Audit firms from other EU Member States
This register contains the details of audit firms from other EU Member States and their auditors. These audit firms may only perform types of statutory audits in the Netherlands which they are also allowed to perform in the Member State in which they are based.
Register
The AFM keeps the register of audit firms from other EU Member States pursuant to the Audit Firms Supervision Act (Wet toezicht accountantsorganisaties, Wta).
More information
The information contained in this register is the information provided by the audit firms. Auditor’s reports issued by audit firms listed in this register have legal effect in the Netherlands, irrespective of the displayed status of the registration.
Frequently asked questions
What are the requirements for audit firms from other EU/EEA Member States to obtain registration in the Netherlands allowing them to perform statutory audits?
As part of the registration process in the Netherlands, the AFM must verify whether the audit firm is licensed in its home country. While the AFM checks whether the audit firm is licensed, it does not issue licences itself.
The AFM will also assess whether the statutory auditors have the necessary qualifications to be responsible for performing statutory audits in the Netherlands.
This is because, when performing statutory audits in the Netherlands, audit firms from other EU Member States must use the services of an auditor who is approved in the Netherlands:
- This is an auditor who is registered in the Dutch accountants’ register of the Royal Netherlands Institute of Chartered Accountants (NBA) as an auditor with signatory authority.
- Or an auditor who is allowed to perform statutory audits in another EU/EEA Member State and has been issued with a Dutch certificate of professional competence by the NBA.
Are registered audit firms from other EU/EEA Member States also allowed to audit PIEs in the Netherlands?
If an audit firm is allowed to perform statutory audits of Public Interest Entities (PIEs) in its home country, it may also do so in the Netherlands following registration with the AFM.
Dutch audit firms are subject to additional requirements if they wish to audit PIEs, such as having a supervisory board, and policymakers and supervisory directors are subject to suitability assessments by the AFM. In various other EU Member States, these additional requirements do not apply.
Who supervises audit firms from other EU/EEA Member States that are registered in the Netherlands?
European regulations provide that audit firms are subject to quality assurance reviews at regular intervals by the supervisory authority in the home Member State where the audit firm is approved for performing statutory audits.
The AFM is responsible for supervising Dutch statutory audits performed by the audit firms. This means that the AFM may investigate individual statutory audits for compliance with applicable requirements.
The AFM may provide findings relating to individual statutory audits to the supervisory authority in the home Member State, which may take the findings into account in its supervision of the audit firm, e.g. for the purpose of supervising and assessing the audit firm’s system of quality control.