Technical Standards for the Registration of External Auditors of the Financial System Members

Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Av. Norte, San Salvador, El Salvador.
NRP-16
OF THE MEMBERS OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM
Approval: 15/06/2018
Validity: 06/07/2018

THE COMMITTEE OF STANDARDS OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF RESERVE OF EL SALVADOR,

CONSIDERING:

I. That articles 78, letter h) and 106 of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System establish that the Superintendency of the Financial System will organize and keep updated the records mandated by the laws, including those of external auditors of the entities that are part of the national financial system.

II. That article 224 of the Banks Law, 87 of the Insurance Companies Law, 59 of the Cooperative Banks and Savings and Credit Societies Law, 48 of the Law on the Reciprocal Guarantee System for Micro, Small and Medium Rural and Urban Enterprises, 46 of the Pension Savings System Law, 29 of the Asset Securitization Law, 32 of the Investment Funds Law, and 33 of the Financial System for Development Promotion Law establish that the financial statements of the societies and institutions regulated by these laws must be audited by external auditors registered in the Registry maintained by the Superintendency of the Financial System.

III. That article 6, fourth clause, letter f) of the Securities Market Law establishes that the Public Stock Registry maintained by the Superintendency of the Financial System is composed, among other special registries, by the registry of external auditors, and that articles 81 and following of the same Law establish the requirements, powers, and obligations that external auditors seeking to register in the Public Stock Registry must comply with.

IV. That article 7 of the Securities Market Law establishes that the organization and functioning of the registry will be developed in the Regulation of that Law, considering the nature of the securities market, the registry principles, and the respective registration requirements contained in this Law. Regarding this, article 23 of the Regulation of the Securities Market Law includes the list of information that must be contained in the registry entries of external auditors.

V. That article 15, letter m), of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System establishes that it is the power of the Board of Directors of the Superintendency of the Financial System to authorize, modify, suspend, or cancel registry entries in the registries it maintains for persons, institutions, and operations subject to such requirement, in accordance with the laws on the matter, including that of external auditors.

VI. That it is necessary to integrate and update the regulatory framework applicable to the registration of external auditors who provide their services to the members of the financial system, based on the current legal provisions.

Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Av. Norte, San Salvador, El Salvador.
NRP-16
OF THE MEMBERS OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM
Approval: 15/06/2018
Validity: 06/07/2018

VII. That article 6 of the Law Regulating the Practice of Public Accounting establishes that when a public accountant intends to provide external audit services to the entities that are part of the financial system, they must request their registration in the registry maintained for such purposes by the Superintendency of the Financial System, in accordance with the applicable regulations, the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System, and other special laws.

VIII. That in accordance with article 101, fourth clause of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System, the powers to approve, modify, and repeal technical standards that must be complied with by the members of the financial system and other supervised entities, which were attributed to the Superintendencies or the Boards of Directors of the Superintendencies whose organic laws were repealed with this Law, are transferred to the Central Bank of Reserve of El Salvador.

THEREFORE,

by virtue of the regulatory powers conferred by article 99 of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System,

AGREES to issue the following:

TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF EXTERNAL AUDITORS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM

CHAPTER I
OBJECT, SUBJECTS, AND TERMS

Object
Art. 1.- These Standards aim to establish the minimum requirements that external auditors must comply with to be registered and maintain such status in the Registry of External Auditors of the Members of the Financial System. Such registration, in accordance with the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System and other applicable Laws, authorizes and enables them to be contracted by the members of the financial system to provide external audit services and audit their financial statements, as well as the aspects mentioned in the Laws applicable to said members.

Subjects
Art. 2.- These Standards apply to natural or legal persons interested in providing external audit services to the members of the financial system detailed in article 7 of the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System, as well as external auditors of other entities that by legal provisions must comply with the registration requirement with the Superintendency of the Financial System.

Terms
Art. 3.- For the purposes of these Standards, the terms indicated below have the following meaning:
a) Central Bank: Central Bank of Reserve of El Salvador; b) Surveillance Council: Surveillance Council of the Public Accounting and Auditing Profession; c) Financial Conglomerates: Set of societies characterized by the fact that more than fifty percent (50%) of their respective share capital is owned by a controlling society, which is also a member of the conglomerate; d) Persons in charge of directing the audits: Engagement partner according to International Standards on Auditing (ISA), is the partner or employee of the audit firm or office who is responsible for the coordination, direction, supervision, and execution of the audit work for the company that hires the firm or office, and for which they are designated as the engagement auditor; they are also responsible for signing the report issued in the name of the firm or audit office; e) Registry: Registry of External Auditors of the Members of the Financial System; f) Superintendency: Superintendency of the Financial System; and g) Partners: Shareholders of capital societies.

