Auditors propose to abandon the unified qualification certificate

Participants in the audit market propose to abandon the single qualification certificate in favor of three certificates for employees of companies with different skill levels. According to market participants, this will help reduce the cost of conducting simple audit procedures, as well as attract new personnel to the industry. However, such a radical change in regulation will require the consent of the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, which have not yet received proposals from market participants.

As follows from the operational survey of “Kommersant” of large audit companies, they are in favor of changing the existing certification of industry workers. So, instead of a single qualification certificate, it is proposed to introduce three certificates: an auditor of publicly significant organizations in the financial market (OZO FR), an auditor of other organizations without competencies in consolidated reporting and the financial market, and an auditor’s assistant to perform the simplest audit procedures. Such a proposal was put forward for public consultations by the SRO of auditors and published on its website on June 22. Based on the results of public consultations, proposals will be prepared for amendments to legislative and regulatory acts.

According to FBK Povolzhye General Director Sergey Nikiforov, in order to obtain a unified qualification certificate, it is necessary to pass an expensive and three-stage exam, for which the company often pays. According to experts, the participation of an employee in the exam can cost 300-400 thousand rubles. on the applicant, taking into account the fact that not all examinees cope with the exam the first time. In addition, auditors should regularly attend continuing education courses. The direct costs are added to the time of study holidays that must be given to prepare and pass the test (see Kommersant dated December 26, 2022).

Market participants consider the proposal important and believe that it will reduce the cost of auditing. “In fact, all audit organizations want only one thing – to be able to send assistants for inventory at the enterprise, so as not to send an auditor there,” says Dmitry Limarenko, general director of Univers-Audit. At the same time, without a single certificate, a novice auditor “cannot participate even in the simplest audit procedures for socially significant organizations,” such as inventory, he explains. In order not to violate the rules of the law, audit companies have to send two auditors for the simplest audit procedures – with and without a certificate, although an employee without a certificate has enough competencies and experience to conduct, in particular, an inventory, confirms Igor Buyan, partner in the practice of audit services of the B1 group of companies. . At the same time, sending one specialist for verification would significantly reduce costs, since it is necessary to pay for this to one specialist instead of two.

At the same time, market participants believe that proposals can be improved. Dividing the certificate into “audit and non-audit” could be much more useful, says Igor Tokarev, senior managing partner at DRT. In his opinion, it is necessary to introduce different statuses of membership in the SRO after passing the exam: for those who continue to work in the audit profession, and those who are engaged in other financial activities and at the same time confirm all requirements for maintaining professional qualifications, except for the place of work. This will allow professionals who once passed a professional exam to keep it when they leave the audit business, he explains. According to Olga Komissarova, general director of Pacioli, this will contribute to the influx of new personnel, which is currently lacking, and the promotion of the profession due to the lower entry threshold.

However, in any case, the application of innovations requires the approval of regulatory bodies – the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance. The introduction of an audit assistant certificate will solve the problem of a shortage of qualified personnel, provided that the professional standard is clarified and the “controllers” decide that such certified specialists will have the right to perform certain work, explains the general director of Rusaudit Evgeny Samoilov.

The Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Russia said that they have not yet received offers from market participants. At the same time, the Central Bank noted that such a change in the requirements for audit organizations “is of a fundamental nature and requires discussion with the professional community, as well as the Ministry of Finance.”

Julia Poslavskaya