The appointment of the Polish Public Supervision Agency, which is to ensure the work of auditors, will entail new responsibilities and additional costs for audit firms. As a result, a large number of smaller companies of this type will disappear from the market.
The statutory auditor's authority draws attention to the restrictiveness of the new law and to the fact that the effectiveness of the new control arrangements carried out by KNA has not yet been verified
In the middle of last year, the Audit Supervision Commission (KNA), operating at the MF, received new powers in mid-last year, which allow to check in detail the audit work of Deloitte for GetBack (the elevator doctored the report data). In addition to this scope, KNA also controls other public interest units (CPPs).
second the audit body is the National Supervisory Committee (KKN), operating at the Polish Chamber of Auditors (PIBR), focusing on checking the remaining reports, not yet falling into the field of interest of the Ministry.
The incident with reporting irregularities in GetBack, which was mainly controlled by KKN, showed the weakness of the body's operation. Therefore, the MF decided to introduce a new body – the Polish Agency for Public Supervision (PANP) – as did the KNA of the Ministry. It will take over the tasks of KKN, thereby limiting the role of self-government and, as a result, eliminating KKN.
The PAP will include: two representatives of MF, representative of KNF, representative of the Minister of Justice, representative of PIBR, representative of employers' organisations, representative of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
The body will have the competence of KNA and KKN, with its focus mainly on the work of auditors. Restrictive checks are to be carried out once per three years for JZP and once per week six years in other cases. Ad hoc checks will also function. A supervisory fee will be entered to cover 4% service value.
In order to facilitate control there will be an obligation to prepare in Polish documentation from the performance of the service, not only in its basic scope, but also with an extension to related services, not only reserved for statutory auditors, such as due diligence or financial expertise.
Additional services are also to be covered by the supervisory fee. Additional financial burdens may result in smaller audit firms disappearing from the market, which in turn will prolong reporting processes and reduce the availability of services.
The self-government draws attention to the restrictive nature of the new law and to the fact that the effectiveness of the new control arrangements carried out by KNA has not yet been verified after the Commission has been strengthened by the new powers.
Author:
Katarzyna Kołbuś - Editor leading RB Magazine. From Over 10 years related to industry press, including the Financial Gazette and portal ipip.com.pl, which is devoted to finance, taxation, law, politics and the economy. She graduated from Polish philology at the UMCS and the language editing of the text at the University of Warsaw.