Auditor

Conditions for the obtaining of an authorisation to pursue the activities of an auditor

Natural persons:
The authorisation to pursue the activities of an auditor (hereinafter referred to as “license”) is obtained upon registration on the list of auditors kept by the Audit Oversight Authority (hereinafter referred to as the “AOA”). The AOA will register in the list of auditors a person who

1. has an attestation of competence to pursue the activities of an auditor  (hereinafter referred to as “certificate”);
2. has taken an oath;
3. was not deleted from the list of auditors; or if he/she was deleted from the list, at least three years have already passed since the date of his/her deletion;
4. has paid the registration fee to the AOA for registration in the list of auditors. 

In order to provide audit services, a natural person must obtain a certificate, issued by the AOA, provided that that person

1. has full legal capacity; 
2. has a good reputation;
3. has obtained a master’s degree (or equivalent);
4. has at least five years of professional experience in accounting;
5. has participated in continuous training for assistant auditors;
6. has submitted to the Authority officially authenticated copies of certificates and licenses from other Member States and third countries, including the name of an institution which issued them and their number;
7. has passed the auditor examination.

A person acquires full legal capacity upon attaining the legal age of majority.  (The legal age of majority is 18. Prior to attaining this age, a person may attain the legal age of majority by marriage.)
For the purposes of this act, a natural person is deemed to have a good reputation if

1. he/she is a person of integrity;
2. has no arrears on compulsory health insurance and social insurance contributions for himself/herself and his/her employees; this is demonstrated by a confirmation issued by the Social Insurance Agency and health insurance companies dating back not more than three months;
3. has no tax arrears; this is demonstrated by a confirmation, dating back not more than three months, issued by the relevant tax authority and tax administrator which is a municipality;
4. has not violated the prohibition of illegal employment over the past five years; this is demonstrated by a confirmation issued by the relevant labour inspectorate;
5. has not breached, over the past five years, the professional obligations with respect to the performance of audit activities and has not been sanctioned pursuant to a separate regulation.

Anyone who has been legally convicted of an intentional crime cannot be considered a person of integrity.
As part of professional practice, the natural person is required to undergo at least three-year practical training in the field of audit with the minimum scope of 3000 hours, two thirds of which must be performed with an auditor or an audit company registered in the list of auditors and/or the list of audit companies, with an euroauditor or an audit company registered in another Member State.
Assistant auditor is a natural person registered in the list of assistant auditors, maintained by the Slovak Camber of Auditors (hereinafter referred to as the “Chamber”).
Auditor examination serves to verify applicants’ qualification to provide audit services and the level of their theoretical knowledge and its application in practice. The examination is held upon written request submitted by the applicant. The examination is held in the state language before an AOA examination board. The examination focuses on economics, financial management and financial analysis; accounting, including management accounting; preparation of individual financial statements and consolidated financial statements; international financial reporting standards; civil law, commercial law, financial law, labour law, social security law and other fields of law as defined in the examination rules; management information systems, risk management and internal control systems, data processing systems, mathematical and statistical methods used in audits; audit procedures, methods and practices, including international audit standards, legislation on audits, auditors and audit companies; the Auditor’s Code of Conduct. The auditor examination has a written form and consists of several partial examinations.
The natural person who has complied with the conditions for the issuance of the certificate takes the following oath, administered by the AOA board chairman:  “I swear on my honour and conscience that I will respect the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, laws and other generally binding regulations and international audit standards, that I will dutifully and responsibly fulfil my obligations as an auditor and keep in confidence all the facts I may learn in connection with the pursuit of the profession of an auditor, and that I will abide by the auditor's code of conduct.”

Legal persons:
Within two months of the delivery of a written application, the AOA will register in the list of audit companies a legal person

1. in which a majority of voting rights is held by auditors or audit companies registered in the relevant list maintained by the AOA or a competent authority of another Member State;
2. in which a majority of members of the audit company statutory body are auditors registered in the list of auditors maintained by the AOA or a competent authority of another Member State; if the statutory body of the audit company has two members, at least one of them has to be registered in the list of auditors; 
3. that has paid a registration fee to the AOA for the registration in the list of audit companies; 
4. in which natural persons who perform audit works on behalf of the audit company are registered in the list of auditors maintained by the AOA or a competent authority of another Member State;  
5. has a good reputation.

