Direct to: The Institute of Accounting and Account Auditing (ICAC)
What is the ICAC?
The Institute of Accounting and Account Auditing (ICAC) is an autonomous body attached to the Spanish Ministry of Finance and the Economy and governed by Law 19/1988 of 12 July on account auditing; Royal Decree 1636/1990 of 20 December, which develops the aforementioned law; and Law 44/2002 of 22 November on reform measures for the financial system, which amends several of the articles of Law 19/1988.
The responsibilities of the Institute of Accounting and Account Auditing are as follows:
- The undertaking of technical work and the formulation of the proposal for the General Accounting Plan adapted to the directives of the European Economic Community and the laws that govern such matters. The ICAC is also responsible for approving the adaptations of that plan to the various sectors of economic activity and for establishing development criteria.
- The permanent fine-tuning and updating of planning related to accounting and the activity of auditing accounts.
- The monitoring and control of the performance of the account auditing activity governed by Law 19/1988 of 12 July, as well as of account auditors, by means of carrying out technical checks and exercising the power to impose penalties.
- The establishment and maintenance of the Official Register of Account Auditors; the authorisation of the inscription of such auditors therein; the identification of the basic rules to which exams geared to showing professional competence and carried out by professional public law companies are to adhere, and the approval of the scheduling of such exams; and the monitoring, supervision and safekeeping of deposits to be made.
- The official approval and publication, if applicable, of technical auditing rules drawn up by the public law corporations that represent account auditors, plus the drafting, adaptation or revision of those rules in the event of the aforementioned corporations not doing so.
- The undertaking and promotion of the research, study, documentation, dissemination and publication-oriented activities required for the development and fine-tuning of the account auditing activity and standardisation related to accounting activities.
- Coordination and technical cooperation as regards accounting and account auditing, with international bodies and with the EU in particular, as well as with Spanish bodies, whether they be public law corporations or associations that work in the field of research.
- The Chairman and the Advisory Committee are the executive bodies of the Institute of Accounting and Account Auditing. They are supported by the Auditing Committee and the Accounting Committee.
The structure of the Institute is as follows:
- Subdirectorate-General of Accounting Methodology and Standardisation.
- Subdirectorate-General of Technical Auditing Rules.
- Sub-directorate-General of Technical Control.
- Secretariat-General.