CHAPTER II
ON THE REGISTRY

Classification of the External Auditors Registry Art. 4.- The Superintendency will maintain a registry with two categories:
a) External Auditors for Banks and Financial Conglomerates; and b) External Auditors for other Members of the Financial System.
Auditors registered in the category of letter a) may audit other members of the financial system, and those in category b) may audit members of the financial system other than banks and financial conglomerates.

Requirements to register in the Registry
Art. 5.- Natural and legal persons wishing to register in the Registry must comply with the following requirements:

Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Av. Norte, San Salvador, El Salvador.
NRP-16
OF THE MEMBERS OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM
Approval: 15/06/2018
Validity: 06/07/2018

a) Be registered in the Registry of Public Accounting Professionals maintained by the Surveillance Council, for the professional practice of auditing; b) Declare that they know and comply with the International Standards on Auditing (ISA) and the Professional Code of Ethics for Auditors and Accountants adopted or issued by the Surveillance Council; c) Accredit professional experience in the practice of external auditing or similar functions, as follows:
i. Of at least five (5) years for those requesting authorization in the category of external auditors for banks and financial conglomerates; and
ii. Of at least three (3) years for those requesting authorization in the category of external auditors for other members of the financial system.
In the case of societies, this will apply to the partners responsible for signing the audit reports.
Professional experience is understood as the practice of external audits or similar functions; such as internal and tax audits, accounting services, and consulting; d) That the auditor, partners, directors, administrators, the persons in charge of directing the audits, and those who sign the audit reports:
i. Have not been convicted of crimes against property or public treasury or have not participated fraudulently in the commission of any crime;
ii. Do not have direct credits for which a reserve of fifty percent (50%) or more for soundness has been or is required, or that they possess twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the shares of societies that have credits with such a reserve of soundness;
iii. Have tax solvency and keep their information updated with the Surveillance Council;
iv. Are not in a state of bankruptcy, suspension of payments, or creditors' composition, or have not been judicially qualified as responsible for negligent or fraudulent bankruptcy;
v. Are not at the same time directors, officials, or employees of the members of the financial system;
vi. Have not been judicially proven to participate in activities related to drug trafficking and related crimes, money laundering and asset laundering, or terrorist financing;
vii. Have not been administratively or judicially sanctioned for participating in serious infractions of laws and norms of a financial nature, especially the collection of public funds without authorization, the granting or receipt of loans exceeding the permitted limit, and other financial crimes;
viii. Are independent of the audited entity and do not possess any shares in them, either directly, nor their spouses or relatives within the second degree of consanguinity and first degree of affinity, or through legal entities; and
ix. Have not been administrators, as directors or managers, or officials of a financial system institution where it is demonstrated administratively that said institution, from the validity of the Law on Privatization of Commercial Banks and Savings and Loan Associations, has incurred patrimonial deficiencies of twenty percent (20%) or more of the minimum required by Law, has received contributions from the State or the Deposit Guarantee Institute for its soundness, or has been intervened by the competent body.
e) That the income received by external audit societies or the external auditor for the audit services provided to a member of the financial system does not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of their total income.

Receipt of registration and renewal applications Art. 6.- Applications for registration in the Registry will be received in the month of August, and renewals at least one hundred twenty (120) days before the expiration of the registration period, in accordance with Annex No. 1 of these Standards.

