Eleven months is no resignation deadline; crime steps come first

Auditors lose the old eleven-month rule for resigning and gain a stricter chain of statutory filings when an engagement ends early. The updated FAR position of 27 October 2026FAR reverses the earlier advice that resignation should come at the latest within eleven months of year-endFAR: supervisory practice shows resignation around eleven months can already be too lateFAR, and eleven months is expressly not a general deadlineFAR or a period the auditor may wait outFAR. Duties on suspected crime are assessed separately.FAR

Resignation and dismissal are different procedures.FAR When the appointer removes an auditor prematurely, factual basis is required under Chapter 9, section 22 of the Companies ActFAR. No corresponding express requirement applies to the auditor's own resignation.FAR Anti-money-laundering suspicions follow their reporting duties and disclosure bansFAR, so the auditor cannot openly state that reason in the departure account or to the companyFAR.

For late annual reports, EtikU 10 and supervisory practice require written communication that the report and audit material be delivered in timeFAR, including that late preparation can constitute bookkeeping crimeFAR. Auditors follow up with the boardFAR and resign within reasonable time if reminders failFAR, weighing the risk of leaving the company without an auditor. An imminent report never justifies postponing crime measures.FAR

Where an auditor finds that a crime under Chapter 9, section 42 may be suspected, the board is notified without undue delay under section 43Skatteverket and a special document goes to the prosecutor no later than four weeks after the notification under section 44Skatteverket. Exceptions in the provisions must be assessed case by case, covering compensation of financial damage with other harm remedied, prior reporting to police or prosecutor, and trivial offences. When board notification is omitted under section 43, second paragraph, the special order in section 44, third paragraph applies insteadFAR, with filing without undue delay where the matter is not already reportedFAR. Once the document reaches the prosecutor, the auditor immediately considers whether to resignFAR. That is a duty to consider resignation, not an automatic duty to resign.FAR

Money-laundering suspicions that trigger reporting under the anti-money-laundering legislation follow the special order in section 42, third paragraph instead of sections 43 and 44.FAR

Premature termination is notified to the board under section 22FAR, and where the auditor was not elected by the meeting also to the appointerFAR. Under section 23 the auditor immediately files the termination for registrationFAR and sends the board a copyFAR, whether the end results from resignation or dismissalFAR. The filing accounts for the review performed during the elapsed part of the current yearFAR, with sections 33, second paragraph, 34 and 35 applying to the account — including relevant remarks on legal violations and failures on taxes and charges.

Both the auditor and the appointer separately notify Bolagsverket of the reason under section 23 aFAR; the auditor's notice does not replace the appointer'sFAR. Information is given subject to confidentiality and disclosure bansFAR, including under anti-money-laundering rulesFAR. Where no deputy exists, the board acts for a new auditor under section 24FAR, without a general right to appoint itselfFAR.

Replacing the responsible auditor while the same firm stays elected is not premature terminationFAR; registration changes follow sections 47 and 48.

Under section 36 the audit report carries copies of the previous auditor's section 23 filing with its review account, the auditor's section 23 a reason notice, and the appointer's section 23 a reason noticeFAR. Missing documents are clarified under applicable norms; absence does not remove the prior auditor's dutiesFAR.

Legal basis is Chapter 9, sections 22–24, 33–36, 42–44 and 47–48 of the Companies Act, FAR EtikU 10 and RevR 14.