Access to the audit profession

The three types of candidates for the audit profession in Luxembourg are:

• the candidates exercising a professional activity in Luxembourg as referred to in Article 1, point (1) of the Grand-ducal Regulation of 14 December 2018 establishing the qualification requirements of réviseurs d’entreprises (“GDR access to the profession”);
• the candidates who are approved as statutory auditors or who satisfy the requirement of approval in other Member States as referred to in Article 1, point (2) of the GDR access to the profession;
• the candidates who are holders of an approval considered as equivalent in third countries ensuring reciprocity in Luxembourg, as referred to in Article 1, point (3) of the GDR access to the profession.

To be admitted to the professional training for réviseurs d’entreprises (statutory auditors), the candidate must:

• have the theoretical qualification specific to the profession at Master level or equivalent;
• certify his/her good repute.

In order to obtain the title “réviseur d’entreprises” (statutory auditor), the candidate must then:

• carry out a professional training supervised by the CSSF for three years (at least) to seven years (at the most);
• complete complementary training on Luxembourg legislation organised by the University of Luxembourg;
• pass a specific examination of professional competence organised by the CSSF.

The candidate to the professional training for réviseur d’entreprises (statutory auditor), must file a request to the CSSF by using the form “Candidate for the profession of the réviseurs d’entreprises – Registration”, by selecting the category “trainee” and by attaching:

• a copy of higher education diploma(s) (certified copy of the diplomas issued by a non-EU institution);
• originals of the administrative certificates issued by one or more higher education institutions;
• a copy of the identity card or passport (certified when issued by a third country authority);
• an extract from the criminal record (country of residence and country of employment for the last 5 years) of less than three months at the date of submission of the application to the CSSF; the form “Declaration of honour for natural persons”.

After receiving the complete file:

• if the diploma of the candidate is included in the list of diplomas established by means of a CSSF regulation, the CSSF notifies the admission to training within one month;
• if the diploma of the candidate is not included in this list, a consultative commission will specify the ECTS study points to be completed and the CSSF will notify the admission to the training for candidates who completed at least eight out of the twelve subjects of the administrative certificate within three months following the opinion of the commission.

During the month following the admission, the candidate must confirm his/her registration to the training via mail or email (supaudit@cssf.lu) to the CSSF, countersigned by the maître de stage (person responsible for the training).

The starting date of the training may be retroactively effective for a maximum of six months if the trainee had already been employed by a réviseur d’entreprises agréé (approved statutory auditor) or cabinet de révision agréé (approved audit firm) during that period. If the registration confirmation is not received within a month, the training will start on the date of receipt of the confirmation.

During the training, the trainee must:

• inform the CSSF of any change of maître de stage and any interruption or resumption of the training, within one month, by mail or email (supaudit@cssf.lu) countersigned by the maître de stage;
• complete the complementary training on the legislation applicable in Luxembourg and receive the certificate of complementary training;
• register for the examination of professional competence after a minimum of three years of professional experience.

The candidate may submit a request for exemption concerning:

• the initial diploma, the training and the practical training which may be granted after 15 years of professional experience in the fields of finance, law and accounting;
• the initial diploma and the training which may be granted after 7 years of professional experience in the fields of finance, law and accounting;
• the training, the examination of professional competence and part of the complementary training which may be granted to candidates who are approved in another Member State;
• the training and the examination of professional competence as well as part of the complementary training which may also be granted to candidates who are approved in a third country recognised as equivalent and ensuring reciprocity in Luxembourg.

In order to be exempted, the candidate who has 7 or 15 years of experience in the fields of finance, law and accounting must send a request to the CSSF by using the form “Candidate for the profession of the réviseurs d’entreprises – Registration”, by selecting the category “7 years” or “15 years” and by attaching:

• an application letter focusing mainly on the audit activity;
• the work certificates specifying the activities/engagements carried out during his/her career to justify 7 or 15 years of professional experience;
• a curriculum vitae specifying the career paths;
• a copy of the identity card or passport (certified when issued by a third country authority);
• an extract from the criminal record (country of residence and country of employment for the last 5 years) of less than three months at the date of submission of the application to the CSSF;
• the form “Declaration of honour for natural persons”.

If the exemption is granted, the CSSF invites the candidate to:

• register to the training (if s/he is not exempted);
• complete the complementary training on the legislation applicable in Luxembourg (if s/he is not exempted);
• and then take the examination of professional competence.

The persons concerned are requested to send a request to the CSSF by using the form “Candidate for the profession of the réviseurs d’entreprises – Registration”, by selecting the category “Holder of an approval as statutory auditor/auditor of third countries” and by attaching:

• a copy of the authorisation of the candidate’s home country or the documents confirming that the candidate fulfils the authorisation requirements in his/her home country;
• the form “Candidate for the profession of the réviseurs d’entreprises – Registration”;
• a copy of the identity card or passport (certified when issued by a third country authority);
• an extract from the criminal record (country of residence and country of employment for the last 5 years) of less than three months at the date of submission of the application to the CSSF;
• the form “Declaration of honour for natural persons”.

If the candidate has an approval recognised as equivalent in Luxembourg (Member State or list established by means of a CSSF regulation for third countries), the CSSF informs him/her of the subjects for which s/he needs to present a complementary training certificate in order to obtain the title.

If the candidate has an approval not recognised in Luxembourg, the CSSF can, following the opinion of a consultative commission:

• in case of negative opinion, invite him/her to apply as trainee if the conditions for the access to the training are met;
• in case of positive opinion, indicate to the candidate the subjects in which s/he must present complementary training certificates in order to obtain the title.

The examination of professional competence aims at verifying the candidate’s capacity to apply the theoretical knowledge acquired, beforehand and during the professional training period, to the practice of the statutory assignments of the réviseur d’entreprises (statutory auditor).

The examination consists of an annual session organised between September and November.

The opening and closing dates for the annual session are set by the CSSF and the examination jury and are notified to the candidates via the press (Luxemburger Wort) and by publishing the practical details on the CSSF website.

In order to register for the examination, the candidate who has been a trainee for at least three years at the closing date of the ordinary session must send to the CSSF via mail:

• where applicable, originals of the administrative certificates regarding the ECTS study points to be completed (to be submitted three months prior to the registration for the examination);
• the copy of the complementary training certificate of the University of Luxembourg or the copy of the Master in Audit of the University of Luxembourg which includes the same subjects;
• a letter stating the nature of the engagements during the traineeship as well as the targeted sectors.

The registration for each test of the examination is authorised by decision of the CSSF.

The examination consists of two separate parts:

• a written examination: 50% of the marks;
• an oral examination: 50% of the marks.

The written test and the oral test are independent from each other and may be taken during one and the same session or during different sessions.

The written test of the examination is composed of one or several practical questions relating to one or several subjects with regard to legal missions of réviseurs d’entreprises (statutory auditors) and which aims at verifying the candidate’s ability of normative reasoning.

The oral test consists in ensuring the candidate’s ability to answer questions on the practice of the profession, on statutory assignments and the responsibilities of the réviseur d’entreprises (statutory auditor).

The candidate must obtain at least 40% of the marks in order to validate the test. The candidate’s marks are valid for six years unless s/he decides to present the test again, in which case s/he loses the benefit of previous marks.

The candidate may take each test up to four times at the most. If s/he fails four times at the same test, s/he will be excluded from the examination.

In order to pass the examination, the candidate must obtain at least 40% of the marks in each test and 50% of the total marks.

The CSSF notifies the decisions of the jury to the candidates by mail. Successful candidates can obtain the title réviseur d’entreprises (statutory auditor) and may request their approval immediately. They will receive their diploma subsequently.