Application and information to present
Art. 7.- Interested parties must submit a written application to the Superintendency, in which they must state which classification category they intend to offer their services in, and additionally attach, considering Annex No. 2 of these Standards, the following information:
a) Name, Trade Name, or Denomination; b) Address, email addresses, telephone numbers; c) Copies of the Tax Identification Number (NIT) or its Graphic Representation and notarized certified copies of the Taxpayer Registry Number for the Tax on the Transfer of Movable Goods and on the Provision of Services (IVA) of the applicant; (1) d) Certification issued by the Surveillance Council stating that the professional or society, as applicable, is registered in the Registry of Public Accounting Professionals, complies with continuing education requirements, data updates, and quality control; regarding the latter, they will present the certification only if they have been evaluated by the Surveillance Council; e) Copy of the public deed of incorporation and its modifications; additionally, list of partners, in the case of societies; f) Credentials of the Board of Directors of the society, which must be registered in the Commerce Registry; g) Curriculum Vitae of professionals practicing individually, of partner directors, administrators, and of the persons signing reports up to the level of persons in charge of directing the audits, attaching photocopies of the professional degree, photocopy of the card issued by the Surveillance Council, certified photocopy of the Unique Identity Document (DUI), and photocopy of the Tax Identification Number (NIT) or its Graphic Representation; (1) h) Description of the organization with the following content:
i. Organizational chart of the firm;
ii. General description of the functions of each component of the organizational chart;
iii. Name of the personnel and their position;
iv. Description of the computer equipment and their respective programs;
v. General description of the Quality Control System; and
vi. General description of their system for evaluating the quality control of audits performed by the firm.
i) Name and address of the companies to which they are providing external audit services and the main ones to which they have provided such service in the last three (3) or five (5) years depending on the requested classification category, specifying the main activity of the companies and the period in which they provided the services; likewise, list of the fifteen (15) main clients and the percentage participation of the billing of each in the annual income corresponding to the last economic year of the audit firm. For these purposes, a financial conglomerate must be considered as a single client; j) Sworn Declaration before a notary, considering the formats attached in Annexes Nos. 3 and 4 of these Standards, depending on the type of person, natural or legal; k) Where applicable, notarized certified copy of the current contract or agreement with the international audit firm or entity with which a correspondent, associate, member, or other contract has been signed. This contract or agreement, if not in Spanish, must present its translation in accordance with what is established in article 24 of the Law on Notarial Practice in Voluntary Jurisdiction and Other Proceedings, and must also attach proof of being registered with the Surveillance Council. The applicant will attach to the contract or agreement a summary containing, among others, the object of the contract or agreement, the responsibilities and obligations assumed, the rights acquired by the parties, the use of the firm's name or commercial trademarks, and its validity; l) Certification of having no criminal record, issued by the competent authority. This certification must have been issued at least within the thirty (30) days prior to the respective application made to the Superintendency. In the case of audit societies, it applies to the partners and auditors who sign the audit reports; m) Certified copies of the financial statements duly audited, corresponding to the last three (3) years. When the society has existed for less than three (3) years, it must present the financial statements it had audited and the corresponding to the last month of operations it has on the date;

Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Av. Norte, San Salvador, El Salvador.
NRP-16
OF THE MEMBERS OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM
Approval: 15/06/2018
Validity: 06/07/2018

n) Certified copy of the last payroll paid to the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (ISSS) and to the Pension Fund Administrating Institutions; and o) Solvencies in original and current, issued by the respective Pension Fund Administrating Institutions, the Pension Unit of the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (UPISSS), and for the payment of employer-employee contributions to the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (ISSS).

Incomplete information
Art. 8.- In the case of Registry applications where the information and documentation is not complete, the Superintendency will notify the interested party, within twenty (20) business days following the receipt of the application; the interested party will have a period of thirty (30) days to remedy the omission. If upon the expiration of the period no response has been received, it will be understood that the applicant has withdrawn their request, so the procedure will be considered terminated and the documentation will be sent to the Superintendency's archive.

Verification of the information presented
Art. 9.- If during the process of verifying the information presented and prior to the authorization of the Registry, it is determined to be false, the Superintendency, based on the Criminal Procedure Code, will notify the Attorney General's Office (FGR) and, considering what is established in the Law Regulating the Practice of Public Accounting, may denounce the fact before the Surveillance Council.

Communication of the resolution
Art. 10.- Once the requirements established in these Standards are satisfied and remedied, the Superintendency will resolve the pertinent matters and notify the interested parties, before the end of the year in which the application was submitted.
Registrations will be authorized with a validity date starting on January 1 of the year following the year of the application submission. In the case of auditors of letter a) of article 4 of these Standards, the validity will be two (2) years, based on article 228 of the Banks Law. For auditors of letter b) of article 4, the validity will be until the Superintendency, in compliance with its legal powers, issues a suspension or definitive cancellation of their registration.

