Auditing firms previously registered in the Special Register held by Consob have also entered the Register of Statutory Auditors at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in accordance with the provisions of article 161 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98, repealed following the entry into force of Legislative Decree no. 39/2010.

The Register can also be consulted on the page: search for members of the Register of Statutory Auditors of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

With the Regulation of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) of September 1st, 2022, no. 174 (published in the Official Gazette on November 11th and in force since November 26th, 2022), a specific separate section called "Section for third-country auditors and audit entities" was established within the Register of Statutory Auditors held by MEF, relating to third-country auditors and audit entities referred to in article 34, paragraph 1, of Legislative Decree no. 39 of January 27th, 2010. This regulatory initiative was adopted on the basis of article 34, paragraph 7, of Legislative Decree no. 39 of January 27 th, 2010, and it established the rules for the registration of such auditors.

The Section for third-country auditors and audit entities established within the MEF Register of Statutory Auditors is divided into:

• Part A, in which third-country auditors and audit entities referred to in article 34, paragraph 1 of the Decree are registered, in accordance with article 45 of Directive no. 2006/43/EC as amended by Directive no. 2014/56/EU (also the "Audit Directive");
• Part B, in which third-country auditors and audit entities referred to in article 34, paragraph 1 of the Decree are registered, in accordance with article 36 of the decree, having their registered office in third countries that are assessed as equivalent in accordance with article 46 of the Audit Directive.

Furthermore, following the issuance of the MEF Regulation, Consob, in implementation of articles 35, paragraph 3 and 36, paragraph 4 of Legislative Decree no. 39/2010, approved Regulation no. 22358 of December 6th, 2022, concerning oversight of third-country auditors and audit entities and derogations in case of equivalence.

The provisions contained in Consob Regulation no. 22358 of December 6th, 2022:

• specify that Consob may declare, by means of a specific resolution, the equivalence of the systems of public oversight, quality control, investigation, and penalties of a third country, in the absence of a decision by the European Commission (Article 2), in accordance with the provisions of the Audit Directive;
• provide for the exemption from quality controls for auditors registered in the specific section of the MEF Register where the following requirements are met, consisting of having been subject in the previous three years to quality controls carried out by another Member State or a third country deemed equivalent, provided that timely communication is given to Consob as to when the last quality control took place and which Authority carried it out (Article 3). In this way Consob has a precise overview of foreign auditors who met the exemption requirements;
• defer to a specific resolution of Consob regarding the recognition of derogations or exemptions (on the basis of reciprocity and provided that cooperation agreements - so-called MoUs - have been stipulated with the third-country Authority, declared equivalent, in which the auditor is based) from the provisions of Decree no. 39/2010 regarding the systems of public oversight, quality control, investigations and penalties, as well as with regard to the requirements for registration in Part B of the MEF Register and the content of the application for registration (Article 4).

Therefore, the transitional regime provided for by art. 43, paragraph 9 of the aforementioned Legislative Decree no. 39/2010 expired, according to which Consob was responsible for the registration of such subjects in the specific section of the Special Register of audit firms provided for by article 161 of Legislative Decree no. 58 of February 24th, 1998, according to the terms and methods established by Consob with Resolution no. 17439 of July 27th, 2010. The registrations carried out according to the transitional regime remain accessible as follows:

• Section A, relating to third-country auditors and audit entities registered in accordance with article 2 of the European Commission Decision of January 19th, 2011;

• Section B, relating to third-country auditors and audit entities registered in accordance with article 45, paragraph 1, of Directive no. 2006/43/EC.

On the basis of the final and transitional provisions of MEF Regulation no. 174/22, third-country auditors and audit entities already registered by Consob in the aforementioned section of the Special Register - who submit, within 90 days from the entry into force of the aforementioned regulation, a specific application for registration in part A or part B, depending on the occurrence of the cases provided therein, respectively, by chapter II or III - may continue to carry out the statutory audit of the entities referred to in article 34, paragraph 1, of the decree until the notification of the decision on the application for registration in such Section of the Register of Statutory Auditors.

Audit reports issued by third-country auditors and audit entities already registered by Consob who have submitted the aforementioned application continue to have legal effects in Italy until the registration in the Section for third-country auditors and audit entities of the Register of Statutory Auditors or any rejection of the registration application.