Accredited bodies

All auditors and audit firms that perform audits of FMC reporting entities need to comply with the Auditor Regulation Act 2011 (the ARA). Individual auditors must hold a licence and firms must be registered.

View our auditor page for more details.

As frontline regulators, accredited bodies play a crucial role in New Zealand’s financial markets. An accredited body is required by the Act to have adequate and effective systems, policies and procedures in place to perform its regulatory functions. These functions include:

• licensing domestic auditors and registering domestic audit firms
• monitoring those auditors and audit firms registered by NZICA
• promoting and monitoring the competence of these members
• taking action against misconduct.

The Auditor Regulation Act 2011 (the Act) requires the Financial Markets Authority to monitor and ensure the audit regulatory systems and processes used by accredited bodies are adequate and effective.

Pursuant to section 51(3)(a) of the Act, the Financial Markets Authority provides direction in relation to annual reports from the accredited bodies.

The FMA has prescribed minimum standards an accredited body must meet. 

Accredited bodies are required to comply with conditions attached to their accreditation. 

We have published policy on how it will assess applications for accreditation and how it will impose, vary, add or remove conditions of accreditation. Individual accredited bodies will be notified in writing of the conditions applied to their accreditation.

At the end of each year, the FMA publishes a report on the effectiveness of the CPA Australia’s policies and processes.

Download the accredited body report 2023.

NOTE: NZICA and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia (ICAA) formally amalgamated on 1 January 2015 to form Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (Chartered Accountants ANZ). NZICA continues to regulate the accountancy profession for Chartered Accountants ANZ members who remain resident in New Zealand (and by virtue of their residence continue to be NZICA members) according to the NZICA Act 1996, and the terms of the amalgamation agreement. For the purpose of the audit oversight regime, NZICA continues to be the accredited body.

At the end of each year, the FMA publishes a report on the effectiveness of the NZICA’s policies and processes.

Download the Accredited Bodies NZICA 2023 report