CHAPTER III
FACTORS TO BE WEIGHTED AND ANALYSIS CRITERIA

Evaluation factors
Art. 11.- The factors described in Annex No. 5 of these Standards will be weighted based on the criteria described below:

FACTOR | SCORE ASSIGNED

1. Independence | 30
   1.1. Economic Independence | 15
   1.2. Number of companies audited | 15
2. Professional Training | 25
   2.1. Academic Degree | 10
   2.2. Technical personnel in auditing | 10
   2.3. Special studies | 5
3. Quality and Experience | 35
   3.1. Time in professional practice | 5
   3.2. Diversity of companies audited | 10
   3.3. Experience in the financial system | 5
   3.4. Quality of work | 15
4. Organizational Efficiency | 10
   4.1. Organization and defined functions | 5
   4.2. Computer equipment and programs | 5
   Total | 100

The minimum score required for registry entries and their renewals in the Registry will be sixty-five (65) points. The factors described in the previous article will be weighted based on the criteria described in Annex No. 5.

CHAPTER IV
SUSPENSION AND CANCELLATION OF THE REGISTRY ENTRY

Notification to the Surveillance Council
Art. 12.- Suspensions and cancellations in firm will be made known to the Surveillance Council and to the members who have contractual relationships with the cancelled or suspended auditors, and will be fully published by the Superintendency on its website.

Reincorporation of Auditors
Art. 13.- External auditors whose authorization and registration entry to practice external auditing in the entities of the financial system has been cancelled by the Superintendency may request, after two (2) years from the cancellation, authorization to practice it again, sending for such purposes the documentation requested in these Standards.

CHAPTER V
OTHER PROVISIONS AND VALIDITY

Deadlines to update information
Art. 14.- To keep the information in the Registry updated, external auditors must communicate to the Superintendency any change in the information detailed in Annex No. 6 of these Standards within a maximum period of thirty (30) days following the event that motivated the change.

For the update of external auditors' information, Annex No. 6 of these Standards must be used, taking into account the following aspects:
a) List of shareholders when it is a legal person; b) List of entities to which audit services were provided or are provided during the previous and current exercise; c) Updated credential of the legal representative(s); d) Sworn Declaration stating that the document of the relationship of the audit firm with firms or entities of auditing, whether local or foreign (association, agreement, representation, correspondence, use of name, licenses, or others) is current and registered with the Surveillance Council; and e) Detail of judicial processes and their status, that have been initiated against the audit firm or ordered against it or any of its partners. The failure to update the information will not prevent the Superintendency from continuing administrative processes for the suspension or cancellation of registry entries. The registration renewal indicated in article 228 of the Banks Law applies only to external auditors classified in category a) of article 4 of these Standards, which must present the updated information of the audit firm, to which the evaluation established in Chapter III above will be applied.

Procedures in process
Art. 15.- The procedures, processes, and appeals promoted that were pending on the date of validity of these Standards will continue to be processed in accordance with the Standards with which they were initiated.

Sanciones
Art. 16.- Non-compliance with the provisions contained in these Standards shall be sanctioned in accordance with what is established in the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System.

Derogatorias
Art. 17.- These Standards repeal the following:
a) "Norms for the Inscription of External Auditors in the Registry of the Superintendence of the Financial System" (NPB2-07) approved in Session CD40/09 on September 30, 2009, by the Board of Directors of the Superintendence of the Financial System, whose Organic Law was repealed by Legislative Decree number 592 which contains the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System, published in Official Diary number 23, Volume 30, on February 2, 2011; and b) "Norms for the Registration of External Auditors of the Public Stock Market of the Superintendence of Securities" (RCTG-12/2009), approved in Session CD-33/18 on December 18, 2009, by the Board of Directors of the Superintendence of Securities, whose Organic Law was repealed by Legislative Decree number 592 which contains the Law on Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System, published in Official Diary number 23, Volume 30, on February 2, 2011.

Aspectos no previstos
Art. 18.- Aspects not foreseen in these Standards, on regulatory matters, shall be resolved by the Central Bank through its Standards Committee.

Vigencia
Art. 19.- These Standards shall enter into force as of July 6, two thousand eighteen.

MODIFICACIONES:
(1) Modifications to Article 7 and Annex No. 2, approved by the Central Bank through its Standards Committee, in Session No. CN-02/2022, on February 21, two thousand twenty-two, due to reforms contained in Legislative Decree No. 203 to the Law on the Registry and Special Control of Taxpayers to the Treasury, with effect from March 8, two thousand twenty-two.

