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Article 32

Date(g): 13/6/2023 | Date(h): 24/11/1444 Status: In-Force

Translated Document

Effective from Jun 13 2023 - Jun 12 2023
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 1.The licensee shall appoint an external auditor to carry out the external audit, taking into account the necessity of obtaining a letter of no objection from SAMA before appointing the external auditor, and it is also necessary to change the external auditor on a five-year basis.
 2.The external auditor shall be accredited by the competent authorities in the Kingdom and shall not have a conflict of interest when working for the licensee.
 3.

The licensee shall verify that the terms and conditions of the agreement with the external auditor include the external auditor’s obligation to take the following measures - as a minimum:

A.Audit the financial statements [or consolidated financial statements] of the licensee, which were prepared in accordance with the financial and accounting standards and practices approved in the Kingdom, for the year in which he was appointed.
B.Conduct an audit of financial operations in relation to services licensed by SAMA separately from any audit conducted on other activities.
C.Submit the audit report to SAMA in the form and period to be determined thereby, and the report shall contain accounting information relating to the services independently provided by the licensor in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.
 4.

SAMA may request the external auditor to perform any of the following duties – including but not limited to:

A.Provide any additional information connected with the audit.
B.Increase or expand the scope of audit of the licensee's business.
C.Conduct any extra examination or audit of the audit process.
 5.SAMA may instruct the licensee to dismiss the external auditor and appoint a replacement for him at the licensee’s expense in the event that it does not approve the performance of the external auditor.
 6.The licensee shall attach the reports of the external auditor, drawn up in accordance with this Article to the balance sheet, profit and loss account, financial statements of the licensee or the consolidated financial statements, in addition to submitting copies of these reports to SAMA in the form and period specified by the latter.
 7.

The licensee shall ensure that the terms and conditions of the agreement with the external auditor include an obligation for the external auditor to notify SAMA - immediately - if it notes that any of the following matters may occur:

A.Commit a violation of any provision of the Law or Regulations or other relevant laws, regulations, decisions and instructions.
B.Commit a criminal offense in relation to financial fraud or breach of trust.
C.Losses are inflicted, leading to failure to meet the capital requirements stipulated in the Regulations.
D.The occurrence of any fault that may have a material impact on the licensee’s accounts, including any faults that causes a significant disruption to the provision of any type of service to the licensee’s clients.
E.If the auditor cannot confirm whether the licensee’s assets exceed the licensee’s liabilities or meet any other solvency test applied in the Kingdom.
 8.

The report submitted under Paragraph [7] of this Article shall not be considered a breach of any restrictions imposed on disclosure under any applicable laws or regulations or applicable contractual terms. The external auditor and his employees shall not bear responsibility for any conduct, fault or loss arising from the disclosure, provided that he discloses - in good faith - the following matters to SAMA:

A.The extent to which he is aware, with certainty or probability, of the existence of any of the issues mentioned in Paragraph [8] of this Article.
B.Any information or other matter of which he becomes aware with certainty or probability.
 9.The licensee shall instruct the external auditor concerned in accordance with this Article not to disclose any information obtained by him in the course of his work to any person other than the licensee or SAMA, unless the same is required under the provisions of the Regulations or under any relevant laws, regulations or decisions.
 10.

The licensee or any of his employees’ performance of any of the following actions - or conspiring with third parties to do so – shall be considered a violation of the provisions of the Regulations:

A.Prevent, delay or obstruct the audit.
B.Destroy, conceal or replace any property, records or documents relating to the licensee’s business.
C.Send any record, document or asset - whatever its description, which the licensee owns or is in his possession or at his disposal, to outside the Kingdom.