Citation, commencement and extent

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Companies Act 2006 (Recognition of Third Country Qualifications and Practical Training) (Amendment) Regulations 2025.

(2) These Regulations come into force 40 days after the day on which they are made.

(3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Amendments to the Companies Act 2006

2.—(1)Part 42 of the Companies Act 2006 (statutory auditors)(3) is amended as follows.

(2) In section 1221 (approval of third country qualifications)(4)—

(a)for subsection (1A)(a) substitute—

“(a)already holds a professional qualification which—

(i)covers subjects and skills which are the same or substantially the same as the subjects and skills that are covered by a recognised professional qualification, where the knowledge of those subjects and skills is essential for the pursuit of the profession of statutory auditor, and

(ii)demonstrates knowledge of those subjects and skills to the same or substantially the same standard as that demonstrated by the recognised professional qualification, or”;

(b)for subsection (1A)(b) substitute—

“(b)holds a professional qualification which does not comply with paragraph (a) and has met whichever of the requirements of subsection (1B) as is specified in the declaration.”;

(c)in subsection (7A), for paragraph (a) substitute—

“(a)must test the person’s knowledge of required subjects and skills,”;

(d)after subsection (7A) insert—

“(7AA)For the purposes of subsection (7A), a subject or skill is a required subject or skill if it is covered by a recognised professional qualification and knowledge of it is essential for the pursuit of the profession of statutory auditor, but—

(a)the professional qualification already held by the person (“the existing qualification”) does not cover the same or substantially the same subject or skill, or

(b)the existing qualification does not demonstrate knowledge of that subject or skill to the same or substantially the same standard as that demonstrated by the recognised professional qualification.”.

(3) In paragraph 9 (practical training) of Schedule 11 (requirements for recognition of a professional qualification)(5)—

(a)in sub-paragraph (4)(b) for “an EEA State, or part of an EEA State” substitute “a country or territory outside the United Kingdom, where the conditions in sub-paragraph (4A) are met in relation to that person.”;

(b)after sub-paragraph (4) insert—

“(4A)Those conditions are that—

(a)the Secretary of State has determined for the purposes of sub-paragraph (2) that the law and practice with respect to the audit of accounts in the country or territory outside the United Kingdom is similar to that in the United Kingdom,

(b)the body offering the qualification is satisfied that the person has been approved by the body or organisation responsible for approving a person as being eligible under the law of the country or territory outside of the United Kingdom for appointment as an auditor of accounts, and

(c)the body offering the qualification is satisfied that the approval corresponds to the approval of a person as being eligible for appointment as a statutory auditor in the United Kingdom.”;

(c)omit sub-paragraph (5).

Transitional provision

3. The amendments made by regulation 2(3) do not affect the validity of any approval to provide practical training granted to a person under paragraph 9(3) of Schedule 11 to the Companies Act 2006 before the commencement of these Regulations.