Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets publishes cash flow statement review findings and sets follow-up expectations for listed companies and audit firms

The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) published the results of an exploratory review of cash flow statements and related disclosures in listed companies’ 2024 financial statements, alongside a review of how audit firms design and perform audits of those cash flow statements. Overall quality was found to be generally sufficient against IAS 7, but the AFM identified clear attention points after observing errors that were not always detected or appropriately handled in the audit. The work covered 30 listed companies under the AFM’s financial reporting supervision and the six audit firms with a public-interest entity (OOB) licence, looking across the full chain from preparation through audit. For companies, the AFM set out five attention points to strengthen application of IAS 7 and provided a self-assessment to help evaluate how the cash flow statement is produced and how quality is embedded; for audit firms, it issued ten attention points on quality management and audit procedures relating to cash flow statements. Listed companies under the AFM’s reporting supervision will receive a letter containing the five attention points and the self-assessment, and are expected to translate the outcomes into concrete improvements and embed them in processes. Audit firms are expected to reflect explicitly on the findings and show what measures have been taken and what additional steps are needed; the AFM will follow up through supervision and assess whether further supervisory measures are necessary.