Law of the Profession of Accounting and Auditing

Purpose and scope

• Regulates the accounting and auditing profession, which may be practised only under licence (Article 2), under the supervision of the Saudi Organisation for Chartered and Professional Accountants.

Key rules, rights and obligations

• An auditor may not audit an entity in which they have an interest, exceed the cap on the number of joint-stock companies audited, disclose or use clients' information, or audit joint-stock companies, banks or public bodies within five years of licensing (Article 8).
• An auditor who stops or is suspended must inform the organisation and clients within thirty days and list pending work if clients would be harmed (Article 9).

Violations, penalties and common problems

• Up to five years in prison and two million riyals, or either, for false data or forged certificates to obtain a licence, misleading the public about the right to practise, giving false or hiding data in reports, certifying untrue reports or fictitious profits, or revealing a client's secrets (Article 10); the Public Prosecution investigates (Article 11).
• Professional breaches: warning, reprimand, cancellation of membership, a fine of ten thousand to five hundred thousand riyals, or suspension for up to one year, with the fine doubled for a repeat within three years (Article 15).
• The committee may impose corrective measures such as training or limits on clients (Article 16), and bar the auditor from signing financial statements while the case is heard (Article 17).

Procedures and key deadlines

• A penalty decision may be challenged before the administrative court, without prejudice to compensation for the injured party (Article 13); the competent judicial body hears compensation claims by or against auditors (Article 12).
• An auditor whose licence was struck off may apply for reinstatement five years after the decision took effect (Article 19).

An advisory summary prepared by Al-Bayan Al-Wadih Law Firm. It is not an official text and does not replace the law, its implementing regulations, or advice from a specialised lawyer. The official published text and its amendments prevail.