Audit eligibility: is your firm compliant?

Written By Jez Williams

You may be aware that recently issued guidance from ICAEW on audit firm eligibility has caused alarm among many firms, who may need to make urgent and significant changes to their structure or constitution to comply with rules introduced on 1 October. Firms only have until April 2025 to ensure they comply.

The specific issue in question is whether individuals with the Audit Qualification (AQ) control the audit firm sufficiently (e.g. through voting rights) on all matters affecting the firm’s constitution and key operations. In some firms, constitutional changes require a supermajority vote - and the guidance clarifies that members with the AQ need to meet or exceed the proportion required to enact such a supermajority (e.g. 75%).

To explain the issues in more depth, we have produced a helpsheet (in PDF format) which can be downloaded here.

Jez Williams

Jez Williams is Apex’s Training Director.

Jez is a chartered accountant who qualified with KPMG before joining the training sector in 2000. Jez is a well-known speaker in the UK accounting circuit and a member of the ICAEW Audit and Assurance Faculty Board. He regularly presents for ICAEW and for other established training providers in the UK. Jez is also an experienced multimedia developer and designer, having created eLearning content for several Top Twenty firms. He is a media consultant for a number of UK training businesses.

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