Auditors
To act as an auditor (public or statutory) as defined in the Companies Act a person or a firm must have been appropriately authorised by a Recognised Accountancy Body (RAB).
Only RABs may train, authorise and regulate their members to act as auditors in Ireland. Therefore, only a suitably qualified member of a RAB can be selected to undertake audits as required under Irish legislation. Details of such auditors are listed on the Auditor Register, which is available on the Companies Registration Office website.
Procedures required for operating as an auditor in Ireland
An individual, who is:
- Already approved as a statutory auditor in an EU member state; or
- Entitled under the laws, regulations or administrative provisions of a third country to carry out audits of the annual or group accounts of a company incorporated in that third country;
and wishes to apply to one of the Recognised Accountancy Bodies (RABs) for approval as a statutory auditor in Ireland, is required, to sit and pass an aptitude test. The aptitude test process is currently administered on behalf of all the RABs by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. Passing the aptitude test makes the individual eligible to apply to one of the RABs for approval as a statutory auditor.
Only the Recognised Accountancy Bodies (RABs) may train, authorise and regulate their members to act as statutory auditors in Ireland. Therefore, only a suitably qualified member of a RAB who has been authorised as an auditor can be selected to undertake audits required under Irish legislation. Details of such auditors are listed on the Auditor Register, which is available on the Companies Registration Office website.
The Recognised Accountancy Bodies are set out below:
| Homepage | Accountancy Body Name |
|---|---|
| ACCA | Association of Chartered Certified Accountants |
| CPA | Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland |
| ICAEW | Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales |
| ICAI | Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland |
| ICAS | Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland |
A third country auditor or audit firm wishing to issue an audit opinion on the annual or consolidated accounts of a company incorporated outside the European Union/European Economic Area (‘EU/EEA’), whose transferable securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market in Ireland, must register with the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (‘IAASA’) for their audit report to have legal validity in Ireland.
Further general information
Contact Details
ICAEW: regulatory.support@icaew.com
ACCA: authorisation@accaglobal.com
CPA: cpa@cpaireland.ie
CAI: jar@charteredaccountants.ie
ICAS: jar@icas.org.uk
Information correct at time of publishing, please contact the competent authority for further information.