tekenend accountant

English translation: responsible signatory

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Dutch term or phrase:tekenend accountant
English translation:responsible signatory
Entered by: Will Kelly

09:44 Oct 1, 2015
Dutch to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Accounting
Dutch term or phrase: tekenend accountant
From a document on general financial matters.

De heer X kon dit op natuurlijke wijze overbrengen door zijn aantoonbare eerdere ervaring als tekenend accountant van Bedrijf Y, waarbij hij onder andere ook had gewerkt met de voorzitter van het Audit Committee van Bedrijf Z.
Will Kelly
United Kingdom
responsible signatory
Explanation:
- 'responsible signatory' (actually 'responsible individual', but this reads strangely here) if employed by the company being audited.
- 'auditor', if employed by the auditing firm.
Further context will determine which applies. I think the former.

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Note added at 22 hrs (2015-10-02 08:27:35 GMT)
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'Auditor' implies and could also be expressed as 'registered auditor' ( http://www.icaew.com/en/technical/audit-and-assurance/workin... - if X was indeed the auditor deployed by the accountants' (auditing) firm and not the responsible signatory of the audited company. This term derives from the national register of auditors who may sign audits. (This also assumes English UK as target language. I haven't checked the US terminology.) The unqualified 'auditors' mentioned by Adrian MM could be internal auditors or part of the auditing team deployed by the auditing accountants' team. Typically juniors/articled clerks. The registered auditor still has to sign off and takes responsibility for the work of the entire auditing team.
Selected response from:

John Holloway
Netherlands
Local time: 16:23
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3responsible signatory
John Holloway
3(AmE: In-Charge) accountant signing off (the audit/accounts/report)
Adrian MM. (X)
3signing auditor
Kitty Brussaard
Summary of reference entries provided
fwiw
writeaway

Discussion entries: 8





  

Answers


6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
(AmE: In-Charge) accountant signing off (the audit/accounts/report)


Explanation:
I agree with David W. and Peter S. in the discussion entries, but would invert the expression.

Two points:

1, signing off in coll. BrE could also mean saying goodbye on radio or TV program - hence the addition of audit, accounts or report etc.

2. Kitty B.'s demotion to auditor is arguably problematical for a British or Irish readership. I've known auditors working for well-known department stores back in London's West End who have only one O-level/GCSE, whereas accountants and 'accounts technicians' in the UK usually have to come up with a far better academic showing.



Example sentence(s):
  • Case 6.2 Bill DeBurger, In-Charge Accountant 409 To “sign off” or “not sign off”

    Reference: http://https://books.google.at/books?isbn=1305445163
Adrian MM. (X)
Local time: 16:23
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 7
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
responsible signatory


Explanation:
- 'responsible signatory' (actually 'responsible individual', but this reads strangely here) if employed by the company being audited.
- 'auditor', if employed by the auditing firm.
Further context will determine which applies. I think the former.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 hrs (2015-10-02 08:27:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

'Auditor' implies and could also be expressed as 'registered auditor' ( http://www.icaew.com/en/technical/audit-and-assurance/workin... - if X was indeed the auditor deployed by the accountants' (auditing) firm and not the responsible signatory of the audited company. This term derives from the national register of auditors who may sign audits. (This also assumes English UK as target language. I haven't checked the US terminology.) The unqualified 'auditors' mentioned by Adrian MM could be internal auditors or part of the auditing team deployed by the auditing accountants' team. Typically juniors/articled clerks. The registered auditor still has to sign off and takes responsibility for the work of the entire auditing team.


    Reference: http://www.icaew.com/en/technical/audit-and-assurance/workin...
John Holloway
Netherlands
Local time: 16:23
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tina Vonhof (X)
13 hrs
  -> thanks : )

agree  L Copland
20 hrs
  -> thanks : )

agree  Kitty Brussaard: For UK I agree with responsible individual (see links added to my answer below, aka as 'senior statutory auditor'). Note that this term actually refers to an external accounting professional (i.e. engaged but not employed by the audited company).
1 day 14 hrs
  -> Thanks Kitty. You are right. He is employed by the auditing firm. My answer above says he also could be employed by the audited firm. This is incorrect.
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
signing auditor


Explanation:
Depending on context, i.e. assuming this is about an auditor previously affiliated with accounting firm Y and at some point during this period engaged by the chair of company Z's audit committee. In many cases - though not here, as reference is being made to an individual - also referred to as the signing firm.

See for instance the following publication by Baker & McKenzie:

The names, locations, and responsibilities of accounting firms affiliated with the signing auditor, non-affiliated accounting firms, and other third-party participants, such as tax advisors or actuaries, that will be involved in conducting a portion of the audit work.
http://www.bakermckenzie.com/files/Uploads/Documents/Publica...

