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European Commission Acknowledges Malaysia’s Audit Oversight Framework

Date 15/07/2013

The European Commission has acknowledged Malaysia’s audit framework as at par with international and best practices, with its rules pertaining to public oversight, quality assurance, investigation and penalty systems for auditors and audit are of equivalence of theirs.

Nik Hasyudeen Yusoff, Executive Chairman of the Audit Oversight Board (AOB) said that this is a positive recognition for the oversight body. “With such recognition, Malaysian audit firms could provide audit services to companies from the EU without additional regulation."

By receiving this recognition, AOB and the EU auditor regulators may conclude cooperative agreements to relying on each other's work on the supervision of auditors and audit firms. The acknowledgement validated Malaysia’s on-going efforts in warranting independent audit oversight over public interest entities, consequently attesting the country’s regulatory framework for auditors is at par with international standards and best practices.

An assessment was conducted by the European Commission last year with the assistance of the European Group of Auditors’ Oversight Bodies (EGAOB). The outcome of the assessment accredited Malaysia alongside nine other countries namely Abu Dhabi, Brazil, Dubai, Guernsey, Indonesia, Isle of Man, Jersey, Taiwan and Thailand as countries to have met and followed similar standards pertaining to the public oversight, quality assurance, investigation and penalty systems for auditors and audit entities as set out in the European Commission audit framework.

The AOB was set up in 2010 to oversee the auditors of public-interest entities (PIEs), protect investors' interest and promote confidence in the quality and reliability of audited financial statements of PIEs.