This article answers the following questions:

• Who will be affected by the amendments to the Accounting Act effective from 1 January 2025?
• How can you obtain exemption from sustainability reporting?
• How can statutory auditors obtain the qualifications to carry out the assurance of sustainability reporting?

On 1 January 2025, the Act Amending the Accounting Act of 6 December 2024 takes effect, which brings about a number of changes having impact on accounting and financial reporting. The changes include, among other things, the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the assurance of such reporting. This article describes some of the new regulations, including the amendments to the Statutory Auditors Act, and how they affect business in Poland.

Sustainability reporting in Poland – Amendments to the Accounting Act

As part of the amendments to the Accounting Act, a new Chapter 6c on sustainability reporting is added, which is another step in the progression of ESG reporting by companies.

Previously, the provisions of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) applied to this area, but they translated to limited usability of the sustainability information disclosed by enterprises. In addition, they only applied to the largest enterprises and groups of companies. The key objective of CSRD is to ensure that material, comparable, and reliable information is reported by a larger group of enterprises, which will also be more useful for investors and other stakeholders. 

In addition, statutory auditors will carry out assurance of the reports, which will enhance the credibility of published information.

Changes in Polish accounting regulations from 2025 – Who is affected?

The said Chapter 6c applies to such organisations as:

• companies;
• partnerships limited by shares;
• general partnerships or limited partnerships where all partners with unlimited liability are companies, partnerships limited by shares, or companies or partnerships from other countries with similar legal form to the said companies or partnerships;
• insurance undertakings;
• reinsurance undertakings;
• domestic banks within the meaning of Article 4(1)(1) of the Banking Act of 29 August 1997.

On the other hand, the provisions of the new Chapter do not apply to:

• open-ended funds;
• closed-ended funds;
• specialised open-ended funds;
• alternative investment companies referred to in the regulations on investment funds and alternative investment fund management.

The described legal changes in this area are part of broader activities, aiming at transforming the European Union into a modern and cost-effective economic area, emitting as few greenhouse gases as possible.

New dates of the first sustainability reporting for 2024 

The amended Accounting Act of 6 December 2024 sets out new reporting dates. Sustainability reporting is applicable to:

1. large public-interest undertakings employing more than 500 employees – from the fiscal year beginning after 31 December 2023;
2. large undertakings and parent undertakings of a large group (other than those set out above) – from the fiscal year beginning after 31 December 2024;
3. medium-sized undertakings which are issuers of securities in the European Economic Area (EEA), small undertakings which are issuers of securities in EEA, small and non-complex institutions as well as captive insurance undertakings and captive reinsurance undertakings – from the fiscal year beginning after 31 December 2025.

Exemption from sustainability reporting – Is it possible?

Importantly, in spite of the amendments to the Accounting Act, there is a possibility to obtain exemption from the sustainability reporting obligation. The exemption may apply to:

1. a subsidiary undertaking – if it is included in the consolidated sustainability reporting of the parent undertaking from a country from the European Economic Area (EEA) or a third country;
2. a parent undertaking which is a subsidiary undertaking – if it and its subsidiaries are included in the sustainability reporting of the higher level parent undertaking from an EEA country or a third country.

The above exemptions do not apply to large undertakings which are issuers of securities in the EEA.

Another important requirement introduced by the amended Accounting Act is the necessity of making relevant disclosures in the management report from the beginning of 2025. The document must contain:

• information on applying the exemption from the sustainability reporting obligation;
• name of the parent undertaking which drafts the sustainability report;
• address of the website on which the consolidated sustainability report and its translation are or will be published.

Along with the Accounting Act, the Statutory Auditors Act will also be amended

The changes will also affect audit firms whose services must be used by entrepreneurs for compliance with the sustainability reporting obligation. The amended Statutory Auditors Act, which takes effect from 1 January 2025, sets out the rules of:

• carrying out the assurance of sustainability reporting by statutory auditors and preparing an opinion on it;
• maintaining independence by statutory auditors and audit firms;
• acquiring the qualifications to carry out the assurance of sustainability reporting.

After the amendment of the said Act, public supervision over the activities of statutory auditors and audit firms within the scope of the assurance of sustainability reporting is exercised by the Polish Agency for Audit Oversight (Polish: Polska Agencja Nadzoru Audytowego). Whereas the authority responsible for entering the information on statutory auditors' qualifications to carry out the assurance of sustainability reporting into the register of statutory auditors is the National Council of Statutory Auditors (Polish: Krajowa Rada Biegłych Rewidentów, KRBR).

Acquiring qualifications and the obligation of further training after the amendment of the Statutory Auditors Act from 2025

The amended Statutory Auditors Act sets out the transitional provisions on acquiring the qualifications to carry out the assurance of sustainability reporting. Accordingly, assurance can be carried out by statutory auditors who:

• were entered into the register of statutory auditors prior to 1 January 2024;
• started the qualification process prior to 1 January 2024 and were entered into the register of statutory auditors within the period from 1 January 2024 to the day preceding the effective date of the Act in question.

As far as candidates for statutory auditors are concerned, the assurance qualifications will be vested in those who started the qualification process prior to 1 January 2024 and will be entered into the register of statutory auditors within the period from the effective date of the Act in question to 1 January 2026.

Furthermore, the amendments in question impose on statutory auditors and candidates for statutory auditors the obligation to undergo, as part of mandatory professional development, further training in sustainability reporting, sustainability reporting of groups and assurance of sustainability reporting.

The time limits for completing further training are explicitly stated:

Statutory auditors – until 31 December 2026,
Candidates for statutory auditors – within 2 years from the date of being entered into the register of statutory auditors.

What is really important is that the said training is not included in the minimum mandatory professional development time; it will be a separate pool of hours. Self-training done before the effective date of the regulations may be included in the self-training time.

If a statutory auditor fails to undergo additional training within the time limit set out in the law, from 1 March 2027, the National Council of Statutory Auditors will pass a resolution to strike the information on the qualification to carry out the assurance of sustainability reporting off the register of statutory auditors. Hence, it is absolutely crucial to take the necessary actions within the time limit set out in the law.

Amendments to the Accounting Act – Do you have any questions?

If you have any questions or wish to discuss or clarify any changes resulting from the amended Act, feel free to contact us – our experts will be happy to answer all your questions and clear up any doubts. 

Furthermore, we recommend following our blog, where we will explore other changes effective from 1 January 2025, including the new definitions of entities in the Accounting Act and the new thresholds for auditing financial statements.