Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

CHAPTER XI U.K. INTERNATIONAL ASPECTS

Article 44 U.K. Approval of auditors from third countries

1. Subject to reciprocity, the competent authorities of a Member State may approve a third-country auditor as statutory auditor if that person has furnished proof that he or she complies with requirements equivalent to those laid down in Articles 4 and 6 to 13.

2. The competent authorities of a Member State shall, before granting approval to a third-country auditor who meets the requirements of paragraph 1, apply the requirements laid down in Article 14.

Article 45 U.K. Registration and oversight of third-country auditors and audit entities

1. The competent authorities of a Member State shall, in accordance with Articles 15 to 17, register every third-country auditor and audit entity that provides an audit report concerning the annual or consolidated accounts of a company incorporated outwith the Community whose transferable securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market of that Member State within the meaning of point 14 of Article 4(1) of Directive 2004/39/EC, except when the company is an issuer exclusively of debt securities admitted to trading on a regulated market in a Member State within the meaning of Article 2(1)(b) of Directive 2004/109/EC(1), the denomination per unit of which is at least EUR 50 000 or, in case of debt securities denominated in another currency, equivalent, at the date of issue, to at least EUR 50 000.

2. Articles 18 and 19 shall apply.

3. Member States shall subject registered third-country auditors and audit entities to their systems of oversight, their quality assurance systems and their systems of investigation and penalties. A Member State may exempt a registered third-country auditor or audit entity from being subject to its quality assurance system if another Member State's or third country's system of quality assurance that has been assessed as equivalent in accordance with Article 46 has carried out a quality review of the third-country auditor or audit entity concerned during the previous three years.

4. Without prejudice to Article 46, audit reports concerning annual accounts or consolidated accounts referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article issued by third-country auditors or audit entities that are not registered in the Member State shall have no legal effect in that Member State.

5. A Member State may register a third-country audit entity only if:

(a) it meets requirements which are equivalent to those laid down in Article 3(3);

(b) the majority of the members of the administrative or management body of the third-country audit entity meet requirements which are equivalent to those laid down in Articles 4 to 10;

(c) the third-country auditor carrying out the audit on behalf of the third-country audit entity meets requirements which are equivalent to those laid down in Articles 4 to 10;

(d) the audits of the annual or consolidated accounts referred to in paragraph 1 are carried out in accordance with international auditing standards as referred to in Article 26, as well as the requirements laid down in Articles 22, 24 and 25, or with equivalent standards and requirements;

(e) it publishes on its website an annual transparency report which includes the information referred to in Article 40 or it complies with equivalent disclosure requirements.

[F1 6. In order to ensure uniform application of paragraph 5(d), the equivalence referred to therein shall be assessed by the Commission in cooperation with Member States and shall be decided upon by the Commission in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 48(2). Member States may assess the equivalence referred to in paragraph 5(d) of this Article as long as the Commission has not taken such a decision.

In this context, the Commission may adopt measures aimed at establishing general equivalence criteria in accordance with the requirements laid down in Articles 22, 24, 25 and 26 which are applicable to all third countries and which shall be used by Member States when assessing equivalence at national level. The criteria may not exceed the requirements laid down in Articles 22, 24, 25 and 26. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 48(2a).]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Directive 2008/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2008 amending Directive 2006/43/EC on statutory audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts, as regards the implementing powers conferred on the Commission (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 46 U.K. Derogation in the case of equivalence

1. Member States may disapply or modify the requirements in Article 45(1) and (3) on the basis of reciprocity only if the third-country auditors or audit entities are subject to systems of public oversight, quality assurance and investigations and penalties in the third country that meet requirements equivalent to those of Articles 29, 30 and 32.

[F1 2. In order to ensure uniform application of paragraph 1, the equivalence referred to therein shall be assessed by the Commission in cooperation with Member States and shall be decided upon by the Commission in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 48(2). Member States may assess the equivalence referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article or rely on the assessments carried out by other Member States as long as the Commission has not taken such a decision. If the Commission decides that the requirement of equivalence referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article is not complied with, it may allow the auditors and audit entities concerned to continue their audit activities in accordance with the requirements of the relevant Member State during an appropriate transitional period.

