| CAFR | CECCAR | |
|---|---|---|
| Membership | Mandatory | Mandatory in order to provide services specific to the profession |
| No. of members | 4,570 | 33,278 |
| Institute staff | 41 | 251 |
| Date of establishment | 1999 by Government Ordinance no 75 | 1921 by Royal Decree of King Ferdinand |
| Local branches | 5 | 42 branches established in each county of the country and the Headquarters |
| Subject to public oversight | No | No |
| Public oversight authority | N/A (For qualified professionals: Public Oversight Authority for Statutory Audit Activity – ASPAAS) | N/A (For qualified professional accountants: Regulations on the Access to the Expert Accountant and Licensed Accountant professions are prepared by the Body of Expert and Licensed Accountants of Romania and approved by the Ministry of Finance and by the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth) |
| Involvement in Qualification and Market Access | CAFR | CECCAR |
|---|---|---|
| Initial education | No, but continue to perform the task as per law and obligations as IFAC member for all the other type of audits except statutory audits. | Yes |
| Examination | No, but continue to perform the task as per law and obligations as IFAC member for all the other type of audits except statutory audits. (Responsibility undertaken by ASPAAS) | Yes |
| Approval and registration | CAFR – approves members only upon approval/authorization order issued by ASPAAS. The Electronic Public Register of Authorized Financial Auditors is maintained by ASPAAS. | Yes |
| Continued Professional Development | No, but continue to perform the task as per law and obligations as IFAC member for all the other type of audits except statutory audits. Required and undertook by CAFR as per OUG 75/1999 Required and undertook also by ASPAAS as per L162/2017 Condition for annual visa issued by CAFR | Yes, according to the national Continuous Professional Development Program of the professional accountants (PNDPC) and according to the Professional Standard no. 38 regarding the CPD of the professional accountants, which represents the transposition of IES no. 7, issued by IFAC |
| Activities | CAFR | CECCAR |
|---|---|---|
| Standard setting | No, but continue to perform the task as per law and obligations as IFAC member for all the other type of audits except statutory audits. (ASPAAS for statutory audits) | Yes |
| Quality assurance | Yes, limited to audit activities other than statutory audit (ASPAAS for statutory audits) | Yes |
| Disciplinary measures | As it is stipulated in the law governing the financial audit, other than statutory audit, in the quality assurance norms and in the Internal Operating Regulation of CAFR: – Audit activity is evaluated using the qualificatives A, B, C or D – All auditors who are evaluated with B, C or D must follow supplementary training courses and will pay an increased annual fee; – Auditors who receive a C or D qualificative will be reviewed within a year of the initial review, in order to verify whether they improved their activity and implemented remedy actions; – Other disciplinary actions may include public warning, suspending auditor’s activity for a period of time from a year to 3 years or cancellation of membership in CAFR. (ASPAAS for statutory audits) | Yes |
| Professions | Financial Auditor | Expert Accountant | Licensed Accountant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional body | CAFR | CECCAR | CECCAR |
| Protected title | Yes, Financial Auditor | Yes | Yes |
| Reserved activities | • Statutory audit on annual and on consolidated annual accounts, in the conditions provided by the Romanian Law 162/2017-; • audit of annual accounts and consolidated accounts to the extent that is not statutory audit according to the Law. • Review engagements of reviewing annual accounts financial statements, of consolidated financial statements, as well as of interim financial statements; • Other assurance and professional engagements in compliance with international standards of audit, adopted by CAFR Internal audit, other than internal public audit. | The expert accountant may, individually or as a company, provide the following services to natural and legal persons: • organizes, manages, provides bookkeeping, verifies and oversees the accounting activity, prepares and signs financial statements and performs fiscal activities, such as calculating taxes and contributions, preparing and submitting tax returns, and representing the client in relation to the tax authorities, as part of an accounting services contract • provides specialized assistance for organizing accounting and bookkeeping; undertakes forensic accounting engagements, including forensic accounting engagements with a fiscal component, required by judicial bodies or requested by natural or legal entities, according to the legal requirements and the CECCAR regulations. | The licensed accountant may provide the following services to natural and legal persons: • bookkeeping for the economic and financial operations stated in the contract; performing the preliminary work necessary for preparing the financial statements; |