An audit company is deemed to have a good reputation if

1. its statutory body member is a person of integrity;
2. has no arrears on compulsory health insurance and social insurance contributions for its employees; 
3. has no tax arrears;  
4. has not violated the prohibition of illegal employment over the past five years; 
5. has not breached, over the past five years, the professional obligations with respect to the performance of audit activities or has not been sanctioned.
   A licence application must be submitted to the AOA in writing.  Upon registration in the list of audit companies, the AOA issues a license to the audit company, effective as of the date of its registration in the list of audit companies.

Additional information on the pursuit of the activities of an auditor

Euroauditor is a natural person who has a licence and is registered in the list of auditors in another European Union Member State or in another state which is a state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area. A euroauditor who wishes to be registered in the list of auditors must submit a written registration application to the AOA. The AOA will register in the list of auditors a person who

1. has obtained the certificate after having passed the aptitude test;
2. has taken an oath administered by the AOA chairman;
3. was not deleted from the list of auditors; or if he/she was deleted from the list, at least three years have already passed since the date of his/her deletion;
4. has paid the registration fee to the AOA for the registration in the list of auditors.

Fees for the issuance of an authorisation to pursue the activities of an auditor

Fee for auditor examinations, aptitude tests and retests:

• the aggregate fee for auditor examination or aptitude test is €497.90;
  the fee for each partial examination and its re-take is €165.96;
• the aggregate fee for retesting is €697.07;
  the fee for each partial examination and its re-take is €232.35.

Registration fees

• the fee for registration in the list of auditors is €165; 
• the fee for registration in the list of audit companies is €995.

Other fees for AOA services

• the fee for the reissuance of licenses to auditors and audit companies in the case of a change in information, loss, theft or destruction of the licence: €16;
• the fee for the issuance of the certificate upon request: €6

The fees in the prescribed amount are paid to the AOA bank account maintained with the State Treasury, account No. 70003 18133, bank code 8180. The applicants pay the fee for registration in the list of auditors and/or list of audit companies in the prescribed amount to the AOA bank account upon submissions of the application; or they present a payment confirmation attached to the application. 

Application procedure for the obtaining of an authorisation to pursue the activities of an auditor

In order to obtain the licence, the applicants have to fill in an application for the registration in the list of auditors/audit companies and attach necessary annexes thereto.  Annexes to be attached to the application:

Natural persons:

1. the certificate;
2. a payment confirmation, unless the fee has been paid by a wire transfer to the AOA bank account;

Legal persons:

1. a statement from the register of criminal records of a statutory body member dating back not more than three months, unless it is provided by an SPC;
2. a confirmation issued by the Social Insurance Agency and health insurance companies that the legal person has no arrears on compulsory social insurance and health insurance contributions;
3. a confirmation issued by the relevant tax authority and tax administrator which is a municipality that the legal person has no tax arrears (dating back not more than three months);
4. a confirmation issued by the relevant labour inspectorate (dating back not more than three months) that the legal person has not violated, over the past five years, the prohibition on illegal employment pursuant to a separate regulation; a declaration of honour that the legal person has not breached, over the past five years, the professional obligations with respect to the performance of audit activities and has not been sanctioned;
5. a payment confirmation, unless the fee has been paid by a wire transfer to the AOA bank account;
6. memorandum of association or a deed of foundation;
7. statutes (by-laws), if issued by the company;
8. a statement of incorporation in the Business Register of the Slovak Republic, if the legal person has been incorporated in the Register as at the date of the submission of the application, or an application for the incorporation in the Business Register;
9. a written instrument that clearly implies the percentage of voting rights in the legal person held by individual shareholders and that a majority of its statutory body members are auditors.

Application form:

• electronic application form for domestic natural person
• electronic application form for re-entry of domestic natural person in the list of auditors
• electronic application form for foreign natural person
• electronic applicaton form for re-entry of foreign person in the list of auditors
• electronic application form for domestic legal person
• electronic application form for re-entry of domestic legal person in the list of auditors
• electronic application form for foreing legal person
• electronic application form for re-entry of foreign legal person in the list of auditors

or you can send the application that can be found on the webapge of UDVA directly to the competent organ (UDVA).

Electronic procedure:

Electronic procedure is available at Central Government Portal at this link and press "Enter the portal" (more information about electronic procedure can be found here).