Anexo No. 1
FORMATO DE LA INFORMACIÓN ADJUNTA A LA SOLICITUD DE REGISTRO a) Name, trade name or denomination, b) Address and office location, ______________ Phone:_______ Email:_________ Web Address: ______________________________________ c) Taxpayer Identification Number (NIT) of the applicant: ___________________________________________________ d) Registration in the Council for the Supervision of the Public Accounting and Auditing Profession No. ________, dated _______. (Attach certification issued by said Council). e) List of partners (only in the case of companies) and technical staff:
Name | Social Participation | Title, status or academic degree | NIT | No. of DUI or Passport | No. CVPCPA Registration and date (Attach copy of the Deed of Incorporation). f) List of the Board of Directors: (only in the case of companies).
Name | NIT | Position
(Attach respective credentials). g) Curriculum Vitae of Directors, Administrators and of the persons who sign the reports:
Name | Experience | Position | Title, status or academic degree (Attach respective Curriculum Vitae and supporting testimonials). h) Description of the organization, which must include current organizational chart, functions of each component of the organizational chart, inventory of computer equipment and programs in use and complete list of personnel, according to the following scheme:
Name | Position | NIT | Title, status or academic degree Attaching:

• Inventory of computer equipment and programs in use; and
• Copy of degree of graduated personnel.

i) Companies to which external audit services are and have been provided:

1. Companies to which these services are currently provided*
   Name | Address | Activity | Fiscal Year | Contracted *Attach complete list
2. Main companies to which these services were provided in the last three (3) or five (5) years according to the requested category, in order of fees*.
   Name | Address | Activity | Fiscal Year | Contracted *Attach complete list j) Percentage participation of the fifteen (15) main clients in the society's income:
   Name | Activity | Percentage k) Sworn Declaration (attach Declaration according to model). l) The society has signed a representation contract with the international audit firm__________, dated . (Attach copy of the respective document). m) Quality control system of the audit firm. (Attach the general description of the quality control used by the audit firm). n) Detail of the spouse and relatives within the second degree of consanguinity and first of affinity of the external auditor, natural person, administrators of the firm or those in charge of directing audits, partners or shareholders, when applicable. Name: _________________________ Name of spouse or relative | Class of relationship | NIT | DUI Companies in which the auditor holds 25% or more participation:
   Name of Society | Participation | NIT
   Signature:_
   Name:______________
   Position:________________

Anexo No. 2
INFORMACIÓN QUE DEBE ADJUNTARSE A LAS SOLICITUDES DE REGISTRO

1. Photocopy of the Taxpayer Identification Number (NIT) or its Graphic Representation and certified photocopy of the Taxpayer Registry Number for the Tax on the Transfer of Movable Goods and on the Provision of Services (VAT) of the applicant; in the case that the applicant is a legal entity, it must also present that of the partners; (1)
2. Certification issued by the Council for the Supervision of the Public Accounting and Auditing Profession (CVPCPA), in which it is stated that the professional or the society, as applicable, is registered in the Professional Registry that this Council keeps of professionals who have been authorized by this Council for the professional exercise of Auditing;
3. Copy of the testimony of the Public Deed of Constitution, its modifications and list of partners, in the case of companies;
4. Credentials of the Board of Directors of the society;
5. Curriculum Vitae of the professionals who practice individually, of the partner directors, administrators and of the persons who sign the reports up to the level of those in charge of directing the audits, with their respective supporting testimonials;
6. Certification of having no criminal records of each of the professionals who practice individually, of the partner directors, administrators and of the persons who sign the reports up to the level of those in charge of directing the audits;
7. Description of the organization, which must contain:
   a) Organizational chart of the audit firm; b) Description of the functions of each component of the organizational chart; c) Name of the personnel and their position; d) Description of the computer equipment and their respective programs; e) Last payment slip of contributions paid to the Salvadoran Institute of Social Security and to the Institutions Administering Pension Funds; and f) Solvencies in original and valid issued by the respective Institutions Administering Pension Funds, Pension Unit of the Salvadoran Institute of Social Security (UPISSS) and of payment of employer-employee contributions of the Salvadoran Institute of Social Security (ISSS).
8. Sworn Declaration before a notary, considering the annexed model;
9. Certificate issued by the Council for the Supervision of the Public Accounting and Auditing Profession (CVPCPA), of having registered the contract or agreement with International Audit Firm or entity;
10. General summary of the Quality Control System employed by the audit firm; and
11. Commercial Registration.

