Financial Reporting Act 2013

External Reporting Board, standards, and provisions that apply to other enactments - Standard provisions relating to auditor qualifications and access to information - Offences concerning unqualified persons

39B: Offence to hold out as qualified auditor or as approved person

You could also call this:

"Don't pretend to be a qualified auditor if you're not"

Illustration for Financial Reporting Act 2013

You must not say you are a qualified auditor or an approved person if you are not. This means you cannot claim to be recognised for certain purposes under section 36(1)(a), (ab), (c)(ia), (f), or (g) if you are not recognised. You also cannot claim to be approved for certain purposes under section 36(1)(c) or (d) if you are not approved.

If you say you can audit a company's finances when you are not qualified to do so, you are breaking the law. You can be fined up to $50,000 if you are an individual, or up to $150,000 if you are a company. This is because you have committed an offence by not following the rules.

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This page was last updated on 3 October 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6523373.

Topics:

Money and consumer rights > Consumer protectionBusiness > Industry rules

39A: Offence for unqualified auditor to act, or

"It's against the law for someone to be an auditor if they are not qualified to do the job."

40: Purpose and application, or

"What this law is about and which companies it applies to"

Part 2External Reporting Board, standards, and provisions that apply to other enactments
Standard provisions relating to auditor qualifications and access to information: Offences concerning unqualified persons

39BOffence to hold out as qualified auditor or as approved person

A person must not hold out that the person is—
recognised for the purposes of section 36(1)(a), (ab), (c)(ia), (f), or (g) if the person is not so recognised; or
approved for the purposes of section 36(1)(c) or (d) if the person is not so approved; or
qualified to act as the auditor of a specified entity or of its financial statements if the person is not a qualified auditor in respect of the entity.

A person who fails to comply with subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to,—
in the case of an individual, a fine not exceeding $50,000:
in the case of a body corporate, a fine not exceeding $150,000.

Notes

Section 39B: inserted, on 1 July 2015, by section 9 of the Financial Reporting Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 64).