Qualifications, resignation, termination of appointment of auditor
15 Qualifications, resignation, termination of appointment of auditor
Subject to this section a person shall not—
accept appointment as auditor for the purposes of section 14; or
act as auditor for a trustee under this Act; or
prepare a report required by this Act to be prepared by an auditor;
if the person—
is not—
a person registered as an auditor under the Corporations Act, part 9.2; or
a member of CPA Australia who is entitled to use the letters ‘CPA’ or ‘FCPA’; or
a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand who is entitled to use the letters ‘CA’ of ‘FCA’; or
a member of the Institute of Public Accountants who is entitled to use the letters ‘MIPA’ or ‘FIPA’; or
a person approved by the chief executive who has completed a tertiary course of study in accounting with an auditing component from an institute prescribed under the Corporations Act, section 1280(2A); or
is indebted in an amount exceeding $1000 to the trustee or a firm of which the trustee is a partner except for fees and expenses for professional service rendered by the trustee or such firm; or
is—
a partner or an employee of the trustee; or
a partner, employer or employee of an employee in any capacity howsoever of the trustee.
Maximum penalty—100 penalty units.
A firm shall not—
accept appointment as auditor for the purposes of section 14; or
act as auditor for a trustee under this Act; or
prepare a report required by this Act to be prepared by an auditor;
unless—
each member of the firm is—
a person registered as an auditor under the Corporations Act, part 9.2; or
a member of CPA Australia who is entitled to use the letters ‘CPA’ or ‘FCPA’; or
a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand who is entitled to use the letters ‘CA’ of ‘FCA’; or
a member of the Institute of Public Accountants who is entitled to use the letters ‘MIPA’ or ‘FIPA’; or
a person approved by the Minister;
if the business name under which the firm is carrying on business is not registered on the register established and maintained under the Business Names Registration Act 2011 (Cwlth), section 22—a return in the approved form showing the full names and addresses of all the members of the firm has been lodged with the supervising entity;Note—See also the Business Names Registration Act 2011 (Cwlth), section 18 (Offence—carrying on a business under an unregistered business name).
no member of the firm is indebted in an amount exceeding $1000 to the trustee or a firm of which the trustee is a partner except for fees and expenses for professional service rendered by the trustee or such firm;
no member of a firm is—
a partner or employee of the trustee; or
a partner, employer or employee of an employee of the trustee.
Maximum penalty—100 penalty units.
For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2) a person shall be deemed to be an employee of the trustee—
if the person is an employee of a firm of which the trustee is a member or of any other member of such a firm;
except where the chief executive, if the chief executive thinks fit in the circumstances of the case, directs otherwise, if the person has, at any time within the immediately preceding period of 12 months been an employee of the trustee, a firm of which the trustee is a member or any other member of such a firm.
The appointment under this Act of a firm as auditor by a trustee shall be taken to be an appointment of all persons who are members of the firm, whether resident in a State or Territory or not, at the date of the appointment.
Where a firm has been appointed under this Act as auditor by a trustee and the members constituting the firm change by reason of the death, retirement or withdrawal of a member or by reason of the admission of a new member, the firm as newly constituted shall, if it is not disqualified from acting as auditor by virtue of subsection (2) be deemed to be appointed under section 14 as auditor by the trustee and that appointment shall be taken to be an appointment of all persons who are members of the firm as newly constituted.
A report required to be signed on behalf of a firm appointed under this Act as auditor by a trustee shall be signed in the firm name and in the trustee’s own name by a member of the firm.
If, in contravention of this section, a firm consents to be appointed or acts as auditor for a trustee or prepares a report required by this Act to be prepared by an auditor or by an auditor appointed by a trustee, each member of the firm shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.
An auditor appointed under this Act by a trustee may, by notice in writing given to the trustee, resign as auditor and the resignation takes effect on the date (if any) specified for the purpose in the notice.
If an auditor resigns, the auditor must immediately give to the supervising entity written notice of the resignation.Maximum penalty—50 penalty units.
Whenever the appointment of an auditor for the purposes of section 14(1) is terminated by the trustee and the auditor is of opinion that the termination of appointment arose directly or indirectly out of any action or proposed action by the auditor in the discharge of the auditor’s duties or responsibilities for the purposes of this Act the auditor shall furnish a report in writing to the supervising entity on the auditor’s actions or proposed actions, setting out the grounds and circumstances upon which the opinion is based.
If the supervising entity considers it appropriate, the supervising entity may give to the Minister a copy of the report.
Where it is, in the opinion of the supervising entity, impracticable for a trustee to obtain the services of a person who is qualified for, and is not disqualified from, accepting appointment or acting as auditor of the accounts of the trustee under section 14 in view of the locality where the trustee carries on the trustee’s practice or business or other special circumstances, a person who is, in the opinion of the supervising entity, suitably qualified or experienced and is approved by the supervising entity for the purposes of this Act in relation to the audit of the accounts of the trustee, may be appointed as auditor of the trustee’s accounts subject to such terms and conditions as are specified in the approval.
A person appointed in accordance with subsection (12) shall in relation to the trustee’s accounts be deemed to be the auditor appointed by the trustee under section 14 for the purposes of this Act in relation to those accounts and the provisions of this Act with all necessary modifications, apply to and in relation to the person accordingly.
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