The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), on December 16, 2025, notified regarding the Maintenance, archival and submission of Audit File to National Financial Reporting Authority.
The following has been stated namely: -
• Requirements of Professional Standards:- The Standards on Auditing (SAs), including the Standard on Quality Control (SQC 1), define and provide guidance as to what constitutes an audit file and its evidentiary value in respect of the audit process undertaken by an auditor in support of their audit opinion/report. Accordingly, audit firms are required to design policies, procedures and controls around maintaining the sanctity of audit files, ensuring their completeness and timely archival, including controls around authorised access to archived files.
• The SAs also provide that the audit file has to be assembled by an auditor and archived in a specific timeframe to establish the integrity of the audit process. In support, paragraphs 14 and 15 of SA 230 require the mandatory assembly of the final audit file after the date of the audit report on a timely basis and its mandatory retention for the specified period.
• Paragraph 75 of SQC 1 Engagement Documentation: Completion of the Assembly of Final Engagement Files stipulates the need to complete the assembly of final engagement files on a timely basis after the engagement reports have been finalised. In the case of an audit, such a time limit is ordinarily not more than 60 days after the date of the auditor's report (also refer to paragraph A21 of SA 230).
[Notification No. NF-22/52/2025-NFRA]
