Article 24b
Organisation of the work
1.
Member States shall ensure that, when the statutory audit is carried out by an audit firm, that audit firm designates at least one key audit partner. The audit firm shall provide the key audit partner(s) with sufficient resources and with personnel that have the necessary competence and capabilities to carry out his, her or its duties appropriately.
Member States shall ensure that, when the assurance of sustainability reporting is carried out by an audit firm, that audit firm designates at least one key sustainability partner, who may be (one of) the key audit partner(s). The audit firm shall provide the key sustainability partner(s) with sufficient resources and with personnel that have the necessary competence and capabilities to carry out his, her or its duties appropriately.
Securing audit and assurance quality, independence and competence shall be the main criteria when the audit firm selects the key audit partner(s) and, where applicable, the key sustainability partner(s) to be designated.
The key audit partner(s) shall be actively involved in the carrying-out of the statutory audit. The key sustainability partner shall be actively involved in the carrying-out of the assurance of sustainability reporting.
2.
When carrying out the statutory audit, the statutory auditor shall devote sufficient time to the engagement and shall assign sufficient resources to enable him or her to carry out his or her duties appropriately.
2a.
When carrying out the assurance of sustainability reporting, the statutory auditor shall devote sufficient time to the engagement and shall assign sufficient resources to enable him or her to carry out his or her duties appropriately.
3.
Member States shall ensure that the statutory auditor or the audit firm keeps records of any breaches of the provisions of this Directive and, where applicable, of Regulation (EU) No 537/2014. Member States may exempt statutory auditors and audit firms from this obligation with regard to minor breaches. Statutory auditors and audit firms shall also keep records of any consequence of any breach, including the measures taken to address such breach and to modify their internal quality control system. They shall prepare an annual report containing an overview of any such measures taken and shall communicate that report internally.
When a statutory auditor or an audit firm asks external experts for advice, he, she or it shall document the request made and the advice received.
4.
A statutory auditor or an audit firm shall maintain a client account record. Such record shall include the following data for each audit client:
(a)
the name, the address and the place of business;
(b)
in the case of an audit firm, the name(s) of the key audit partner(s) and, where applicable, the name(s) of the key sustainability partner(s);
(c)
the fees charged for the statutory audit, the fees charged for the assurance of sustainability reporting and the fees charged for other services in any financial year.
5.
The statutory auditor or the audit firm shall document at least the data recorded pursuant to Article 22b(1) of this Directive, and, where applicable, Articles 6 to 8 of Regulation (EU) No 537/2014.
The statutory auditor or the audit firm shall retain any other data and documents that are of importance in support of the report referred to in Articles 28 of this Directive and, where applicable, Articles 10 and 11 of Regulation (EU) No 537/2014 and for monitoring compliance with this Directive and other applicable legal requirements.
The audit file shall be closed no later than 60 days after the date of signature of the audit report referred to in Article 28 of this Directive and, where applicable, Article 10 of Regulation (EU) No 537/2014.
5a.
A statutory auditor or an audit firm shall create an assurance file for each assurance engagement concerning sustainability reporting.
The statutory auditor or the audit firm shall document at least the data recorded pursuant to Article 22b as regards the assurance of sustainability reporting.
The statutory auditor or the audit firm shall retain any other data and documents that are of importance in support of the assurance report on sustainability reporting referred to in Article 28a and for monitoring compliance with this Directive and other applicable legal requirements as regards the assurance of sustainability reporting.
The assurance file shall be closed no later than 60 days after the date of signature of the assurance report on sustainability reporting referred to in Article 28a.
Where the same statutory auditor carries out the statutory audit of annual financial statements and the assurance of sustainability reporting, the assurance file may be included in the audit file.
6.
The statutory auditor or the audit firm shall keep records of any complaints made in writing about the performance of the statutory audits carried out and about the performance of assurance engagements concerning sustainability reporting carried out.
7.
Member States may lay down simplified requirements with regard to paragraphs 3 and 6 for the audits referred to in points (b) and (c) of point 1 of Article 2.