«السوق» تطلب مرئيات لتعديل قواعد تسجيل مراجعي حسابات المنشآت الخاضعة لها

The Capital Market Authority has invited all interested parties, stakeholders, and participants in the financial market to express their views regarding the proposed amendment to the rules for registering auditors of entities subject to the Authority's supervision, for a period of 30 calendar days ending on May 8, 2026.

According to a statement from the Authority, the proposed project aims to provide a legislative environment aligned with best practices for entities that oversee auditors independently, in accordance with related regulations, in order to enhance the quality of audit processes for entities under the Authority's supervision and improve the quality of information disclosed by accounting firms registered with the Authority.

Mandatory Requirements

According to the proposed project, the Authority has added mandatory requirements for accounting firms through the "Rules for Auditors of Entities Subject to the Authority's Supervision," to elevate the qualification level of audit managers and ensure professional competencies. Among the most notable of these requirements is the existence of a sufficient number of audit managers holding the fellowship of the Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants or equivalent professional fellowships accepted by the Authority in accounting firms, in proportion to the nature, size, and diversity of their business activities.

The proposed amendments also require the existence of an appropriate quality management system for auditing and examining financial statements, in addition to the commitment of registered accounting firms to professional standards when examining interim financial statements and auditing annual financial statements of entities under the Authority's supervision, to enhance the level of trust among users of financial statements.

Detailed Instructions

The proposed project obliges registered accounting firms to follow detailed instructions when the Authority conducts examinations on them, by cooperating with the Authority to provide the required information, data, and documents. Additionally, registered accounting firms are required to prepare a corrective action plan and provide it to the Authority, committing to implement it after approval if the examination results necessitate such action. Furthermore, registered accounting firms are obliged to share the final examination results of the Authority on the company's audit file with the audit committee of that company, in case the Authority conducts an examination on its audit file, thereby enhancing the committee's role in performing its duties.

Transparency Report

Regarding the required information in the transparency report, the project stipulates that this information must be clear, accurate, and not misleading. It also obliges accounting firms to provide additional disclosures in the report, including disclosures related to the legal form of the registered accounting firm and a description of the quality management system applied at the registered accounting firm, including the names of individuals responsible for overseeing the quality management system, along with the disclosure of the results of the annual evaluation of the system applied at the accounting firm, enabling those interested in the profession of auditing entities under the Authority's supervision to assess the quality of audit work at registered accounting firms.
The Capital Market Authority confirmed that the comments of interested parties, including individuals, government entities, the private sector, and entities under the Authority's supervision, will be given due attention and consideration, with the aim of adopting the final version of the project, which in turn will contribute to achieving the goal of improving and developing the regulatory environment.