19 APRIL 2012 NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 44 1321

Audit-specific Professional Qualification

(e) In respect of applications made after 30 June 2014, the person has successfully completed a professional course in auditing approved by FMA.

Post Qualification Experience

(f) The person has at least five years of audit experience.

(g) The person has completed at least 3,000 hours of audit work within the five years immediately prior to their making an application for a licence under section 11 of the Act or such longer period as is approved by the accredited body, including at least 750 hours of work on issuer audits and/or similar audit engagements.

(h) The person has completed 375 hours of work on issuer audits (which may be included in the 750 hours referred to in clause 3(1)(g)), except that:

(i) if the person has been accredited or licensed as an auditor in an approved overseas jurisdiction, the person may apply up to 125 hours of time accrued on audits of overseas issuers towards satisfaction of the hours requirement in respect of issuer audits; or

(ii) if the person has held a licence issued under section 12 of the Act within the six-month period immediately prior to their making an application for a licence under section 11 of the Act, the person may apply any amount of time accrued on audits of overseas issuers towards satisfaction of the hours requirement in respect of issuer audits.

(i) The person may complete all, or any part, of their required experience while living outside New Zealand, provided that where the accredited body determines that the overseas experience gained is of a lesser quality than acceptable experience undertaken in New Zealand, the person completes such additional period of experience as may be specified by the accredited body.

(j) The person may apply experience gained before the commencement of the Act toward the requirements in clauses 3(1)(g) and (h), provided that, after 1 July 2014, the person may not include any experience which was gained more than seven years prior to their making an application for a licence under section 11 of the Act.

Advanced Certification of Competence and Other Competency Requirements

(k) The person must be competent to conduct an issuer audit and:

(i) has attained an advanced certificate of competence issued by an assessor; and

(ii) has provided such further information to an accredited body as the accredited body deems necessary in order to demonstrate the applicant’s competence.

(2) The hours of audit work and the hours of work on issuer audits referred to in clauses 3(1)(g) and (h) must be completed under the supervision of:

(a) where the experience is completed in New Zealand after the commencement of the Act, a licensed auditor;

(b) where the experience is completed in New Zealand before the commencement of the Act, a person who was at the time experienced in auditing, as assessed to the satisfaction of the accredited body;

(c) where the experience is completed outside New Zealand, a person who is accredited or licensed to conduct audits in the country where the experience was gained.

(3) A person is not required to demonstrate that they comply with the hours of audit work requirements in clauses 3(1)(g) and (h) and is not required to provide the advanced certificate of competence required by 3(1)(k)(i) if the person:

(a) has, prior to 1 July 2012, gained audit experience that the accredited body has assessed to be at least equivalent to that required of an auditor completing their experience after the commencement of the Act; and

(b) has completed sufficient ongoing audit work to maintain their knowledge and expertise in audit between the time they entered the profession and the date of their application; and

(c) either:

(i) has received a transitional licence and makes an application before the expiry of that transitional licence; or

(ii) makes an application within six months of the commencement of the Act.

(4) In relation to an application for renewal of a licence:

(a) the person is not required to have completed a professional course in auditing as required by clause 3(1)(e) if the person was not required to have completed that course in order to obtain their most recent auditor licence; and

(b) the person is not required to provide the advanced certificate of competence required by clause 3(1)(k)(i); and

(c) the person is not required to have completed the hours requirements in clauses 3(1)(g) and (h) within the past five years, provided that the person has conducted sufficient audit work during the period of their existing licence to have maintained adequate knowledge and expertise, to the satisfaction of the accredited body.

4. Prescribed minimum standards for overseas auditors

An overseas auditor who applies to FMA to be issued with a licence under section 12 of the Act must meet the following minimum standards prescribed under section 32(1)(a) of the Act:

Australia

(a) The auditor must:

(i) be an RCA;

(ii) be a member of an Australian professional accounting body;

(iii) provide evidence of continuing experience since becoming an RCA;

(iv) have completed at least 375 hours of experience on issuer audits or audits of overseas issuers; and

(v) have completed a training course approved by FMA which provides the RCA with a reasonable knowledge of New Zealand laws relevant to commercial law and taxation; or