ANNUAL REPORT OF CPOSA’S ACTIVITIES FOR 2012 – SUMMARY
In 2012 the main priorities of the Commission’s oversight activities were mainly focused on updating the secondary legislation regulating the quality control of the activities of statutory auditors in order to improve the effectiveness of inspections, active cooperation with the respective authorities of the European Union when discussing draft amendments of Directive 2006/43/EC and the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament on specific requirements regarding statutory audit of public-interest entities, as well as in regards to the activities of the ICPA.
The actions, undertaken by the Commission, were aimed at preventing and limiting the errors, inconsistencies and legal violations in the area of independent audit improving the interaction with other independent regulators. CPOSA continued its cooperation with the regulatory authorities of the EU Member States towards the implementation of best practices in the oversight activities regarding independence and implementation of the risk-based approach in its planning activities.
During the year under review 62 inspections were carried out of which 43 of sole practitioners and 19 of audit firms. Due to objective reasons, with a decision of CPOSA one planned inspection was postponed for 2013. Despite the higher evaluation criteria, judging on the outcomes, the trend of improving the quality of the activity of statutory auditors continues. The outcomes of the inspections show that 93% of practices were assessed with positive evaluations, while the unsatisfactory evaluations were only 7%. In comparison – the ratio from the previous year was 89% to 11%.
CPOSA conducts investigations on received upon signals for alleged violations and suggestions from interested parties, and also in other cases – at its discretion.
In 2012 CPOSA received 27 signals, 13 of which pertain to the activities of statutory auditors and were related to the quality of audit services and violations of ethical requirements; 13 requests or appeals were against decisions of the ICPA in connection to the acquisition of a diploma for a Certified Public Accountant, respectively registration of independent auditors, and 1 statutory auditor requested CPOSA to inspect his audit practice. In comparison, in 2011 the signals were 16, 9 of which were related to the work of the auditors. Whistle blowers were mostly government institutions, candidates for acquisition of a diploma for a Certified Public Accountant, audit committees and shareholders. Four signals were received by the Financial Supervision Commission.
Following the decisions of CPOSA, in 2012 were carried out 10 investigations. It was found out that 4 of the received signals were justified, while in the 6 rest the facts have not been confirmed by the investigating teams.
The trend from previous years of increase in the number of received signals in CPOSA continues – 68% for 2012. This trend is an indicator of increased trust in the activity of the Commission which could be attributed to its administrative capacity. It would be better to discuss the matter of anonymous complaints which currently are limited by internal rules. Undoubtedly, if it comes to such a decision, eligibility criteria for anonymous signals would have to be introduced.
As a result of investigations carried out:
- grounds for the imposition of administrative penalties of three statutory auditors have been established,
- acts of administrative violation and issued criminal warrants were drawn.
Irrespective of any identified violations of the provisions of the IFAA and on the condition that the one-year limitation period had expired an administrative and criminal liability was not sought after for one statutory auditor. The auditor’s practice has been planned for a regular inspection in the next campaign. The inability, stemming from the existing legislation, to impose sanctions because of the short limitation period does not in any way encourage unscrupulous auditors to work more efficiently.
At the end of the fiscal year was given the start of a procedure for establishing an intranet and electronic filing system, as well as improving the image of the Commission's website by upgrading its sections.
The analysis of the Commission's activities not only for the reporting year, but also for its first mandate, leads to one major conclusion – in order to increase the effectiveness of the supervisory activities of CPOSA the legislation should be revised. In our opinion it should be a two-stage process. The first stage involves urgent amendments to the IFAA arising from difficulties in the work process of the professional organization and the regulator, as well as amendments in the national legislation. The second stage includes the preparation and transposition of the European directives and regulations in the field of statutory audits.
On the basis of the upper-mentioned, the main priorities of the Commission for 2013 are:
• increasing the efficiency of quality control activities of statutory auditors certifying the annual financial statements of public-interest entities by:
– revisions in the legislation;
– development and adoption of a methodology for evaluating the adequacy of time and human resources and audit fees;
– wide application of the risk-based approach in determining the scope of the auditors to be inspected and when determining the sample size of engagements that should be reviewed.
• continuing the active cooperation with EU respective bodies and the protection of our country's position in the discussion of draft amendments to Directive 2006/43/EC and the adoption of a Regulation.
• institutional strengthening and development of CPOSA.
The ultimate goal for 2013 is to establish the Commission as a working oversight authority, effectively protecting the public interest.
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