NorwayRevisorforeningen
Audit engagement transfers need a fresh acceptance assessment
Finanstilsynet clarifies internal transfers, documentation and continuation reviews. Audit firms should check their routines against the guidance.
By Taxxa AI OyPublished 3 August 2026
Finanstilsynet’s guidance on accepting and continuing audit engagements replaces circular 6/2021. When an engagement moves internally within an audit firm, the new engagement partner must make a separate acceptance assessment, regardless of the reason for the transfer. Revisorforeningen notes that this already followed from auditing standards; the guidance makes the expectation explicit.Revisorforeningen
Finanstilsynet
Firms’ routines must explain how acceptance and continuation assessments are documented and stored so that they can be traced during internal and external inspections. Information from the previous auditor must also be documented when an engagement is declined. Where acceptance depends on the client remedying problems over time, the plan must be written and the auditor’s assessment of each point documented. Acceptance conditions and the consequences of failing to follow them must be clear in the engagement letter or other written communication to the board.Revisorforeningen
Finanstilsynet
Merely submitting a tender does not trigger the duty to contact the previous auditor: the firm must have received a concrete request to take on the engagement. If the previous auditor does not provide the required information in time, the guidance recommends reporting the matter to Finanstilsynet. That recommendation does not permit acceptance without sufficient information, and silence cannot be treated as confirmation that everything is in order.Finanstilsynet
Revisorforeningen
Continuation assessments must take place annually and early enough to avoid pressure to retain an engagement. New information can require a fresh assessment. Independence assessments must be documented on every engagement, regardless of client size. Revisorforeningen recommends updating assessment routines and engagement-letter templates before the autumn reviews; this is practical advice, not a separate statutory autumn deadline.Revisorforeningen
Check internal-transfer assessments, traceable documentation, written remediation plans and engagement letters. Schedule continuation reviews early and document independence on every engagement.