The EU audit legislation brings significant change for businesses and their professional service providers, and will impact all EU public interest entities, regardless of where in the world they may be headquartered. With the new rules set to come into effect in EU Member States from 17 June 2016, it is important that companies gain a firm understanding of what the changes might mean for them.

The new rules brought about by the EU audit legislation cover several areas, from mandatory audit firm rotation to restrictions on the additional services that can be provided to a business by their statutory audit firm. A number of Member States already enforce auditor rotation and all EU Member States are permitted to go beyond the EU rules to introduce tighter measures if they wish. This means that the final audit environment is unlikely to be consistent, with potential for a complex patchwork of audit legislation that would need to be traversed by companies operating in the EU.

There is a range of reference materials on the legislation available from this page - from broad overviews to detailed factsheets. They explore the potential impacts of the new rules and offer relevant considerations for businesses. 

All documents apply to the EU baseline rules. The final regulatory environment will be impacted by how each EU Member State interprets the legislation and any derogations they choose to implement.