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Note added at 23 hrs (2015-10-02 09:40:03 GMT)
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For a UK audience, I would consider using audit principal.
See for instance:

Audit principal
Senior member/partner responsible for ‘signing off’ audits as confirmation that they give a true and fair reflection of the client’s accounts.
http://tpacc.org.uk/glossary-industry-terms/

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Note added at 1 day6 hrs (2015-10-02 16:43:31 GMT)
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For the UK, please refer to the following document: http://www.icaew.com/en/members/regulations-standards-and-gu...

A few relevant quotes from this document:

firm:
an individual who engages in the profession of accountancy as a sole practitioner;
a partnership which engages in the profession of accountancy;
a limited liability partnership which engages in the profession of accountancy; or
a corporate practice which engages in the profession of accountancy.

Registered Auditor
A firm entered on the Register as eligible for appointment as a statutory auditor under section 1239 of the 2006 Act or under regulation 63 of S.I. No.220 of 2010 or section 198 of the RI 1990 Act.
The register maintained under S198 is the Register of Public Auditors.

Responsible individual
A principal or employee responsible for audit work and designated as such under regulation 4.01.
Guidance: The 2006 Act uses the term "senior statutory auditor" for the individual identified by a registered auditor in relation to a specific audit of a UK company who signs the audit report in his own name on behalf of the registered auditor. This individual must be a responsible individual.


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Note added at 1 dag16 uren (2015-10-03 02:03:23 GMT)
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Reminders from the Audit Registration Committee

In Audit News 45 we gave some guidance on how audit reports should be signed to reflect the requirements of s503 of the Companies Act 2006.

Signing audit reports
We explained that the following requirements must be met when signing the auditor’s report provided to the company on completion of the audit.

The name of the responsible individual (RI) in charge of the audit must be given.
The audit report has to be signed in his or her name, not in the name of the firm.
The printed name of the RI must be included in the signature block in the format it appears on the public audit register, ie, first name, surname.
The RI is also known as the ‘senior statutory auditor’ and this phrase must also be added to the signature block.

The firm’s name must be stated in the signature block as it appears on the register.
The words ‘Statutory Auditor(s)’ must also be included after the name of the firm.
Although these requirements have been in place for accounting periods starting after 6 April 2008 (for accounts filed at Companies House after 1 October 2009), we still see a large number of incorrect audit reports with the following errors:

the name of the RI is omitted;
the firm is wrongly described as ‘Registered Auditor(s)’ rather than ‘Statutory Auditor(s)’; and
the audit report has been signed in the name of the firm, rather than in the name of the RI.
http://www.icaew.com/en/technical/audit-and-assurance/workin...

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Note added at 2 days1 hr (2015-10-03 11:31:32 GMT)
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For the record, the information cited above is from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) :-)

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Note added at 2 days1 hr (2015-10-03 11:36:57 GMT)
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Who may sign the auditor’s report?

For the first time, the audit report is required to state the name of the auditor, and it must be signed and dated, in accordance with s503 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006). Where the auditor is an individual, the report must be signed by him/her. Where the auditor is a firm, the report must be signed by the ‘Senior Statutory Auditor in his/her own name, for and on behalf of the auditor’.

The Auditing Practices Board (APB) has issued guidance Bulletin 2008/06 The ‘Senior Statutory Auditor’ under the United Kingdom Companies Act 2006 to clarify the meaning of ‘senior statutory auditor’ (SSA). The SSA has the same meaning as the term ‘engagement partner’ and is the partner or other person in the firm responsible for the audit engagement, and for the auditor’s report issued on behalf of the firm. The SSA must be a member of a recognised supervisory body and be eligible for appointment under the rules of that body.

Meaning of signing the auditor’s report under CA 2006, s503

The requirement for the SSA to sign in his own name applies to the original auditor’s report provided to the company by the auditor upon completion of the audit. It also applies in respect of voluntary revisions of annual accounts and reports and on the special auditor’s report relating to abbreviated accounts. Another partner or responsible individual is not able to sign for and on behalf of the SSA.
https://www.accountancylive.com/who-may-sign-auditor’s-repor...

Kitty Brussaard
Netherlands
Local time: 16:23
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch
PRO pts in category: 12
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Reference comments


6 hrs
Reference: fwiw

Reference information:
The Big Four and the Development of the Accounting ...
https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1783504862
Paul Gillis - 2014 - ‎Business & Economics
However, few Chinese CPA firms have become the signing accountants on US-listed Chinese companies, indicating that while the regulatory barrier might be ..

writeaway
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 20
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