Directive No. 4230/2020-00014 of the National Bank of Rwanda on Accreditation Conditions for External Auditors of Foreign Exchange Bureaus

National Bank of Rwanda Banki Nkuru y'u Rwanda

KN 6 Av.4/P.O. Box 531 Kigali-Rwanda Tel: (+250) 788199000 / Website: www.bnr.rw / E-mail: info@bnr.rw / Swiftcode: BNRWRWRW / Twitter: @CentralBankRw

The Governor

DIRECTIVE N°4230/2020 – 00014 [ 613 ] OF THE NATIONAL BANK OF RWANDA ON CONDITIONS FOR ACCREDITATION OF EXTERNAL AUDITORS FOR FOREIGN EXCHANGE BUREAUS

Pursuant to Law N° 48/2017 of 23/09/ 2017 governing the National Bank of Rwanda, especially in articles 8, 9 and 10;

Pursuant to Regulation N° 14/2017 of 23/11/2017 on accreditation requirements and other conditions for external auditors for financial institutions;

Pursuant to Regulation N° 2310/2018- 00015 [614] of 27/12/2018 of the National Bank of Rwanda governing Foreign Exchange Bureaus especially in its articles 4, 27 and 36;

Pursuant to Directive N° 2510/2019-010[613] of 15/02/2019 of the National Bank of Rwanda specifying the geographical area of categories of Foreign Exchange Bureaus.

The National Bank of Rwanda hereinafter referred to as “the Central Bank”, decrees:

Article One: Purpose of this Directive

The purpose of this Directive is to establish conditions for accreditation of external auditors for Forex Bureaus.

Article 2: External auditors for category I Forex Bureaus

Small audit firms accredited in accordance with the Regulation n° 14/2017 of 23/11/2017 on accreditation requirements and other conditions for external auditors for financial institutions shall audit category I Forex Bureaus.

Article 3: Appointment of large auditing firms by Forex Bureaus

A Forex Bureau may appoint large audit firms accredited in accordance with the Regulation n° 14/2017 of 23/11/2017 on accreditation requirements and other conditions for external auditors for financial institutions.

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Article 4: External auditors for category II Forex Bureaus

Category II Forex Bureaus shall be audited by individual external auditors as accredited under this directive.

Article 5: Appointment of an individual external auditor

Category II Forex Bureaus are authorized to appoint individual external auditors that are members of ICPAR available on the list of external auditors accredited to audit microfinance institutions.

Article 6: External auditor term period

The term of office for an external auditor in the same Forex Bureau is limited to three (3) years and no external auditor shall perform two (2) consecutive terms within the same Forex Bureau.

Article 7: Obligations of external auditor

The Forex Bureau external auditor shall comply with the following:

1. Conduct audit in accordance with International Standards on auditing (ISA);
2. Ensure that the Forex Bureau prepares its financial statements in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS);
3. Produce the audit report composed by the report on audit of financial statements and the management letter; and
4. Disclose in the management letter any breach or noncompliance with relevant laws and regulations, especially the Regulation on Foreign Exchange Bureaus.

Article 8: Duties of the external auditor

An external auditor shall carry out his/her duties in accordance with International Standards on auditing, Regulations and decisions of the Central Bank.

The main duty of the external auditor is to provide an objective and written opinion mainly on whether:

1. He/she has obtained all necessary information and explanations for audit of books of accounts;
2. Proper books of accounts have been kept and maintained by the Forex Bureau;
3. The financial statements are in conformity with applicable International Financial Reporting Standards; and
4. The financial statements derived from the books of accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ of the financial status of the Forex Bureau in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards.

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Article 9: Annual audit report

The external audit report comprised of the following items shall be submitted by the Forex Bureau to the Central Bank in accordance with the Article 27 of the Regulation n° 2310/2018-00015 [614] of the National Bank of Rwanda governing Foreign Exchange Bureaus.

1. A statement of Financial Position;
2. A statement of Comprehensive Income;
3. A statement of Change in Equity;
4. A statement of Cash Flows;
5. An opinion on the financial statements;
6. A copy of the external auditor’s letter to Management on their audit findings and concerns; and
7. Any other comments on the institution’s risk profile and control environment.

Article 10: Commencement

This Directive shall come into force on the date of its signature.

Done at Kigali on 20/02/2020

RWANGOMBW John Governor

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