The Belarusian Council of Ministers, by Resolution No. 203 of April 25, has introduced special conditions for auditors working with organisations of special economic importance. The document was published today on the National Legal Internet Portal and enters into force upon publication.
Under the resolution, only audit firms and individual auditors approved by the Finance Ministry will be allowed to provide audit services to organisations of special economic importance for the Republic of Belarus. The list of such organisations, approved by the resolution, is not disclosed and is classified as “for official use”.
The document also establishes a number of specific requirements for providing audit services to such organisations:
- auditors must work on-site at the organisation with physical presence,
- transmission of information about the organisation’s activities via open data channels is prohibited,
- storage of information about the organisation’s activities in information systems connected to open data channels is prohibited,
- the organisation must monitor the dissemination and provision of restricted information,
- auditors are not allowed to copy documents containing such information,
- auditors must prepare documents using restricted information only in paper form and classify them as limited-distribution information.
Audit service agreements concluded before the resolution enters into force will remain valid under their existing terms until expiration and will not be subject to extension.
The Finance Ministry has been instructed to submit annual updates by November 1 to the Council of Ministers, in coordination with the Economy Ministry, regarding the list of organisations of special importance, as well as to determine the list of audit firms and individual auditors authorised to work with them.
