Auditors, accountants and tax advisers in Spain

Terms used

• ROAC — The ROAC is Spain's official register of auditors and audit firms, the only people allowed to carry out statutory audits.
• ICAC — The ICAC is the Spanish accounting and audit authority that runs the ROAC and handles foreign auditors' requests.
• Autónomo — An autónomo is a self-employed person registered with Spanish social security and the tax office.
• Colegio — A colegio is a professional association; for accountants and tax advisers, joining one is voluntary.

Key rules

• Statutory audit: Only auditors and audit firms entered in the ROAC can carry out statutory audits of accounts.
• Open work: Bookkeeping, general accounting and tax advice need no registry or colegio.
• EU auditors: If you are approved in another EU or EEA state, you enter the ROAC through an ICAC request and an aptitude test.
• Non-EU auditors: If you qualified outside the EU, entry also depends on your country treating Spanish auditors the same way.
• Protected titles: Do not use the titles auditor, abogado or graduado social unless you hold them.

What is regulated and what is not

Only one finance role is closed: statutory audit. Only auditors and audit firms entered in the ROAC can carry it out. Bookkeeping, general accounting and tax advice need no registry or colegio.

A statutory audit is one required by law, or ordered by a court or registry. Voluntary reviews and other assurance work are open. Audits of public bodies are done by public control bodies, not by private auditors.

Auditors

The title "auditor" is protected. If you want to sign statutory audit reports in Spain, you must be in the ROAC. Your route depends on where you qualified.

Approved in another EU or EEA state

You can enter the ROAC without redoing your training. The steps are:

1. File a request with the ICAC, the body that runs the register.
2. Attach proof that you are approved in your home state, your identity and nationality documents, evidence of good repute and of your qualifications, and any fees due.
3. Pass the ICAC's aptitude test (prueba de aptitud). It covers Spanish law and the accounting rules that matter for audit.
4. The ICAC then enters you in the ROAC.

EU audit firms can also be approved if their auditors and ownership meet the same rules. Test content, call dates and document lists are set by the ICAC and change, so ask the ICAC before you apply.

Qualified outside the EU

The route is stricter. You need all of the following:

• Reciprocity: your country must treat Spanish auditors the same way. The ICAC decides this case by case, so ask it early.
• The aptitude test.
• Good repute and the required training.

If you audit Spanish-listed companies from outside the EU, you must also register with the ICAC under its third-country audit rules. The ICAC can exempt you if your home system is judged equivalent.

Accountants and bookkeepers

Anyone with the right to work in Spain can do bookkeeping, tax-return support and general accounting. No registration or professional body is needed, and no title is protected for this work. Joining a colegio de economistas or a colegio de titulados mercantiles is your choice.

You still need to register as self-employed (autónomo) and register for tax.

Tax advisers

"Asesor fiscal" is not a regulated profession. You need no degree, registration or colegio. To file returns for clients you have two options:

• Get a power of attorney from each client.
• Join the tax agency's social collaboration scheme.

Two limits apply. Representing clients in court is reserved to abogados and procuradores. And don't use the title abogado, or graduado social, unless you hold it.

Where to go next

The documents list, the checklist and the regulators list below cover the paperwork and the offices.

Documents you need

• Proof that you are approved as an auditor in your home EU or EEA state, to attach to your request to the ICAC (Spain's accounting and audit authority).

• Identity and nationality documents, to attach to the same request.

• Evidence of good repute and of your qualifications, to attach to the same request.

• Proof that you have paid any fees the ICAC requires for your request.

• If you are qualified outside the EU or EEA: the same set of papers, plus proof that Spain and your country treat each other's auditors the same way (reciprocity).

• A power of attorney, if you want someone to file tax returns for you as your representative.

Checklist

• Check whether your work is a statutory audit, meaning one required by law or ordered by a court or registry. Only ROAC-registered auditors and audit firms can do it.

• Treat voluntary reviews, other assurance work and general accounting as open: they need no ROAC registration.

• If you are an auditor approved in another EU or EEA state, file a request with the ICAC and prepare for its aptitude test on Spanish law and audit-relevant accounting rules.

• If you are qualified outside the EU, ask the ICAC whether Spanish auditors get the same treatment in your country, then plan to pass the aptitude test.

• For bookkeeping or accounting work, register as self-employed (autónomo) and register for tax. No colegio membership is needed.

• For tax advice, don't use the titles abogado or graduado social unless you hold them. Leave court representation to abogados and procuradores.

• To file returns for clients, get a power of attorney from each one, or join the tax agency's social collaboration scheme.

Registers and regulators for regulated careers

• Instituto de Contabilidad y Auditoría de Cuentas (ICAC): Check the ROAC, the official register of auditors and audit firms. The ICAC decides on registration, suspension and removal.

• CNMV, the securities regulator: Check its registers of authorised investment firms and advisers before paying for investment advice.

• Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones (DGSFP): Check its register of insurance distributors.

• Colegios of property agents (API) and of gestores administrativos, and their consejos generales: Look up a member in the colegio or consejo general register.

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Check the register of sworn translators.

• Consejos generales and colegios for veterinary, biology, chemistry, geology and agronomy: Search the member register of the national body for your profession, such as the Consejo General de Colegios Veterinarios de España or the Ilustre Colegio Oficial de Geólogos.

Quick answers for finance, property and other careers

Can I call myself a consultant or adviser in Spain without authorisation?

Yes, you can use the words consultant or adviser (asesor) for general business consulting, because they are not protected terms. Regulated work still needs authorisation, such as investment advice from the CNMV or insurance advice registered with the DGSFP. Calling yourself abogado, auditor or gestor administrativo without the qualification is an offence.

Do the professional registers and colegios charge fees?

Yes, colegios charge an enrolment fee and regular dues that each colegio sets, and they differ by province. ROAC and CNMV registration usually involves no or modest fees, though auditors pay contributions. Ask each body for its current figures.

Do tourist guide rules change for part-time or seasonal work?

No, part-time or seasonal guiding generally gets no exemption, so you usually need your region's accreditation whatever your hours. Some regions exempt occasional guiding of specific natural sites. Ask the regional tourism office.

Is a guide or instructor title from one region valid in another?

Yes, in principle a qualification from one region is valid across Spain, but some regions still ask for registration or notification. Check the rules of the region where you will work before you start. Disputes can go to the market-unity procedure at the Ministry of Economy.

Fees and regional guide rules change, so confirm the current figures and requirements with each body or region.