Anexo No. 3
MODELO DE DECLARACIÓN JURADA ANTE NOTARIO PARA LOS AUDITORES EXTERNOS PERSONAS JURÍDICAS In the city of at the hours of the day of . Before me, notary of the domicile, appears the gentleman (lady), , of years of age, of profession or occupation of the domicile , whom I know (or do not know), holder (or identified by) Unique Identity Document number (or passport number) , with Taxpayer Identification Number ___ , who acts in representation of (in this case indicate if it is legal representative or attorney and relate the representation according to the case, at this moment or at the end) and TELLS ME: That in his/her capacity as Legal Representative or Attorney of the Society , and with the purpose of requesting the inscription of the society in the Registry of External Auditors kept by the Superintendence of the Financial System, UNDER OATH MAKES THE FOLLOWING DECLARATIONS:

1. None of the partners, directors, administrators and persons in charge of directing auditors and who sign the audit reports have been convicted of crimes against property or public treasury.
2. The audit society, its partners or the auditors assigned to audit the entity, are not in a state of bankruptcy, suspension of payments or creditors' meeting nor have they been judicially qualified as responsible for a negligent or fraudulent bankruptcy.
3. The partners of the audit firm, the auditor or those designated to audit have not participated in activities related to drug trafficking and related crimes and with money laundering and assets or with financing of terrorism; as well as, have not been administratively sanctioned for participating in serious infractions to laws and norms of a financial nature, and especially to the collection of public funds without authorization, the granting or receipt of loans related in excess of the permitted limit and crimes of a financial nature.
4. The partners of the audit firm, the auditor or those designated to audit have not been administrators, directors, managers or officials of a financial system entity in which it is demonstrated administratively, their responsibility for said entity, from the validity of the Law on Privatization of Commercial Banks and Savings and Loan Associations, to have incurred patrimonial deficiencies of twenty percent or more of the minimum required by law, to have received contributions from the State or the Deposit Guarantee Institute for its rehabilitation, or to have been intervened by the competent fiscalizing body.
5. None of the partners, directors, managers, administrators and persons in charge of directing auditors and who sign the audit reports are debtors in the Salvadoran financial system, for credits to which a rehabilitation reserve of fifty percent or more has been required.
6. The persons responsible for conducting the audits know the International Auditing Standards known as the ISA and the provisions contained in other current normative bodies that they must apply in their capacity as external auditor and update their knowledge of other regulations that may be issued in the future.
7. They will not sign contracts for external audit services in entities where any of its partners, administrators and persons responsible for signing the audit reports, are in the following circumstances:
   a) That they are director, administrator, employee or relative within the second degree of consanguinity or first of affinity of the directors, or administrators or majority shareholders; b) That they are direct or indirect debtor, insured or beneficiary of insurance and that they will not become so while we provide external audit services and if any of our employees meets or comes to meet any of the conditions indicated, they will not participate in any audit work that has to do with the entity where they owe or have insurance relations or any other business; and c) That they have held a position in the entity in the three years prior to the fiscal year subject to opinion.
8. The partners of the audit firm, those in charge of directing the audits, or those designated to carry out the audits, know the legal provisions that regulate the activities of the members of the financial system and commit to staying updated regarding the changes that these provisions and the regulations applicable to them experience.
9. The society, the partners, directors, administrators or persons who sign the audit reports are not holders directly or through a legal entity of any share or shares of the audited entity or entities.
10. The fees for the external audit services of the financial system entity that is audited do not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of its total income.
11. None of the partners, directors, administrators, managers or persons in charge of directing audits and who sign the audit reports are at the same time directors, officials or employees of banks or conglomerates or other supervised entities.
12. They commit to complying with the Professional Ethics Code for Auditors and Accountants adopted or issued by the Council for the Supervision of national public accountants.
    The (The) declarant tells me that the above declaration is true and that he/she knows the responsibility he/she may incur for existing falsity in it. Thus expressed the (The) declarant to whom I explained the legal effects of this present notarial act which consists of___ sheets; and having read to him/her what was written by me, in a single act, without interruption and entirely, ratifies its content and we sign: I CERTIFY. The Sworn Declaration must comply with what is established in Article 51 of the Notary Law.

