PAAB,FRC sign mutual recognition agreement

CLOUDINE MATOLA

Zimbabwe’s auditors will be able to practise in the United Kingdom without undergoing lengthy requalification processes following a landmark mutual recognition agreement between the Public Accountants and Auditors Board (PAAB) and the UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC), Business Times can report.

The agreement, which also allows UK-qualified auditors to practise in Zimbabwe, is expected to improve professional mobility, deepen services trade and strengthen investor confidence in the country’s financial reporting standards.

Speaking at the event marking the mutual recognition agreement between Zimbabwe and the UK, PAAB board member and chairperson of the Education Committee, Dr Tagarira Mutenga, said the deal formally recognised the comparability of audit qualifications and regulatory standards in the two jurisdictions.

“The conclusion was that a Zimbabwean Registered Public Auditor has reached a standard comparable to a United Kingdom statutory auditor. Today’s agreement gives that conclusion practical effect in both directions,” he said.

Mutenga said the agreement was the culmination of two years of assessments and engagements between the two regulatory bodies.

“For the better part of two years, the Financial Reporting Council and PAAB have examined each other’s systems: how auditors are trained, how they are examined, how they are registered and how they are held to account.

“The Financial Reporting Council is one of the most established audit regulators in the world, and it does not recognise a foreign qualification lightly. Its assessment of ours was detailed, and it was tested by an independent expert,” he said.

Zimbabwe becomes the first African country and the fourth jurisdiction globally to secure mutual recognition with the UK FRC, after Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland.

PAAB said the agreement would facilitate the movement of qualified auditors between the two markets while maintaining professional and regulatory standards.

“Mutual recognition is expected to widen the pool of qualified auditors available in both countries over time, and to make it easier for skilled auditors, including Zimbabweans already working in the United Kingdom, to move between the two markets while upholding the high standards expected of them,” the board said.

It added that the recognition was an endorsement of Zimbabwe’s audit qualifications and regulatory framework, strengthening confidence in corporate financial disclosures and facilitating cross-border business.

British Embassy Harare Head of Trade and Investment Stuart Oxenford said the agreement would unlock opportunities in professional services trade while reinforcing investor confidence in Zimbabwe.

“This new agreement announced today is an important step towards unlocking more services trade in a profession that underpins every other sector. Trust in financial reporting is what gives investors, lenders and partners confidence to do business. And it builds on people,” he said.

Oxenford said the agreement would significantly reduce the barriers previously faced by Zimbabwean auditors seeking to practise in the UK.