Approval as auditing firms

The form should be used by businesses that can document that the conditions for approval as an auditing firm are met.

• The company must be registered in the Register of Business Enterprises as a general partnership, limited partnership, private limited company, public limited company, or cooperative.
• The company has a board where a majority of both the members and deputy members of the board are auditors who are approved auditors in Norway or another EU/EEA country.
• Approved auditors or approved audit firms hold more than half of the votes in the company's highest governing body.
• The company is able to pay its obligations as they fall due (liquidity requirement).

No attachments are necessary.

Act on auditing and auditors (in Norwegian only)

Act on auditing and auditors (Auditors Act) (In English)

Criteria/conditions:

To apply for personal authorisation as a state authorised auditor, you need to use the application form KRT-1019.

If you have a foreign education or professional qualification and wish to practice your profession in Norway you can find more information here.

There are requirements for the business after approval is granted. Among other requirements, the business must appoint a quality management officer who holds a personal authorisation as a state authorised auditor. The company must also designate a state authorised auditor as responsible for each accounting assignment. Please consult the information on the Financial Supervisory Authority's website on permissions, choose supervision of statutory audit work (in Norwegian only).

Special provisions apply to audit firms from other EU/EEA countries seeking to operate in Norway. The company must appoint a responsible auditor who has Norwegian auditor approval, and the company must ensure registration in the Auditor Register at the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway. Form KRT-1062 should not be used in these cases. Applications should be sent to the email address post@finanstilsynet.no. The application must document that the company is approved and registered in a public auditor register in its home country.

Fee:

There are no processing fees. However, auditing firms must pay an annual supervision fee after approval has been granted. Please refer to the information on the Financial Supervisory Authority's website regarding supervision fees (in Norwegian only) 

Case Processing deadlines:

The Financial Supervisory Authority aims to process authorisation applications within 30 days. However, processing may take longer if the application is complex or lacks documentation. Processing time may also be extended if there are many cases to be handled. Therefore, some applicants may experience processing times longer than 30 days.

Right of appeal:

The decision of the Financial Supervisory Authority can be appealed. The appeal should be sent to the Financial Supervisory Authority. The appeals body is the Appeals Board for Auditor, Accountant, and Debt Collection Cases. The applicant has the right to access the case documents within the framework of the Public Administration Act §§ 18 to 19. The appeal must state which decision is being appealed, the desired change, and the reasons for the appeal. The Financial Supervisory Authority will conduct any investigations warranted by the appeal, and if the rejection is upheld, forward the appeal to the appeal body, cf. the Public Administration Act § 33.