The self-regulatory organisation shall grant the audit firms and lead auditors the necessary licence and supervise their activity.
The audit firm shall be licensed if:
it is licensed as an auditor by the Federal Audit Oversight Authority in accordance with Article 6 of the Auditor Oversight Act of 16 December 20051;
it is adequately organised for this audit; and
it does not perform any other activity requiring authorisation under the financial market acts in accordance with Article 1 paragraph 1 of the FINMASA2.
The lead auditor shall be licensed to lead audits in accordance with paragraph 1 if he or she:
is licensed as an auditor by the Federal Audit Oversight Authority in accordance with Article 5 of the Auditor Oversight Act;
has the necessary specialist knowledge and the necessary practical experience for performing audits in accordance with paragraph 1.
Article 17 of the Auditor Oversight Act applies by analogy to the self-regulatory organisation's withdrawal of the licence granted to audit firms and lead auditors in accordance with paragraph 1, as well as to its issuing of a reprimand.
The self-regulatory organizations may stipulate further admission criteria for audit firms and lead auditors.