Professional Competence Examination
Under Law No 162/2017, the competent authority responsible for issuing the rules setting the conditions for organising and conducting the professional competence examination, and for organising and conducting the competence examination, is the Authority for the Public Oversight of Statutory Audit Activity, ASPAAS.
To register for and sit the competence examination, natural persons must meet the following educational requirements:
a) hold a degree from a higher education institution or an equivalent level; b) have completed a theoretical training course organised/recognised by ASPAAS, or have had it deemed equivalent under the conditions laid down in Article 11(8) of Law No 162/2017; c) have completed practical training in accordance with Article 11(1), or have had it deemed equivalent under the conditions laid down in Article 11(8) of Law No 162/2017.
In addition to the above educational requirements, natural persons must also meet the good repute requirement laid down in Article 5 of Law No 162/2017 and in the ASPAAS Rules on the good repute of statutory audit trainees, statutory auditors and audit firms, approved by Order of the President of ASPAAS No 89/2018.
To register for the professional competence examination, May–June 2023 session, trainees who completed practical training in 2022–2023 and did not complete theoretical training with CAFR must send to the ASPAAS Registry the Declaration on the completion of theoretical training by the date of registration. This declaration can be downloaded from the ASPAAS website at: https://www.aspaas.gov.ro/
The results of test I of the competence examination, April–May 2021 session, were published on the CAFR website on 12.04.2021 at 15:30 and can be consulted at the following link:
The professional competence examination will take place in April–May 2021 and will be organised by the Chamber of Financial Auditors of Romania (CAFR) under delegation, in accordance with the Rules on the organisation and conduct of the professional competence examination approved by Order of the President of the Authority for the Public Oversight of Statutory Audit Activity (ASPAAS) No 135/2018, as amended and supplemented, and with Order of the President of ASPAAS No 425/2020 delegating the task of organising the professional competence examination.
For more details, please follow this link
The results of the professional competence examination, December 2019 session, were published on the ASPAAS website on 13.12.2019 at 14:45. The results may be appealed within the period laid down in Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/2018, by 16.12.2019, 00:00. Appeals may be submitted to ASPAAS in person or through a representative, or sent by email to contestatii@aspaas.gov.ro or by fax to 021 3191906. Appeals sent to any other email address will not be considered.
ASPAAS is organising at ARTIFEX University Bucharest – Str. Cezărescu Economu, Nr. 47, Sector 6, on 7 December 2019, the professional competence examination in accordance with Article 8 of Law No 162/2017 on the statutory audit of annual financial statements and consolidated annual financial statements and amending certain legal acts and with Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/20.09.2018 approving the Rules on the organisation and conduct of the professional competence examination, as amended and supplemented,, in accordance with according to the schedule attached at the following link.
From the time indicated in the schedule, candidates may enter the room to which they have been assigned. On entry, they must show the room supervisor their identity card or passport, which must be valid. Candidates without such a valid document will not be admitted to the examination room.
Important!!!
Access to the examination room is permitted to candidates only.
Follow the instructions on how the examination is conducted:
- Fill in your personal details, your ID number and the number of the question version you received correctly.
- Answer the questions on the pages provided; write as clearly and legibly as possible.
- Sources of information, mobile phones, smartwatches or other electronic devices are not permitted near candidates. Any attempt at cheating will result in the candidate’s exclusion from the examination.
- Only a desk calculator may be used for calculations.
List of persons registered for the practical test under the new system
ASPAAS does not charge a fee for this session of the professional competence examination.
NOTICE – Results of the professional competence examination, November 2019 session, 26 November 2019
The results of the professional competence examination, November 2019 session, were published on the ASPAAS website on 26.11.2019 at 21:20 and republished on 27.11.2019 at 10:00. The results may be appealed within the period laid down in Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/2018, by 29.11.2019*, 00:00. Appeals must be sent by email to contestații@aspaas.gov.ro or by fax to 021.319.19.06. Appeals sent to any other email address will not be considered. Candidates who passed test I under the new system will sit test II, which will be held on 7 December 2019. Candidates declared successful under the old system (final average above 7 and individual test marks above 6) may apply for authorisation as statutory auditors in accordance with Order of the President of ASPAAS No 87/2018.
