Official Announcement:
Public Hearing on the Fifth Amendment to the Professional Code of Conduct for Certified Public Accountants and Certified Auditors – BS WP/vBP

Alignment of the Professional Code of Conduct for Certified Public Accountants and Certified Auditors with the CSRD Implementation Act

The WPK Executive Board has approved proposed amendments to align the Professional Code of Conduct for WP/vBP with the CSRD Implementation Act, which is currently still undergoing parliamentary review, and submitted these to the Advisory Board for discussion and deliberation at its meeting on 30 April 2026. The Advisory Board is expected to adopt the amendments, if possible, at its meeting on 19 June 2026.

With regard to the new statutory provisions relevant to the professional code of conduct, no further changes are expected to arise in the context of the pending parliamentary deliberations. It therefore seems sensible to prepare the necessary amendments to the professional code of conduct now so that they can also take effect promptly once the CSRD Implementation Act enters into force.

The proposed amendments adopt the approach of the WPO amendments in the CSRD Implementation Act, according to which legally required audits of sustainability reports (Section 324b HGB-E) are treated as equivalent to legally required financial statement audits under professional law (Section 316 HGB). The provisions of the Professional Statutes regarding statutory audits of financial statements are therefore to be extended to include statutory audits of sustainability reports. In addition, necessary editorial adjustments will be made.

Only in two contexts is it intended to exercise broader discretion in the drafting.

This concerns, on the one hand, the structure of the special continuing education under § 13d(3) WPO-E (“Grandfather”) in a new § 5a BS WP/vBP. A separate consultation has already been conducted on this matter (see “Neu auf WPK.de” from 23 March 2026 (in German)).

Second, the Executive Board proposes deleting § 22 BS WP/vBP, which governs obligations regarding the structure of the business name or the name of professional firms.

With the deletion of § 22(1), first sentence, BS WP/vBP (designations such as “auditing firm” or “auditing firm” must be included in the business name or name of the professional firm following the designation of the legal form), the options for structuring the business name or name of professional firms are to be expanded and aligned with the regulatory situation for tax consultants and attorneys.

The prohibitions in § 22(1), sentence 2, BS WP/vBP (word combinations with other components of the business name or firm name are not permitted) and § 22(2) BS WP/ vBP (the firm name or name must not contain any references to incompatible activities) need not be retained following the deletion of § 22(1) sentence 1 BS WP/vBP, as corresponding restrictions already arise from §§ 31, 43a(3) WPO.

The amendments to the Professional Statutes for WP/vBP proposed by the Executive Board are set forth in the document linked below. This document also contains the results of the proportionality review to be conducted pursuant to § 57(3a) WPO.

In the Executive Board’s view, the comparison of the professional code of conduct with the International Ethics Standards for Sustainability Assurance (IESSA) to identify any necessary changes should take place at a later date after the CSRD Implementation Act has entered into force.

Comments may be submitted until 3 June 2026, via email (berufsrecht@wpk.de), fax (+49 30 726161-212), or mail (Chamber of Public Accountants, P.O. Box 30 18 82, 10746 Berlin). The WPK’s Executive Board and Advisory Board will be informed of all comments received.