Anexo No. 4
MODELO DE DECLARACIÓN JURADA ANTE NOTARIO PARA LOS AUDITORES EXTERNOS PERSONAS NATURALES In the city of at the hours of the day of . Before me, notary of the domicile of appears the gentleman(lady) ___ of years, of profession (or occupation) ___ , of the domicile of whom I know (or do not know), holder (or identified by) Unique Identity Document number (or passport number) , with Taxpayer Identification Number who acts in his/her own name, and TELLS ME that with the purpose of requesting his/her inscription in the Registry of External Auditors kept by the Superintendence of the Financial System, UNDER OATH MAKES THE FOLLOWING DECLARATIONS:

1. The (The) declarant has not been convicted of crimes against property or public treasury.
2. The auditor or those designated to audit the supervised entity, are not in a state of bankruptcy, suspension of payments or creditors' meeting nor have they been judicially qualified as responsible for a negligent or fraudulent bankruptcy.
3. The auditor or those designated to audit have not participated in activities related to drug trafficking and related crimes and with money laundering and assets or with financing of terrorism; as well as, that they have not been administratively sanctioned for participating in serious infractions to laws and norms of a financial nature, especially to the collection of public funds without authorization, the granting or receipt of loans related in excess of the permitted limit and crimes of a financial nature.
4. The auditor or those designated to audit the entity have not been administrators, directors, managers or officials of a supervised entity in which it is demonstrated administratively their responsibility for said entity, from the validity of the Law on Privatization of Commercial Banks and Savings and Loan Associations, to have incurred patrimonial deficiencies of twenty percent or more of the minimum required by law, to have received contributions from the State or the Deposit Guarantee Institute for its rehabilitation, or to have been intervened by the competent fiscalizing body.
5. The (The) declarant is not a debtor in the Salvadoran Financial System, for credits to which a rehabilitation reserve of fifty percent or more has been required.
6. The (The) declarant and the persons responsible for conducting the audits, know the International Auditing Standards known as the ISA and the provisions contained in other normative bodies that they must comply with in their capacity as external auditor which they will strictly abide by as well as other regulations that may be issued in the future.
7. He/She will not sign contracts for external audit services with entities where he/she is:
   a) Director, administrator, employee or relative within the second degree of consanguinity or first of affinity of the directors, or administrators or majority shareholders; and b) Direct or indirect debtor, insured or beneficiary of insurance and that he/she will not become so while providing external audit services and if any employee meets or comes to meet any of the conditions indicated, he/she will not participate in any audit work that has to do with the entity where he/she owes or has insurance relations or any other business.
8. That he/she has held a position in the entity in the three years prior to the fiscal year subject to opinion.
9. The (The) declarant or the persons who sign the audit reports, are not holders directly or through a legal entity of share or shares of the audited entity or entities, whether these are banks, societies that integrate financial conglomerates, insurance societies and other members of the financial system.
10. The fees of the entity of which he/she is external auditor, do not exceed 25% of its total income.
11. The (The) declarant and none of the persons who sign the audit reports are at the same time directors, officials or employees of banks, or entities supervised by the Superintendence.
12. That he/she knows the legal provisions that regulate external audit activities established by laws and commits to staying updated regarding the changes that they experience.
13. They commit to complying with the Professional Ethics Code for Auditors and Accountants adopted or issued by the Council for the Supervision of national public accountants.
    The (The) declarant tells me that the above declaration is true and that he/she knows the responsibility he/she may incur for existing falsity in it. Thus expressed the (The) declarant to whom I explained the legal effects of this present notarial act which consists of _____ sheets; and having read to him/her what was written by me, in a single act, without interruption and entirely, ratifies its content and we sign: I CERTIFY. The Sworn Declaration must comply with what is established in Article 51 of the Notary Law.

Anexo No. 5
CRITERIOS DE ANÁLISIS DE LOS FACTORES DE EVALUACIÓN

1. INDEPENDENCE

1.1. Economic independence
Measures the degree of dispersion or concentration of income, so that in an ideal situation, no particular client can put the auditor's independence at risk.
To obtain the maximum score, it will be required that no client for external audit services provides the firm with more than 6.67% of annual income. Consequently, for each excess of 6.67% of income concentrated in a single client, one point will be deducted from the Assigned Score value, in accordance with article 11 of these Standards. For the purposes of this calculation, the audit firm must present the list of its fifteen (15) main clients, indicating the percentage participation of the firm's income.

1.2. Number of audited companies
The experience achieved by the audit firm, with respect to the audit services provided to the largest number of clients, will be taken into account.
To obtain the maximum score, it will be required that the audit firm has a minimum of fifteen (15) clients. That is, for each client, one point is accredited, up to a maximum of fifteen (15) points.

2. PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

Measures the professional preparation of the partners in the audit area, as well as specialization studies. The preparation of technical staff dedicated to audit work is also weighted.

