The representatives of the Chamber of Auditors and Accountants of Ukraine (CAAU, Union) submitted comments and proposals to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine on drafts of legal acts on certification and continuous training of auditors, which were published on the official website of the Ministry for discussion. The orders made for public discussion are prepared to fulfill the requirements of Part 9 of Art. 19 of the Law of Ukraine “On Audit of Financial Reporting and Auditing”. The CAAU Working Group, which was set up to refine these documents and bring them into line with the professional interests of all members of the profession, is consisted of members of the union with relevant experience. In particular, it is proposed to make changes regarding the procedure of auditors' attestation, the assessment of theoretical knowledge, the continuous professional training of auditors and the training of candidates for auditors.
Regarding procedure for auditor certification
In the part of auditors' certification, the normative documents, which are developed in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Audit of Financial Reporting and Auditing” stipulate that it is inadmissible to provide for any examinations not specified by the relevant legislation. The law “On Audit of Financial Reporting and Auditing”, part 9 of item 9 of Art. 19, the competence of the attestation commission shall include the decision on recognition of a person's qualification for auditing. No other qualification can be conferred on the Attestation Commission, as it does not have such rights under the abovementioned law.
Concerning enrollment of theoretical knowledge
With regard to the assessment of the content of educational and vocational programs (for the purposes of training (work) programs) the requirement is such that it cannot be implemented. The candidate for the auditor may not be likely to have training programs, much less work programs. The educational institutions where the candidates obtained their degree are unlikely to be able to provide such programs. The extent of the study of the discipline can be set on the diploma, but the learning of content of the program is not considered possible in most cases. The number of hours offered for enrollment is overstated, especially in the legal disciplines.
Regarding continuing professional training of auditors
According to paragraph 4 of Art. 16 “Procedure for the establishment and functions of the Supervisory Board” of the Law “On Audit of Financial Reporting and Auditing” among the powers of the Supervisory Board there is no authority to approve the list of professional organizations whose certificate (diploma) indicates a high level of relevant knowledge. Since, according to item 5 of the abovementioned Article 16, the powers of the Board of Supervisors are determined by the Law and the Charter of the Public oversight body for audit activity within the powers defined by law, we consider the provisions of section 5.7 of this Regulation to be an excess of the powers of the Board of Supervisors.
The lack of specific requirements for methodological support calls into question the expediency of its submission, since the Inspectorate does not have criteria for evaluating such methodological support and, accordingly, the grounds for deciding whether to approve or disapprove it.
According to Part 7, Item 9 of Art. 19 of the Law “On Audit of Financial Reporting and Auditing” the establishment of requirements for legal entities that can conduct continuing professional training of auditors lies within the competence of the Attestation Commission, so the provision of additional, not provided for by the Law, requirements for professional organizations of auditors and/or accountants intend to conduct educational events for their members, as well as for audit firms that intend to conduct educational events to train their employees on their own programs recognized by professional bodies – members of the International Federation of Accountants is exceeding the powers of the Commission on attestation.
Regarding the internship of candidates for auditors
We consider it advisable to consider the internship of auditors as a labor relationship in accordance with Art. 29 of the Law on Employment of the Population. In order to complete the internship, it is proposed to provide that the auditor candidate must select an audit entity that is included in the Registry Sections “Audit entities that have the right to conduct statutory audit of financial statements” or “Audit entities that have the right to conduct statutory audit of the public interest entities”. The supplements are suggested to be made to chapters 3 and 4 of the Register, since entities can provide the practical knowledge of auditing.