Companies Act 2006

[F1 20A. [F2 (1)] In this Part of this Schedule— U.K.

• [F3 “the Audit Directive” means Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on statutory audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts, amending Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC and repealing Council Directive 84/253/EEC;]

• “audit reporting requirements” has the meaning given by regulation 2 of the Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2016 as amended from time to time;

• [F4 “EEA auditor” means an individual or firm approved in accordance with the Audit Directive by an EEA competent authority to carry out audits of annual accounts or consolidated accounts required by European Union law;]

• [F4 “EEA competent authority” means a competent authority within the meaning of Article 2(10) of the Audit Directive of an EEA State;]

• “issuer” has the same meaning as in Part 6 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (see section 102A(6));

• [F5 “key audit partner” means—

  (a)

  an individual who is eligible for appointment as a statutory auditor and who is designated by an audit firm for a particular audit engagement as being primarily responsible for carrying out the statutory audit on behalf of the audit firm;

  (b)

  in the case of a group audit, any of the following—

  (i)

  an individual who is eligible for appointment as a statutory auditor and who is designated by an audit firm as being primarily responsible for carrying out the statutory audit of the consolidated accounts of the group on behalf of the audit firm;

  (ii)

  an individual who is eligible to conduct the audit of the accounts of any material subsidiary undertaking and who is designated as being primarily responsible for that audit; or

  (c)

  an individual who is eligible for appointment as a statutory auditor and who signs the audit report.]

• “public interest entity” means—

  (a)

  an issuer whose transferable securities are admitted to trading on a [F6 UK regulated market];

  (b)

  a credit institution within the meaning given by Article 4(1)(1) of Regulation (EU) No. 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, [F7 which is a CRR firm within the meaning of Article 4(1)(2A) of that Regulation];

  (c)

  [F8 a person who would be an insurance undertaking as defined in Article 2(1) of Council Directive 91/674/EEC of 19 December 1991 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the annual accounts and consolidated accounts of insurance undertakings as that Article had effect immediately before IP completion day, were the United Kingdom a member State;]

• [F9 “specified state” means one of the states specified in Schedule 1 to the Recognition of Professional Qualifications and Implementation of International Recognition Agreements (Amendment) Regulations 2023;]

• [F9 “specified state auditor” means an individual who is eligible to conduct audits of the accounts of bodies corporate that are incorporated or formed under the law of a specified state in accordance with the law of that state;]

• F10 ...

• “statutory audit function” means any function performed as a statutory auditor;

• “third country audit function” means any function related to the audit of a [F11 UK-traded third country company] or of [F12 a body corporate] whose transferable securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market situated or operating in [F13 an equivalent third country or transitional third country;] and

• F14 ...

[F15 (2) For the purposes of this Schedule, Gibraltar is to be treated as if it were an EEA State and subject to the Audit Directive.]]

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 10 para. 20A and cross-heading substituted (17.6.2016) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/649), reg. 1(1)(a), Sch. 3 para. 71

F2 Sch. 10 para. 20A renumbered as Sch. 10 para. 20A(1) (31.12.2020) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/177), regs. 2, 32(a); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F3 Words in Sch. 10 para. 20A(1) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/177), regs. 2, 32(b); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F4 Words in Sch. 10 para. 20A(1) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/177), regs. 2, 32(c); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F5 Words in Sch. 10 para. 20A substituted (21.2.2020) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/108), regs. 1(2)(b), 15(3)

F6 Words in Sch. 10 para. 20A(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/177), regs. 2, 32(d)(i) (with Sch. 4 paras. 1(b), 3) (as amended by S.I. 2020/523, regs. 1(2), 19); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F7 Words in Sch. 10 para. 20A(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/177), regs. 2, 32(d)(ii); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F8 Words in Sch. 10 para. 20A(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/177), regs. 2, 32(d)(iii) (as amended by S.I. 2020/523, regs. 1(2), 14(h)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F9 Words in Sch. 10 para. 20A(1) inserted (1.12.2023) by The Recognition of Professional Qualifications and Implementation of International Recognition Agreements (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1286), reg. 1, Sch. 3 para. 90(3)

F10 Words in Sch. 10 para. 20A(1) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/177), regs. 2, 32(e); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F11 Words in Sch. 10 para. 20A(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/177), regs. 2, 32(f)(i); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F12 Words in Sch. 10 para. 20A(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/177), regs. 2, 32(f)(ii); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F13 Words in Sch. 10 para. 20A(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/177), regs. 2, 32(f)(iii); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F14 Words in Sch. 10 para. 20A(1) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/177), regs. 2, 32(g); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F15 Sch. 10 para. 20A(2) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/177), regs. 2, 32(h); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)