# Regulation (EU) No 537/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on specific requirements regarding statutory audit of public-interest entities and repealing Commission Decision 2005/909/EC (Text with EEA relevance), Article 17: Duration of the audit engagement

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

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Neither the initial engagement of a particular statutory auditor or audit firm, nor this in combination with any renewed engagements therewith shall exceed a maximum duration of 10 years.
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7. The key audit partners responsible for carrying out a statutory audit shall cease their participation in the statutory audit of the audited person not later than seven years from the date of their appointment. They shall not participate again in the statutory audit of the audited person before three years have elapsed following that cessation.
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The statutory auditor ... shall establish an appropriate gradual rotation mechanism with regard to the most senior personnel involved in the statutory audit, including at least the individuals who are eligible for appointment as statutory auditors. The gradual rotation mechanism shall be applied in phases on the basis of individuals rather than of the entire engagement team. It shall be proportionate in view of the scale and the complexity of the activity of the statutory auditor ....
The statutory auditor ... shall be able to demonstrate to the competent authority that such mechanism is effectively applied and adapted to the scale and the complexity of the activity of the statutory auditor ....
8. For the purposes of the provisions for the appointment of statutory auditors by public interest entities, the duration of the audit engagement shall be calculated as from the first financial year covered in the audit engagement letter in which the statutory auditor ... has been appointed for the first time for the carrying-out of consecutive statutory audits for the same public-interest entity.
For the purposes of this Article, the statutory auditor is a firm it must include any other statutory auditor that is also a firm and has been acquired by or has merged with the first statutory auditor.
If there is uncertainty as to the date on which the statutory auditor ... began carrying out consecutive statutory audits for the public-interest entity, for example due to firm mergers, acquisitions, or changes in ownership structure, the statutory auditor ... shall immediately report such uncertainties to the competent authority, which shall ultimately determine the relevant date for the purposes of the first subparagraph.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2014/537/article/17 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2014-537/article-17
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.