Recital 65

(65) The rules on the approval and recognition of statutory auditors and audit firms should allow statutory auditors to qualify also for the assurance of sustainability reporting. Member States should ensure that statutory auditors who wish to qualify for the assurance of sustainability reporting have the necessary level of theoretical knowledge of subjects relevant to the assurance of sustainability reporting and the ability to apply such knowledge in practice. Therefore, statutory auditors should complete practical training of at least eight months in the assurance of annual and consolidated sustainability reporting or in other sustainability-related services, taking account of previous employment experience. However, statutory auditors that have already been approved or recognised in a Member State should continue to be allowed to carry out the assurance of sustainability reporting. Likewise, Member States should ensure that natural persons who are undergoing the approval process at the date of application of the requirements for the assurance of sustainability reporting established by this amending Directive are not subject to those requirements, provided they complete the process within the following two years. Member States should, however, ensure that statutory auditors approved within two years of the date of application of those requirements and who wish to carry out the assurance of sustainability reporting acquire the necessary knowledge in sustainability reporting and the assurance of sustainability reporting via continued professional education. Natural persons who decide to be approved only as statutory auditors for statutory audit should be able to decide at a later point in time to qualify also for the assurance of sustainability reporting. In order to do so, such persons should meet the necessary requirements set out by Member States to ensure that they also have the necessary level of theoretical knowledge of subjects relevant to the assurance of sustainability reporting and the ability to apply such knowledge in practice.

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Source: EUR-Lex CELLAR · retrieved 2026-08-27 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.