Amendment of the Accounting Act with 23 July b.r. for audit of financial statements

In the revised Accounting Act, the list of units whose financial statements are subject to a mandatory audit by the statutory auditor is extended to national payment institutions and electronic money institutions (Article 64(1)(2b) A revised UoR).

Changes were also made, among other things, as regards the information that the auditor provides in a written audit opinion (change Article 65(2)(3)). In accordance with the revised rules, the auditor will be required to indicate in particular whether, in the light of the knowledge of the entity and its surroundings, significant distortions have been identified in the activity report and, if so, what they consist of.

The entity authorised to audit financial statements shall be selected by the approval authority of the entity’s financial statements, unless the statutes, contract or other binding entity provide otherwise (Article 66(4) Accounting Act). However, according to Article 66(5) The accounting act, the head of the entity, shall conclude an audit agreement or review of the financial statements with the entity entitled to audit the financial statements in time to enable it to participate in the inventory of significant assets.

Under applicable law, inventory of most assets can begin 3 months before the end of the financial year. Therefore, if the entity’s financial year is in line with the calendar year, the inventory of some assets can take place in October 2015

In order to fulfil the aforementioned obligation to allow the statutory auditor to participate in the inventory of significant assets, entities whose report for 2015 shall be examined, selected and signed by the auditor at the latest in the fourth quarter of that year.

We note that in order to establish the obligation to examine the annual accounts in a given unit, the provisions of the chapter should be taken into account. 7 Accounting Act "Research, submission to the relevant court register, making available and publishing financial statements". The entities required to audit the annual accounts by the statutory auditor are listed. Under Article 64 Accounting Act

Legal basis

Act dated 29 September 1994 on accounting (Journal of Laws of 2013, item 330 as amended)

Article 64. 1. The annual consolidated financial statements of the capital groups and the annual financial statements - continuing operations - shall be examined:

• 1) banks, insurance and reinsurance undertakings;
• 1a) cooperative savings and credit banks;
• 2) units operating under the provisions on securities trading and investment funds;
• 2a) entities operating under the rules on the organisation and functioning of pension funds;
• 3) public limited-liability companies, with the exception of companies on the balance sheet date of the organisation;

4) other entities which, in the preceding financial year for which the accounts were drawn up, have met at least two the following conditions:

• (a) the average annual full-time employment was at least 50 persons,
• (b) the sum of the balance sheet assets at the end of the financial year was equivalent in Polish currency at least 2,500,000 EUR,

(c) net revenue from the sale of goods and products and financial operations for the financial year was equivalent in Polish currency at least 5,000,000 EUR.

1. In units drawing up the total financial statements referred to under Article 51(1), conditions Under section 1 apply to the total annual accounts.
2. The financial statements of the acquiring companies and the newly bound companies drawn up for the financial year in which the merger took place and the annual financial statements of the entities drawn up in accordance with IAS shall be examined.
3. The annual accounts of investment funds with separate sub-funds and annual individual reports of the sub-funds shall also be examined.