Institute of Auditors
The Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer in Deutschland e. V. ( IDW ), based in Düsseldorf, is a registered association that promotes and supports the work of auditors and auditing firms , offers training and further education and represents the interests of the auditing profession. Membership for auditors is voluntary.
According to its own information, the IDW had 13,107 full members as of December 31, 2019. These are made up of 12,006 auditors (approx. 81% of all auditors) and 1,101 companies as well as 10 honorary members. Klaus-Peter Naumann has been the spokesman for the board since 2002 .
history
In the summer of 1929, Frankfurter Allgemeine Versicherungs AG (FAVAG), the second largest insurance company in the German Reich, collapsed.
With the background of the collapse of FAVAG and in order to accelerate parts of the reform, the "Ordinance of the Reich President on Stock Corporation Law, Banking Supervision and Tax Amnesty" (VO) was published on September 19, 1931. Among other things, it contains provisions on disclosure requirements (annual report, annual financial statements and auditing). Auditors were only allowed to be trained and experienced in accounting. Audit firms were only allowed to check balance sheets if one of the owners, board members or managing directors was trained and experienced in bookkeeping.
The "Institute for Auditing and Treuhanding" eV (IRT) was founded in August 1930 by several professional associations ("Association of German Book Revisions" (VDB), "Expert Group of Trustees in the Association of German Graduate Businesses" (VDDK), "Association of German Treuhand - und Auditing Societies eV "and" Reichsbund Deutscher Treuhand-Aktiengesellschaft ") from the German auditing and fiduciary system. The aim of the IRT was to participate in the legislation on the profession of auditor. At the same time, the IRT tried to bridge the various interests of the individual auditors and the larger trust companies.
The federal states of the German Reich established “the legal and institutional framework” for the new profession. In 1931 twelve approval and examination offices for auditors were created.
The profession of auditor emerged from the 1st implementing regulation for the regulation on December 15, 1931. Auditors had to be publicly appointed and audit firms had to be registered.
On February 1, 1932, the “Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer” eV (IDW) in Berlin emerged from a renaming of the IRT. Only auditors and auditing firms could become members of the IDW. One of the goals of the IDW was to develop into a professional body that could represent its interests externally. The first annual meeting took place on February 19, 1933. In May 1933 the Reich government recognized the IDW as the professional representative of the auditors. In June 1934 it became compulsory for auditors to be members of the IDW. On March 23, 1943, the IDW was incorporated into the "Reich Chamber of Public Accountants" and dissolved in April 1943. After the end of the Second World War in October 1945, the Reich Chamber was dissolved again.
In 1946, individual institutes were formed in Germany, and the associations in the British zone of occupation merged in the same year to form the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer eV with 440 voluntary members. In the next few years, further state agencies were founded. The association moved to Düsseldorf in 1948. On September 18, 1950, the Institute of Auditors' bookstore was founded as a limited company.
In 1954 the IDW was a founding member of the Union Europénne des Experts Comptables Economiques et Financiers , in the same year the name of the association was changed to Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer in Deutschland eV . For the first time in 1966 the IDW offered preparatory courses for the auditor exam. The publishing house has been operating as IDW-Verlag GmbH since 1972 . When the IASC was founded in 1973 and the International Federation of Accountants in 1977 , the IDW was again involved as a founding member.
Pronouncements
The Institute of Auditors (IDW) publishes so-called "IDW pronouncements". In the pronouncements, the IDW sets out the professional approach according to which auditors can pursue their work without prejudice to their own responsibility. IDW pronouncements exist as
- IDW examination standards (IDW PS)
- International Standards on Auditing ISA [DE]
- IDW statements on accounting (IDW RS)
- IDW Standards (IDW S)
- IDW test information (IDW PH)
- IDW accounting information (IDW RH)
- IDW practical advice
- IDW tax notice
- IDW Questions & Answers about IDW Examination Standards (F&A IDW PS)
- IDW Questions & Answers on IDW Standards (Q&A IDW S)
- IDW quality assurance standards (IDW QS)
- IDW practical advice
- IDW pronouncements until 1998
- Joint statements with the Wirtschaftsprüferkammer
- Other announcements / inputs.
International Standards on Auditing ISA [DE], IDW auditing standards, IDW statements on accounting and IDW standards are initially adopted as drafts by the IDW committees and made available to the profession and the interested public for expression of opinion. The drafts are recognizable by the prefix "E" in front of the abbreviations RS, PS and S. The final announcements (without other announcements) are published as loose-leaf editions and in electronic form by IDW Verlag.
References
See also
- List of IDW examination standards (IDW PS)
- International Standards on Auditing
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
- Accountancy Europe