Registration and consultation accountants' register
Are you an accountant working in the Netherlands? Then you must be a member of the Royal Netherlands Institute of Chartered Accountants (Koninklijke Beroepsorganisatie van Accountants, NBA). You must also be registered in their accountants’ register.
Register in the accountants' register
In the Netherlands, you can be either an Accountant Consultant (Accountant-Administratieconsulent, AA) or Chartered Accountant (Registeraccountant, RA). These titles are protected by law. You may only use these titles once you have been entered in the accountants’ register of the NBA. You can register in the accountants’ register by becoming a member (in Dutch) of the NBA.
Registering as a foreign accountant
If you are a foreign, qualified accountant, you must also register in the NBA’s accountants register (in Dutch). Upon registration you will also automatically be a member of the NBA. To register you must pass the NBA’s 'Test of professional competence', and obtain a Certificate of Professional Competence.
Find out more about the requirements to become a registered RA in the Netherlands.
Find out more about the requirements to become a registered AA in the Netherlands.
Rules for accountants
Accountants have to keep to the Code of Conduct and Professional Practice for Accountants Regulation (Verordening gedrags- en beroepsregels accountants). Among other things, they must comply with basic rules on:
- professionalism (you work skilfully)
- integrity (you are honest and trustworthy)
- objectivity (you focus solely on the facts)
- professional competence (you possess specialist knowledge) and due care
- confidentiality (you handle private information with care)
Licence to carry out statutory audits
If you want to carry out statutory audits, such as auditing the financial statements of a public company, you need an Audit Firms Supervision Act (Wta) licence from the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten, AFM).
Looking for an accountant
Are you looking for a registered, Chartered accountant or Accountant consultant? You can view the accountants' register on the NBA website (in Dutch).
Online registration procedure via Message Box
You can request to be listed in the register of accountants kept by NBA via Message Box. Foreign accountants can use Message Box to obtain a statement of professional competence for foreign accountants from the Committee on Exit Qualifications from Accountancy Training. Message Box is a secure email system that enables you as an entrepreneur to exchange digital messages with Dutch government agencies.