In this context, the Commission may adopt measures aimed at establishing general equivalence criteria in accordance with the requirements laid down in Articles 29, 30 and 32 which are applicable to all third countries and which shall be used by Member States when assessing equivalence at national level. The criteria may not exceed the requirements laid down in Articles 29, 30 and 32. Those measures, designed to amend non essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 48(2a).]

3. Member States shall communicate to the Commission:

(a) their assessments of the equivalence referred to in paragraph 2; and

(b) the main elements of their cooperative arrangements with third-country systems of public oversight, quality assurance and investigations and penalties, on the basis of paragraph 1.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Directive 2008/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2008 amending Directive 2006/43/EC on statutory audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts, as regards the implementing powers conferred on the Commission (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 47 U.K. Cooperation with competent authorities from third countries

1. Member States may allow the transfer to the competent authorities of a third country of audit working papers or other documents held by statutory auditors or audit firms approved by them, provided that:

(a) those audit working papers or other documents relate to audits of companies which have issued securities in that third country or which form part of a group issuing statutory consolidated accounts in that third country;

(b) the transfer takes place via the home competent authorities to the competent authorities of that third country and at their request;

(c) the competent authorities of the third country concerned meet requirements which have been declared adequate in accordance with paragraph 3;

(d) there are working arrangements on the basis of reciprocity agreed between the competent authorities concerned;

(e) the transfer of personal data to the third country is in accordance with Chapter IV of Directive 95/46/EC.

2. The working arrangements referred to in paragraph 1(d) shall ensure that:

(a) justification as to the purpose of the request for audit working papers and other documents is provided by the competent authorities;

(b) the persons employed or formerly employed by the competent authorities of the third country that receive the information are subject to obligations of professional secrecy;

(c) the competent authorities of the third country may use audit working papers and other documents only for the exercise of their functions of public oversight, quality assurance and investigations that meet requirements equivalent to those of Articles 29, 30 and 32;

(d) the request from a competent authority of a third country for audit working papers or other documents held by a statutory auditor or audit firm can be refused:

• (d) where the provision of those working papers or documents would adversely affect the sovereignty, security or public order of the Community or of the requested Member State, or

• where judicial proceedings have already been initiated in respect of the same actions and against the same persons before the authorities of the requested Member State.

[F1 3. In order to ensure uniform application of paragraph 1(c), the adequacy referred to therein shall be assessed by the Commission in cooperation with Member States and shall be decided upon by the Commission in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 48(2). Member States shall take the measures necessary to comply with the Commission's Decision.

Such assessment of adequacy shall be based on the requirements of Article 36 or essentially equivalent functional results. Any measures taken in this context, designed to amend non essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it and aiming at facilitating cooperation between competent authorities, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 48(2a).]

4. In exceptional cases and by way of derogation from paragraph 1, Member States may allow statutory auditors and audit firms approved by them to transfer audit working papers and other documents directly to the competent authorities of a third country, provided that:

(a) investigations have been initiated by the competent authorities in that third country;

(b) the transfer does not conflict with the obligations with which statutory auditors and audit firms are required to comply in relation to the transfer of audit working papers and other documents to their home competent authority;

(c) there are working arrangements with the competent authorities of that third country that allow the competent authorities in the Member State reciprocal direct access to audit working papers and other documents of that third-country's audit entities;

(d) the requesting competent authority of the third country informs in advance the home competent authority of the statutory auditor or audit firm of each direct request for information, indicating the reasons therefor;

(e) the conditions referred to in paragraph 2 are respected.

5. The Commission may[F2 , in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 48(2),] specify the exceptional cases referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article in order to facilitate cooperation between competent authorities and to ensure the uniform application of paragraph 4 of this Article.[F3 That measure, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 48(2a).]

6. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the working arrangements referred to in paragraphs 1 and 4.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Directive 2008/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2008 amending Directive 2006/43/EC on statutory audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts, as regards the implementing powers conferred on the Commission (Text with EEA relevance).

F2 Deleted by Directive 2008/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2008 amending Directive 2006/43/EC on statutory audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts, as regards the implementing powers conferred on the Commission (Text with EEA relevance).

F3 Inserted by Directive 2008/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2008 amending Directive 2006/43/EC on statutory audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts, as regards the implementing powers conferred on the Commission (Text with EEA relevance).

(1)

Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38).