* The appeal deadline will be extended to 30.11.2019, 00:00.
Professional competence examination results, Test I – New system
Professional competence examination results, Tests I, II and III – Old system
ASPAAS is organising at ARTIFEX University Bucharest – Str. Cezărescu Economu, Nr. 47, Sector 6, on 16–17 November 2019, the professional competence examination in accordance with Article 8 of Law No 162/2017 on the statutory audit of annual financial statements and consolidated annual financial statements and amending certain legal acts and with Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/20.09.2018 approving the Rules on the organisation and conduct of the professional competence examination, as amended and supplemented,, in accordance with according to the schedule attached at the following link.
From the time indicated in the schedule, candidates may enter the room to which they have been assigned. On entry, they must show the room supervisor their identity card or passport, which must be valid. Candidates without such a valid document will not be admitted to the examination room.
Important!!!
Access to the examination room is permitted to candidates only.
Follow the instructions on how the examination is conducted:
- Fill in your personal details, your ID number and the number of the question version you received correctly.
- Answer the questions on the pages provided; write as clearly and legibly as possible.
- Sources of information, mobile phones, smartwatches or other electronic devices are not permitted near candidates. Any attempt at cheating will result in the candidate’s exclusion from the examination.
- Only a desk calculator may be used for calculations.
Candidates registered for the professional competence examination held in November–December 2019
List of persons registered for the theoretical test under the new system
List of persons registered for Test I – old system
List of persons registered for Test II – old system
List of persons registered for Test III – old system
ASPAAS does not charge a fee for this session of the professional competence examination.
Notice on the organisation of the professional competence examination – 2019 session, 2 October 2019
The Authority for the Public Oversight of Statutory Audit Activity (ASPAAS) is organising in Bucharest (the venue will be announced later), on 15–17 November, the last session of the competence examination under the old system (three tests) and the theoretical test of the professional competence examination under the new system.
The practical test of the professional competence examination under the new system will be announced after the final results of the theoretical test of the 15–17 November session are published, in accordance with Article 8 of Law No 162/2017 and Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/20.09.2018 approving the Rules on the organisation and conduct of the professional competence examination, as follows:
I. Tests of the professional competence examination under Article 5 of Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/2018 (applicable to candidates who have completed the traineeship and are sitting the competence examination for the first time, and to those who have sat it before but have not passed any of its tests):
the first test – theoretical knowledge test – will be held on 15–17 November; the exact date will be announced later.
A second test – test of the practical application of theoretical knowledge – the exact date will be announced later.
The syllabus and bibliography for the professional competence examination consist of the fields and regulations set out in point A and point B for both the first and the second test.
II. Tests of the professional competence examination under Article 15 of Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/2018 (applicable to candidates who have completed the traineeship and have previously sat and passed one or two tests of the professional competence examination under the old system):
Theoretical test (I) – will be held on 15–17 November; the exact date will be announced later.
Multiple-choice test (II) – will be held on 15–17 November; the exact date will be announced later.
Practical test (III) – will be held on 15–17 November; the exact date will be announced later.
The syllabus and bibliography for the professional competence examination are as follows:
- Theoretical test (I) and the first test – theoretical knowledge test – point A.
- Multiple-choice test (II) – point B.
- Practical test (III) and the second test – test of the practical application of theoretical knowledge – point A. and point B
All natural persons who meet the conditions laid down in Article 3 of Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/2018 may register for the examination.
ASPAAS does not charge a fee for this session of the professional competence examination.
Registration period for the professional competence examination: 21 October – 1 November
Registration hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00–13:00.
