Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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253. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the date of transfer to the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority, IAASA, of oversight of auditors in relation to the audit of public interest bodies. [27590/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I signed the European Union (Statutory Audits) (Directive 2006/43/EC, as amended by Directive 2014/56/EU, and Regulation (EU) No. 537/2014) Regulations 2016 (S. I. No. 312 of 2016) on 15 June 2016 and they took effect on 17 June 2016. This Statutory Instrument gives effect to Ireland’s obligations under the EU audit reform package, comprising Directive (2014/56/EU) which amends Directive 2006/43/EC and a Regulation (EU) No. 537/2014.

The Directive applies to all statutory audits while the Regulation adds more stringent rules for the audits of entities such as financial and credit institutions, insurers, funds and listed companies, known as ‘public interest entities’.

Under S.I. No. 312 of 2016, the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) was designated as the competent authority with ultimate responsibility for the oversight of the new enhanced audit regime in Ireland. Specifically, IAASA is responsible for carrying out the following tasks in relation statutory auditors and audit firms that carry out statutory audits of public interest entities:

(i) Quality assurance system referred to in Article 26 of the EU Regulation;

(ii) Investigations arising from (i) above or from a referral by another authority, and

(iii) Sanctions and measures arising from (i) and (ii) above.