On June 24, 2025, Order no. 329/2025 was published in the Official Gazette of Romania (Part I, no. 585), approving the rules for applying Article 39 of Law no. 162/2017 on the statutory audit of annual and consolidated financial statements.
These rules define the circumstances in which the Public Oversight Authority for Statutory Audit Activity (ASPAAS) may issue preventive measures when legal requirements in the field of statutory audit are not observed.
Regulated Preventive Measures:
According to Article 39 of Law no. 162/2017, ASPAAS may issue:
- A notification requesting the statutory auditor or audit firm to cease and refrain from the non-compliant behavior;
- A public statement declaring that the statutory audit report does not meet the requirements of Article 34(2) of the Law or Article 10 of EU Regulation no. 537/2014;
- A public statement declaring non-compliance of the assurance report related to sustainability reporting, as per Article 34¹(2) of the Law.
These measures aim to inform and correct non-compliant practices and do not replace administrative sanctions as stipulated in Article 40.
Applicable Sanctioning Framework:
If preventive notifications are not followed by corrective actions, ASPAAS may apply administrative sanctions, such as:
- Public warning
- Financial penalties, depending on the type of entity
- Temporary bans (up to 3 years)
- Revocation of authorization for individuals
Sanctions may also apply to the management of audited entities if they contributed to the non-compliance.
Publication of ASPAAS Statements:
Non-compliance statements are published on the ASPAAS website for up to 5 years to ensure transparency and inform users of financial statements.