To register for the examination, candidates must submit the following documents in person or through a representative at the ASPAAS headquarters in Bucharest, Str. Sirenelor, nr. 5, Sector 5:
a) application for registration, in accordance with the annex forming an integral part of the Rules;
b) the degree diploma, as a copy certified as a true copy of the original (the candidate will bring to the ASPAAS headquarters a notarised copy or the original diploma together with a photocopy, which the ASPAAS staff receiving the application will certify as a true copy);
c) a copy of the identity document;
d) 2 photographs (2/3 format);
e) a valid criminal record certificate;
f) the declaration of compliance with the good repute criteria, set out in the annex to the Rules on the good repute of statutory audit trainees, statutory auditors and audit firms, approved by Order of the President of the Authority for the Public Oversight of Statutory Audit Activity No 89/2018;
g) any other document requested by ASPAAS during the review.
Documents submitted in the December 2018 session file may be reused on the basis of a simple request submitted together with the new application file.
Reuse may be requested only for the following documents:
- ¾ format photographs
- Degree diploma (notarised or certified as a true copy of the original at the ASPAAS headquarters)
- Copy of the identity document, if still valid
Applications received by any other means (post, courier, email, etc.) will not be considered.
!!NOTE!! In accordance with Article 16(2) and (3) of Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/2018, for ASPAAS to validate the application files of all persons registered for the professional competence examination (who have completed the traineeship and have not sat any of the tests / who have completed the traineeship and have sat and passed one or more tests of the professional competence examination in previous years), CAFR must send ASPAAS, within 3 working days of the request, supporting documents, as copies certified as true copies of the original.
The results of the professional competence examination, January 2019 session, were published on the ASPAAS website on 29.01.2019 at 19:30.
The results may be appealed within the period laid down in Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/2018, by 01.02.2019, 00:00.
Appeals must be sent by email to contestatii@aspaas.gov.ro or by fax to 021.319.19.06.
Appeals sent to any other email address will not be considered.
Successful candidates (final average above 7 and individual test marks above 6) may apply for authorisation as statutory auditors in accordance with Order of the President of ASPAAS No 87/2018.
Professional competence examination results, Test II – New system
Professional competence examination results – New system, December 2018 – January 2019 session
ASPAAS is organising in Bucharest, at the CECCAR headquarters in Bucharest – Intrarea Pielari nr. 1, sector 4, on 19 January 2018, starting at 10:00,, the second test – test of the practical application of theoretical knowledge – of the professional competence examination in accordance with Article 8 of Law No 162/2017 and Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/20.09.2018 approving the Rules on the organisation and conduct of the professional competence examination.
The second test of the competence examination will be conducted as follows: the examination for the subject referred to in paragraph (4)(a) of Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/20.09.2018 lasts 3 hours, and the examination for the other two subjects referred to in paragraph (4)(b) and (c) of that Order lasts 3 hours, with a 2-hour break between the two examination periods.
Candidates may sit the second test of the competence examination, namely the test of the practical application of theoretical knowledge, only if they have passed the first test, namely the theoretical knowledge test.
Candidates may enter the examination room half an hour before the examination starts. On entry, they must show the room supervisor their identity card or passport, which must be valid. Candidates without such a valid document will not be admitted to the examination room.
Access to the examination room after the break, for the second part of the test of the practical application of theoretical knowledge, is subject to Article 11(2) of Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/20.09.2018.
ASPAAS does not charge a fee for this session of the professional competence examination.
NOTICE – Results of the professional competence examination, December 2018 session, 21 December 2018
The results of the professional competence examination, December 2018 session, were published on the ASPAAS website on 21.12.2018 at 19:30.
The results may be appealed within the period laid down in Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/2018, by 24.12.2018, 00:00.
Appeals must be sent by email to contestatii@aspaas.gov.ro or by fax to 021.319.19.06.
Appeals sent to any other email address will not be considered.
Candidates who passed test I under the new system will sit test II, which will be held in January 2019.
Candidates declared successful under the old system (final average above 7 and individual test marks above 6) may apply for authorisation as statutory auditors in accordance with Order of the President of ASPAAS No 87/2018.
