Bundesportal | Applying for admission as an auditor with a foreign professional qualification

More Information

Publisher

Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection

Last update or date of publication

December 3, 2024

Contact

The government service telephone number 115 – your point of contact for questions related to the federal, state and local.

Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 18:00 (and beyond these times in some regions).

Call 115 now

Government service telephone number calls are charged at local rates.

Working as an auditor is regulated in Germany. This means that you need to be appointed as an auditor in order to work in the profession on a permanent basis.

You must meet several requirements to be appointed. One important requirement is to pass the auditor exam at the Chamber of Auditors. There is a shortened exam: the aptitude test. You can be admitted to the aptitude test if you are licensed as an auditor in the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.

If you have successfully passed the aptitude test, you can apply for appointment as an auditor. This is a different procedure.

You can also apply for admission to the aptitude test from abroad.

Note: You are not licensed as an auditor in the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, but you meet the relevant requirements? Then you can apply for admission to the regular auditor examination. This is a different procedure. The Chamber of Public Accountants will inform you.

Proof of identity (identity card or passport)
Curriculum vitae in tabular form with details of your education and professional experience
Certificate from the competent authority of an EU, EEA or Swiss state that you are authorized to work as an auditor in that state
Declaration on the optional subject for the oral part of the examination
Perhaps: Declaration that you wish to take the examination in a shortened form
Perhaps: Application for waiver of examination services
Have you already submitted an application for admission to the examination to another body in Germany? If so, please state which body.

If your documents are not in German, you must submit German translations of your documents. The translations must be made by translators who are publicly appointed or authorized in Germany.

Label

Preconditions

You are licensed as an auditor in the EU, the EEA or Switzerland.
You have sufficient knowledge of German. The aptitude test is in German.

Hints

Freedom to provide services

You can also work independently in the auditing profession in Germany without an appointment. In this case, you do not have to take an aptitude test. However, you may not perform all tasks. You may also not use the professional title "Wirtschaftsprüferin" or "Wirtschaftsprüfer". The Chamber of Public Accountants will inform you about the exact requirements.

Procedure for ethnic German repatriates

As a late repatriate, you can go through the recognition procedure either in accordance with the law mentioned here or in accordance with the Federal Expellees Act. You can decide for yourself. The Chamber of Public Accountants will advise you on which procedure is right for you.

Additional costs may be incurred (e.g. for translations of your documents). These costs vary from case to case.

For admission to the aptitude test
Fee
500.00 EUR
Advance payment
no
Pricing
For the suitability test
Fee
1000.00 EUR
Advance payment
yes
Pricing

Basis for legal action

§ 131g, 131h Gesetz über eine Berufsordnung der Wirtschaftsprüfer (Wirtschaftsprüferordnung - WPO)

§ 25 Prüfungsverordnung für Wirtschaftsprüfer nach §§ 14 und 131l der Wirtschaftsprüferordnung (Wirtschaftsprüferprüfungsverordnung - WiPrPrüfV)

§ 3 Absatz 1 Gebührenordnung der Wirtschaftsprüferkammer

Legal Remedies

You can take legal action against the decision of the competent authority within a certain period of time (appeal). The decision will then be reviewed. Details can be found in the information on legal remedies at the end of your decision. You should first speak to the responsible office before taking legal action against the decision.

Procedure

Application

You submit an informal application for admission to the aptitude test together with the necessary documents to the Chamber of Public Accountants. You can submit the application and the documents electronically. You can also submit the application and the documents directly to the Chamber of Public Accountants.

Admission to the aptitude test

The Chamber of Public Accountants will then check the requirements for admission to the aptitude test. If you are admitted to the examination, you must pay the fee for the examination in advance.

Qualifying examination

Among other things, your knowledge of German law is tested in the aptitude test. The aptitude test has a written part and an oral part. In the written part, you will have to complete 2 supervised assignments. If at least one paper meets the requirements, you will be admitted to the oral examination. You may repeat the aptitude test a maximum of two times. You must submit a new application for admission to the aptitude test for each repetition.

Once you have successfully passed the entire aptitude test, you will receive a certificate. You can use the certificate to apply for appointment as a certified public accountant. This is a different procedure.

Deadlines

Sometimes documents are still missing from the procedure. The responsible office will then inform you by when you must submit the documents. This may prolong the procedure.

A decision on admission to the aptitude test is made in mid-July each year. All documents must be submitted by then. Otherwise, admission to the aptitude test is possible one year later at the earliest.

Processing time

3 months
The Chamber of Public Accountants will confirm that your documents have arrived after a maximum of one month. The Chamber of Public Accountants will inform you if any documents are missing. If the documents are complete, the procedure takes a maximum of 3 months. In individual cases, the deadline may be extended once.