Act to modernize the professional law governing public auditors

1. Introduced
2. Committee
3. Floor
4. Passed3. Beratung
5. Law

Latest action

12 Nov 20263. Beratung

Measures to modernize and make more flexible the professional law governing auditors and sworn auditors, and to further develop the professional profile: repeal of the requirement that a branch office of an auditing company be managed by an auditor; enabling non-professional-member shareholders to participate in the workforce; introduction of the in-house auditor (Syndikus-Wirtschaftsprüfer) as an activity compatible with the profession of auditor; strengthening professional oversight and quality control: more effective and transparent investigations and inspections, including by expanding duties to provide information and notify, increasing coercive fines and maximum administrative fines, and extending the investigative powers of the Auditor Oversight Body (APAS); making it more difficult to circumvent quality control; expanding the investigative powers of the Quality Control Commission (KfQK); enabling APAS to receive information on inspection findings at public-interest entities; aligning the remuneration structures of authorities engaged in financial supervision; clarifications, consequential amendments, editorial corrections; Repeal of § 47, insertion of §§ 28a and 44c and amendment of numerous §§ of the Wirtschaftsprüferordnung, and § 292 of the Handelsgesetzbuch; insertion of § 2a of the Act Establishing an Auditor Oversight Body at the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control Reference: The bill had already been introduced in the 20th electoral term as GESTA 20th electoral term E075. Committee recommendation: foregoing the introduction of the protected professional designation of in-house auditor (Syndikus-Wirtschaftsprüfer); simplifications to recognition as an auditing company and to workforce participation; amendments concerning the imposition of conditions, special audits and quality controls by the KfQK; extending the exception to the rotation requirement for engagement quality reviewers to audit offices of savings bank and giro associations; removing the extension of APAS’s investigative powers; limiting the grounds for excluding quality control reviewers in cases of concern about bias to the regulatory content required under EU law; editorial adjustments, clarifications, consequential amendments; Additional and renewed amendment of numerous §§ of the Wirtschaftsprüferordnung, and additional amendment of §§ 1, 2, 2a and 6 of the Act Establishing an Auditor Oversight Body at the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control Reference: Directive 2006/43/EC of 17 May 2006 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 (EU Statutory Audit Directive) (OJ EC No. L 157, 09.06.2006, p. 87) (OJ L, 2023/2864, 20.12.2023)

• Plenarprotokoll BT-PlPr. 21/96 (PDF)dserver.bundestag.de
• Plenarprotokoll BT-PlPr. 21/96 (XML)dserver.bundestag.de
• Plenarprotokoll BT-PlPr. 21/108 (PDF)dserver.bundestag.de
• Stellungnahme (BR-Drs. 7/25(B)(neu))dserver.bundestag.de
• Empfehlungen (BR-Drs. 7/1/25)dserver.bundestag.de
• Gesetzentwurf (BR-Drs. 7/25)dserver.bundestag.de