Article 21 of the Saudi Accounting and Auditing Profession Law

This article explains the relationship of the current Law to the earlier regulation of the profession, and contains two provisions:

1. Replacing the earlier law: the Accounting and Auditing Profession Law replaces the Certified Accountants Law issued by Royal Decree No. (M/12) dated 13/5/1412 AH. The earlier law is no longer the reference, and this Law has become the one regulating the profession.
2. Repeal of conflicting provisions: the Law repeals every provision that conflicts with it.

What does this mean in practice?

• When looking for a provision on the license, the obligations of the certified accountant, or violations and penalties, this Law and its Regulations are consulted.
• References and articles based on the 1412 AH Certified Accountants Law may not reflect the provisions in force.

The article does not address transitional provisions for the position of those licensed under the earlier law, and says nothing about that. It is preceded by Article 20, which assigns to Authority employees named by the Board the detection of crimes and violations, and followed by Article 22, which sets the date the Law takes effect at 90 days after its publication in the Official Gazette. Anyone with a standing position dating from the earlier law is advised to consult a lawyer specializing in commercial and corporate cases.