| Included authorisations | Financial auditors and audit firms may carry out other activities, such as: • financial-accounting consultancy; • financial-accounting management; • professional training in the field; • accounting expertise, evaluation, judicial reorganization and liquidation, as well as tax consultancy. In compliance with the provisions of the law, all the above activities may be performed only after the financial auditor has obtained the authorization as chartered accountant, evaluator, insolvency practitioner or tax advisor, as it be the case, and they have become members of the bodies which coordinate the respective liberal professions. | The expert accountant may, individually or as a company, provide the following services to natural and legal persons: • performs financial and economic analyses and valuations, for accounting and financial purposes, other than those defined by Government Ordinance no 24/2011 on certain measures concerning the valuation of goods, approved with amendments by Law no 99/2013, with its subsequent amendments and supplements, and which do not take the form of a valuation report prepared in accordance with the valuation standards adopted by the National Association of Romanian Authorized Valuators (ANEVAR). Such valuations may include, without being limited to, estimates of an entity’s cash flow and financial position, revenue and expense measurement, estimating the level of provisions and value adjustments, as well as other valuations performed by expert accountants during their current activity; • performs other financial-accounting activities, including maintaining electronic staff records, payroll services, administrative and IT organization activities, information, data and documents certifications; • fulfils the tasks provided for in the censor mandate and financial proxy mandate, according to the legal requirements; • provides specialized advice for the establishment and restructuring of companies; • provides financial-accounting and economic performance management; • provides internal management control and risk management for legal entities; • provides financial management and accounting consultancy, performs management accounting and integrated reporting specific services; provides professional services that require knowledge related to the activities stated in this article for natural or legal entities. | Licensed accountants can perform activities related to the electronic staff records and payroll services. |
| Financial auditor | Expert Accountant | Licensed Accountant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulated profession | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Supervision | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Public oversight authority | ASPAAS on statutory audits CAFR for all engagements performed by the financial auditors, other than statutory audit. | Ministry of Public Finance | Ministry of Public Finance |
| Financial auditor | Expert Accountant | Licensed Accountant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| General initial education steps (without possible exemptions) | Natural persons may be approved as financial auditors when they cumulatively fulfil the following conditions: • they have graduated a higher education institution or have an equivalent diploma; • they have completed a course of theoretical training organized or acknowledged by ASPAAS; • they have undergone a practical training, according to the provisions in Art. 11 of Law 162/2017; they have passed an examination of professional competence, organized or approved by ASPAAS. | • University economic studies graduate with diploma acknowledged by the Ministry of Education and Research • Admission exam for the initial professional development • 3 years of theoretical and practical training program Aptitude exam for obtaining the expert accountant quality | • High school, with a diploma acknowledged by the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports • Admission exam for the initial professional development • 3 years of theoretical and practical training program Aptitude exam for obtaining the licensed accountant quality |
| Financial auditor | Expert Accountant | Licensed Accountant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. of qualified professionals | 4,570 | 30,384 (active 18,851) | 2,894 (active 1,662) |
| No. of new trainees per year | There is no official statistic currently. Task undertook by ASPAAS. As per official information published, there are 138 trainees enrolled in the mandatory 3-year practical training period. | 1,000 | 50 |
| No. of people taking the professional examination | According to the official information published by ASPAAS on the admission exam organised in September 2019, there were 160 persons eligible for examination | 507 | 14 |
| No. of people passing the professional examination | According to the official information published by ASPAAS on the admission exam organised in September 2019, 67 were accepted (42% admission rate) | 275 | 10 |
| Financial auditor | Expert Accountant | Licensed Accountant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration required | Yes, only after ASPAAS authorisation and CAFR approval as a member | Yes | Yes |
| Competent authority for registration | ASPAAS (Public Register Evidence) | CECCAR | CECCAR |
| Cost of appointment/ registration | There is no fee for initial registration, but the annual membership fee for the first year is higher than the regular annual fee | €40 | €20 |
| Oath required | No | Yes | Yes |
| Insurance required | Yes | Yes, for all rendered services | Yes, for all accounting services |
| Professional address required | Yes (publication is made upon member’s acceptance of data processing agreement) | Yes, residence or professional address is required | Yes, residence or professional address is required |