Multiple-choice answer key, Test I – New system
Multiple-choice answer key, Test II – Old system
Professional competence examination results, Test I – New system
Professional competence examination results, Tests I, II and III – Old system
From the time indicated in the schedule, candidates may enter the room to which they have been assigned. On entry, they must show the room supervisor their identity card or passport, which must be valid. Candidates without such a valid document will not be admitted to the examination room.
Schedule of the professional competence examination held on 15.12–16.12.2018
Candidates registered for the professional competence examination, December 2018 session
List of persons registered for the theoretical test under the new system
List of persons registered for test I (theoretical) – old system
List of persons registered for test II (multiple-choice) – old system
List of persons registered for test III (practical) – old system
Following reports received, it was noted that some links could not be accessed in the PDF format in which the original bibliography was published.
Please therefore use the .docx version of the bibliography, which contains the links concerned.
The Authority for the Public Oversight of Statutory Audit Activity (ASPAAS) is organising in Bucharest (the venue will be announced later), in December 2018, the professional competence examination in accordance with Article 8 of Law No 162/2017 and Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/20.09.2018 approving the Rules on the organisation and conduct of the professional competence examination, as follows:
I. Tests of the professional competence examination under Article 5 of Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/2018 (applicable to candidates who have completed the traineeship and are sitting the competence examination for the first time, and to those who have sat it before but have not passed any of its tests):
the first test – theoretical knowledge test – Saturday, 15 December 2018, in Bucharest, at 10:00
Second test – test of the practical application of theoretical knowledge – will be held on a date to be announced later, only for those who pass the first test; its schedule and the list of candidates will be published after the first test has been marked.
The syllabus and bibliography for the professional competence examination consist of the fields and regulations set out in point A. and point B. for both the first and the second test.
II: Tests of the professional competence examination under Article 15 of Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/2018 (applicable to candidates who have completed the traineeship and have previously sat and passed one or two tests of the professional competence examination):
Theoretical test (I) – on 14–17 December 2018, in Bucharest; the date and time will be set after the registration period ends, depending on the number of validated applications.
Multiple-choice test (II) – on 14–17 December 2018, in Bucharest; the date and time will be set after the registration period ends, depending on the number of validated applications.
Practical test (III) – on 14–17 December 2018, in Bucharest; the date and time will be set after the registration period ends, depending on the number of validated applications.
The syllabus and bibliography for the professional competence examination are as follows:
- Theoretical test (I) – point A.
- Multiple-choice test (II) – point B.
- Practical test (III) – point A. and point B.
The syllabus and bibliography for the professional competence examination can be accessed here.
All natural persons who meet the conditions laid down in Article 3 of Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/2018 may register for the examination.
ASPAAS does not charge a fee for this session of the professional competence examination.
Registration period for the professional competence examination: 30 October – 9 November 2018
Registration hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00–13:00.
To register for the examination, candidates must submit the following documents in person or through a representative at the ASPAAS headquarters in Bucharest, Str. Sirenelor, nr. 5, Sector 5:
a) application for registration, in accordance with the annex forming an integral part of the Rules;
b) the degree diploma, as a copy certified as a true copy of the original (the candidate will bring to the ASPAAS headquarters the original diploma or a notarised copy, together with a photocopy, which the ASPAAS staff receiving the application will certify as a true copy);
c) a copy of the identity document;
d) 2 photographs (2/3 format);
e) a valid criminal record certificate;
f) the declaration of compliance with the good repute criteria, set out in the annex to the Rules on the good repute of statutory audit trainees, statutory auditors and audit firms, approved by Order of the President of the Authority for the Public Oversight of Statutory Audit Activity No 89/2018;
g) any other document requested by ASPAAS during the review.
Applications received by any other means (post, courier, etc.) will not be considered.
!!NOTE!! In accordance with Article 16(2) and (3) of Order of the President of ASPAAS No 135/2018, for ASPAAS to validate the application files of all persons registered for the professional competence examination (who have completed the traineeship and have not sat any of the tests / who have completed the traineeship and have sat and passed one or more tests of the professional competence examination in previous years), CAFR must send ASPAAS, within 3 working days of the request, supporting documents, as copies certified as true copies of the original.
