Poland's Ministry of Finance reported that the Council of Ministers has adopted a draft bill amending the statutory auditors and accounting framework to simplify how audit firms can provide services to public interest entities (PIEs) such as banks, insurers and listed companies. The proposal would move Poland from a restrictive “whitelist” of permitted services to a model where audit firms are barred only from services explicitly prohibited under European Union law, with all other services allowed provided auditor independence is not compromised. The draft keeps core prohibitions on services that could undermine impartiality, including bookkeeping for the audited entity, making management decisions on its behalf, performing internal audit functions and providing certain tax services. It also adds operational safeguards, including audit committee approval of additional services and an assessment of their impact on independence, and a cap on fees for additional services at 70% of the average audit fee over the previous three years; penalties for providing EU-prohibited services would remain. Supervision of audit firms sits with the Polish Audit Oversight Agency, while oversight of PIEs remains with the Polish Financial Supervision Authority. The bill provides for the amendments to enter into force 14 days after publication in the Journal of Laws.

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