Thailand's auditor oversight earns EC recognition
Auditors approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission will now be exempted from registering with audit regulators of the European Union after the European Commission recognised the SEC's oversight.
“The EC’s recognition reflected the SEC’s effort in the past years in implementing more stringent inspection on the audit quality assurance system of audit firms,” Vorapol Socatiyanurak, secretary-general of the SEC, said yesterday.
“The quality of audit activities of Thai listed companies thus conforms to international standards and helps enhance transparency and investor confidence in financial reports and disclosures in the Thai capital market.
“In strengthening audit quality, the SEC revised regulations on approval of auditors whereby the approved auditors must work for audit firms whose audit quality assurance system must be reviewed by the SEC,” he said.
Thailand is now recognised as an EU equivalent country, confirming the EU and Thailand’s mutual reliance in that EU member states are able to rely on the supervisory work of Thailand’s oversight systems, and vice versa.
EU investors in Thai listed companies will be more confident in sufficient investor protection, as the SEC’s practices and supervision are acknowledged as conforming to internationally accepted standards.
Thai listed companies will be allowed to raise funds and use Thai auditors in the EU’s jurisdiction, which will sharpen their competitive edge in the long run.
The EC has recognised 20 countries and territories as EU equivalent, including Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, the United States, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
