Law No. 148/2015 of 9 September was recently published, partially transposing into national law Directive No. 2014/56/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014, amending Directive 2006/43/EC on statutory audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts as well as partially implementing Regulation (EU) No 537/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on specific requirements for the statutory audit of public interest entities. This law implements changes to the current supervisory regime of the Chartered Accountants (“ROC”) and of the Chartered Accountants Companies (“SROC”). These changes have implications with regard to the performance of functions by ROC and SROC to intervene in the preparation of financial information of entities subject to the supervision of the Securities Market Commission (“CMVM”). The new Legal Regime of the Audit Supervision (“New Legal Framework”) provides for the assumption by the CMVM of supervisory role on the audit activity. To this extent, the scope of the CMVM’s activity can match the scope of the Chartered Accountants Association’s activity (OROC). However, some powers are reserved to the CMVM, in particular with regard to the designated “public interest entities” whose cast includes, among other things, “issuers of securities admitted to trading on a regulated market”, “credit institutions are obliged the statutory audit “and” investment firms “. CMVM will also have exclusivity on the initiation and decision of the administrative offenses proceedings in this area. The ROC and SROC, who wish to develop public functions, including the audit of accounts, become subject to registration with the CMVM, in addition to registration with the OROC. The ROC and SROC that audit public interest entities also become subject to certain obligations laid down in the New Legal Framework with regard to information and transparency in the performance of its services. The New Legal Framework endows CMVM with the means to pursue the new functions, such as (i) collaboration with other entities, (ii) the necessary receiving information from the ROC and SROC registered with the same, (iii) conducting inspections or (iv) the issuance of recommendations.
