On 1 July 2021 a new bill came into force in Germany that substantially reshapes the legal framework for accountants (“Gesetz zur Stärkung der Finanzmarktintegrität – (Finanzmarktintegritätsstärkungsgesetz -FISG)”, “FISG”, see here in German). Certain provisions are subject to a transitional period.

The first draft of this bill was introduced in the wake of the Wirecard scandal, which has caused heated discussions among politicians, interest groups, and scholars as to the necessity to improve the quality of audits. In the previous editions of this newsletter we already informed readers about the most important proposals made in the course of the legislative process. Since then, the provisions in the finalized bill have – again – been slightly revised. The major contents of the FISG are as follows...