The Financial Supervisory Service to Hold 'Auditor Designation System Online Briefing' Next Month

Online Briefing Session Held from 1st to 19th

Financial Supervisory Service, Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

On the 28th, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced that it will hold an 'Auditor Designation System Online Briefing Session' from the 1st to the 19th of next month, the period for submitting designated basic data for listed companies and others.

Under the current External Audit Act, companies subject to periodic designation and accounting firms seeking designation as auditors must submit designated basic data annually. The periodic designation system, implemented in 2019, is a system where if a company autonomously appoints an auditor for six consecutive years, the financial authorities designate the auditor for the following three years.

During this briefing session, the FSS plans to provide guidance on how to prepare and submit the designated basic data report for companies subject to periodic designation and accounting firms. It will also introduce reasons for periodic and ex officio designation, designation periods and methods, and precautions when requesting redesignation.

In particular, the session will provide detailed explanations of the 'Designated Auditor Industry Expertise System,' which is being implemented starting this year. This system allows companies in 11 industries, beginning with construction and finance, to be designated an accounting firm with audit personnel who have expertise in the relevant industry, if they wish.

The 11 industries include order-based industries such as construction, banking and savings banks, basic chemical manufacturing, medical substances and pharmaceutical manufacturing, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, transportation and warehousing, telecommunications, entertainment, broadcasting, and gaming, software development, and scientific and technical services.

The FSS will also respond to major inquiries. For example, there is a question about precautions when a company requests the FSS to redesignate a different auditor simply based on the company's preference after auditor designation. In this case, the company may request redesignation to an auditor belonging to the same group or a higher group than the designated auditor, regardless of the designation reason. However, companies designated auditors due to periodic designation, listing promotion, or company request may also request redesignation to an auditor belonging to a lower group than the designated auditor.

Meanwhile, the FSS plans to upload related videos and explanatory materials on YouTube, its website, and affiliated institution websites. If company or accounting firm personnel have questions, they can inquire through the FSS website and receive prompt responses.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.