ACCOUNTING & RECORDS

In Chile there are various institutions in charge of regulating business. These are the following:

The Chilean School of Accountancy

This is the main institution which regulates the profession in Chile. Originating from the creation of a national register of accountants in 1932 accrediting them in law no. 5.102, later in 1958 The Chilean School of Accountancy in law no.13.011, later reformed in 1979 as the current School of Accountancy AG which promotes common standards of good practice, development and protection of the accounting profession; to publicise the role of the profession amongst the community and to supervise progress, prestige, ongoing improvements and prerogatives for everyday practice. They aim to incorporate accountancy into cultural, social and economic development of the country as well as to maintain professionalism among associates and dictate accounting norms.

The Chilean Securities and Insurance Supervisor (SVS')

This is an autonomous corporate body affiliated with the Chilean government through the Ministry of Finance. It is responsible for the supervision of all activities and entities involved in Chilean securities and insurance markets. The SVS enforces compliance with all laws, regulations, by-laws and other provisions governing the operation of these markets. The SVS has among its main objectives to maintain honest and correct policy among the markets it supervises, achieving this through opportune and wide distribution of public information and maintaining/ collaborating with knowledge and education of investors, insurers and the general public. All those are essential elements for the development and correct operations within those markets. Transparency of policy is a principal strongly encouraged by the Chilean government and linked to the strategy of bringing together state services and citizenship.

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The Supervisor of Banks and Financial Institutions (SBIF)

This was created in 1925 and is a public autonomous institution whose statute is found in title I of the revised text of the General Banks Law according to the decree subject to law No. 3 of the Ministry of Finance of 1997 and related to the government through this ministry. The head of this supervising institution is the superintendent, appointed by the President of the Republic.

The designated function of the SBIF is to supervise the banking industry and other financial institutions to protect depositors, creditors and the public interest.

Entities that Require Auditing

Companies in Chile that are public and float shares on the Chilean stock market are known as open public companies and are audited by the Supervisor of Public Companies and must be audited by auditing companies authorized by the supervisor

The banks and financial institutions controlled by the SBIF must be audited by auditors registered with this regulating institution

In private limited companies, auditing is requested by directors in the measure that it is deemed necessary. In Chile there are a large number of companies requiring auditing services and it is therefore a very interesting market.