, listed companies, insurance undertakings, and other entities designated as such by Member States.