The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) Regulations 2026

Made: 13th April 2026

Laid before Parliament: 21st April 2026

Coming into force: 13th May 2026

The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 1240B(1), (2)(d) and (e) of the Companies Act 2006[^f00001].

In accordance with regulation 13(1) of the Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020[^f00002] the Secretary of State is satisfied that the third country competent authority of New Zealand is adequate in relation to its ability to co-operate with the competent authority of the United Kingdom on the exchange of audit working papers and investigation reports.

Citation and commencement and extent

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) Regulations 2026.

• (2) These Regulations come into force on 13th May 2026.

• (3) These Regulations extend to the whole of the United Kingdom.

Amendments to the Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

2

• (1) The Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019[^f00003] are amended as follows.

• (2) In Schedule 2 (approval of third country competent authorities), in Table 3—

• (a) omit the entry for “The Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China”;

• (b) omit the entry for “The Securities Regulatory Commission of the People's Republic of China”;

• (c) after the entry for “The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets” insert—

Signed

Blair McDougall — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State — Department for Business and Trade — 13th April 2026

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Explanatory Note

These Regulations make amendments to the UK’s audit regime by amending the Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (“the 2019 Regulations”).

Regulation 2(2)(a) and (b) amends Schedule 2 to the 2019 Regulations to remove the entries for the audit competent authorities of China (The Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China and The Securities Regulatory Commission of the People's Republic of China) in Table 3, including the respective expiry dates in column 2 now that they have passed.

Regulation 2(2)(c) amends Schedule 2 to the 2019 Regulations to insert the competent authority of New Zealand (New Zealand Financial Markets Authority) in Table 3, so that full adequacy is granted indefinitely.

An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private or voluntary sector is foreseen.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2006 c. 46. Section 1240B was inserted by S.I. 2019/177, as amended by S.I. 2019/1392.

[^f00002]: S.I. 2020/108.

[^f00003]: S.I. 2019/177; relevant amending instruments are S.I. 2020/108, 2020/523, 2020/1247, 2022/762.