18 July 2016

FEE´s consultation response to EC on services passport

FEE has published its comments on the EC´s consultation on the 'Proposal to introduce a services passport and address regulatory barriers in the construction and business services sectors'.

FEE understands that the consultation is aimed at accountancy services other than statutory audit. The provision of statutory audit services is regulated at EU level via the EU Audit Directive and the EU Audit Regulation.

For professionals providing accountancy services other than statutory audit, the situation to operate cross-border on a temporary basis or when establishing in another country is generally complex because of:

• the wide range of activities carried out by professional accountants,

• differences in Member States’ rules on the pursuit of those activities and

• the existence of different regulatory approaches and market access rules at Member State level.

Member States might regulate the provision of accountancy services (other than statutory audit) for the purpose of quality assurance, consumer protection, and the public interest. They might also allow the consumer to choose between a regulated or non-regulated service provider. In the latter case of no market access rules, FEE member bodies provide appropriate qualifications, broader assistance and in some cases quality assurance monitoring. Therefore, the removal of qualification and/or registration requirements is generally not appropriate. FEE understands however that the matter of regulated professions is subject to another EC initiative and not addressed in this consultation.

In general, administrative burdens should be reduced. Accountancy firms and individual professionals would benefit from a reduction in complex and lengthy procedures to establish in other Member States where these problems exist. Electronic options to complete administrative procedures within a single pan-European workflow could be helpful. In this regard, the introduction of services passports for accountancy firms who want to establish in another Member State with market access rules could contribute to a reduction of bureaucracy. However, any attempt should be opposed to introduce via a services passport the country of origin principle “through the backdoor”.

Furthermore, certain regulatory restrictions could be addressed. Multi-disciplinary restrictions and legal form requirements can for example be perceived as barriers and should therefore be removed. Many professionals of other disciplines, e.g. lawyers or business consultants or IT experts are also working in accountancy firms. Since they have a direct interest in the quality of the service, they should have the possibility to become partner in an accountancy firm.

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