2.1. Academic degree
In the case of legal entities, five (5) points will be assigned for each partner who is an authorized public accountant, up to a maximum of ten (10) points. In the case of a natural person, five (5) points will be assigned to the applicant, who must hold the status of Certified Public Accountant or the degree of Bachelor in Public Accounting.

2.2. Technical personnel in audit
For each audit professional who provides full-time services to the audit firm, one point will be assigned up to ten (10) points.

2.3. Specialized studies
Each partner or professional who has special studies will be assigned one point up to a maximum of five (5) points.
Specialized studies will be considered as another academic profession in addition to public accounting, a master's degree, a postgraduate degree or any academic training with a duration of no less than one semester, provided that it is related to economic sciences or to the function of external audit.

3. QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE

Measures the experience both in time and in diversity of companies to which services have been provided, as well as the quality of the work developed.

3.1. Time of professional practice
For every five (5) years of professional practice that each partner or professional of the audit firm has, one point will be assigned, up to a maximum of five (5) points.

3.2. Diversity of Audited Companies

The weighting is based on the variety of economic activities of the audited companies.

For the purposes of this section, the following economic activities are considered: a) Commerce, b) Industry, c) Services, d) Agricultural and Livestock, and e) Others (excluding entities that are members of the financial system).

Each economic activity corresponds to two (2) points; therefore, the maximum score that can be obtained is ten (10) points.

3.3. Experience in the Financial System

For each year that the firm or natural person has been auditing entities supervised by the Superintendency, one point will be assigned, up to a maximum of five (5) points. When the application is submitted for the first time, one point will be considered for every five (5) years of experience that the partners or the auditors in charge of directing the audits have.

3.4. Work Quality

The maximum score that can be assigned is fifteen (15) points and will be based on the examination of the working papers presented by the external audit firm, according to the following detail: a) Planning of the financial statement audit engagement five (5) points; b) Quality of the report five (5) points; and c) Quality of the working papers five (5) points.

When analyzing the client files for which the firm issues an annual audit report, the weighted average must be calculated, which will allow for an equitable distribution of the score.

4. ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCY

4.1. Defined Organization and Functions

This measures the structure of the audit firm's organization, as well as the adequate use of information processing equipment and systems.

Annex No. 5
Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Norte Avenue, San Salvador, El Salvador.
NRP-16
OF THE MEMBERS OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM
Approval: 15/06/2018
Validity: 06/07/2018

Five (5) points will be assigned to audit firms that present their organizational chart and well-defined functions for each component thereof. The score will be reduced in relation to the level of organization presented.

4.2. Computer Equipment and Programs

Audit firms and independent auditors that use software systems and computer equipment for the development of audit work will demonstrate between three (3) and five (5) points, depending on the lesser or greater degree of use of these tools in audits. In the case that the equipment is used only for administrative purposes, two (2) points will be assigned; and in the case that they do not have these tools, they will not accumulate points.

Annex No. 6
Alameda Juan Pablo II, between 15 and 17 Norte Avenue, San Salvador, El Salvador.
NRP-16
OF THE MEMBERS OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM
Approval: 15/06/2018
Validity: 06/07/2018

INFORMATION UPDATE FORMAT

a) Name, trade name, or corporate name _________________________________________ b) Address and location of the office ____________________________________________ c) Phone: ___________ Email: ________________________________________________ d) Legal Representative: _____________________________________ e) List of partners (only in the case of legal entities) and technical staff

Name
Academic Title, Qualification, or Degree
NIT
Registration No. and Date *
Shareholding Participation

• In the Council for the Supervision of the Public Accounting and Auditing Profession

f) List of the Board of Directors (only in the case of legal entities)

Name Position
Attach respective credentials

g) List of the Board of Directors (only in the case of legal entities)

Name Position
Academic Title, Qualification, or Degree
NIT
Registration No.
CVCPA

a) Audit personnel b) Personnel who sign audit reports c) Personnel who direct audits

h) Companies to which external audit services are currently provided*

Name Address Activity Contracted Exercise

*Attach complete list

i) Percentage participation of the fifteen main clients in the income of the legal entity:

Name Activity Percentage

j) Name of international audit firm or entity with which a correspondent, associate, member, or other contract has been signed. k) Original and valid solvency certificates issued by the respective Pension Fund Administrating Institutions. l) Original and valid solvency certificates from the Pension Unit of the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (UPISSS) and from the payment of employer-employee contributions to the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (ISSS).

Signature: ____________
Name of Legal Representative: __________________________________________