Mandatory notifications
There are a number of situations in which audit firms have a legal obligation to notify the AFM immediately. With most of these situations, this notification can be made in our AFM Portal.
Material breach at a PIE
If, in the context of the performance of a statutory audit at a public interest entity (PIE) under the AFM’s supervision, you become aware of a material breach of the laws, regulations and/or administrative provisions governing the conditions for the admission of the PIE or specifically governing the PIE’s activities, you must immediately notify the AFM.
Threat to or doubts about a PIE’s ability to continue as a going concern
If, in the context of the performance of a statutory audit at a PIE under the AFM’s supervision, you become aware of a material threat to or material doubts about the PIE’s ability to continue as a going concern, you must immediately notify the AFM.
Disclaimer of opinion, adverse opinion or qualified opinion
You must notify the AFM if, in the context of the performance of a statutory audit at a PIE under the AFM’s supervision, a statutory auditor at your audit firm had found evidence on the basis of which the auditor may decide to issue one of the following opinions on the PIE’s financial statements: a disclaimer of opinion, an adverse opinion or a qualified opinion.
Early termination of a statutory audit engagement
If your audit firm or the audit client terminates an engagement for the performance of a statutory audit in respect of a particular financial year before this statutory audit has been completed, you must immediately notify the AFM.
Incident
If your audit firm is involved in an incident that poses a serious threat to the ethical operation of your firm’s business, you must immediately notify the AFM of this incident.
Disciplinary proceedings against a statutory auditor
If the Disciplinary Court for Auditors in Zwolle has initiated disciplinary proceedings against a statutory auditor employed by or affiliated with your audit firm, you must notify the AFM within one week of the day when you became aware of this.
New information relevant to a policymaker’s or co-policymaker's trustworthiness
You must immediately notify us of any new background information or any change to background information on a policymaker or co-policymaker. The AFM also needs to be made aware of changes to relevant details in order to assess this person’s trustworthiness. Changes in this information may lead to a reassessment.
Notification of composition and duties of a ‘collective’ in connection with the suitability assessment
Policymakers at audit firms with a PIE licence must be suited to the duties their position entails. If there will be a change in the division of duties or responsibilities within a management body or the supervisory board (referred to as ‘collectives’ in the applicable Policy Rule) that affects one or more members of this ‘collective’, you must notify the AFM of this in advance. Such changes may lead to a new suitability assessment.
Changes in details or documents submitted
You must also notify us if any changes occur in the details or documents that your audit firm submitted to the AFM in the context of its licence application.