Approved audit firms under Norway's Revisorloven
Statutory audit in Norway is reserved for approved auditors and audit firms. The current lov om revisjon og revisorer (Revisorloven, LOV-2020-11-20-128) and its supplementing regulation, revisorforskriften, entered into force on 1 January 2021. Finanstilsynet approves the firms, keeps the public register and supervises them.
One auditor title since 2021
The 2021 Act ended the two-tier system. The registrert revisor title was abolished, and everyone approved as an auditor on 31 December 2020 received the title statsautorisert revisor. New entrants need a master's degree in accounting and auditing. A transitional scheme for auditors without an auditor register number ran until 31 December 2023; those who did not apply for a number had their approval deposited and can no longer use the title.
What a firm needs to be approved
- Legal form: ansvarlig selskap, kommandittselskap, AS, ASA or samvirkeforetak (Revisorloven § 4-1).
- Board: a majority of both board members and deputy members must be approved auditors.
- Control: state-authorised auditors or audit firms must hold more than half of the votes in the company's highest body.
- Liquidity: the firm must be able to meet its obligations as they fall due.
- Engagement responsibility: for each statutory audit the firm appoints a statsautorisert revisor as the responsible auditor (§ 9-3) and runs a quality management system (§ 7-1).
Applications go through Altinn, and Finanstilsynet aims to decide within 30 days. Approval can be withdrawn if the board, voting or liquidity conditions are no longer met, and suspended while criminal proceedings are pending (§ 14-2).
PIE auditors and inspection cycles
| Segment | Who inspects | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Firms auditing public interest entities (listed companies, banks, insurers, credit institutions) | Finanstilsynet | At least every 3 years |
| All other audit firms | Den norske Revisorforening on Finanstilsynet's behalf | At least every 6 years |
Finanstilsynet's 2024 annual report counted 435 audit firms, of which only 7 audit public interest entities, and 4,493 state-authorised auditors. In 2024, 18 firms were newly approved and one firm lost its approval after a risk-based inspection. The count shown is an estimate based on these figures and the register's Audit firm entries in October 2026.
Reading the register
The population is concentrated at the small end: alongside the international networks in Oslo, most entries are local practices named Revisjon spread across all counties, plus holding companies that own audit practices and hold the approval themselves. Many firms also carry a separate External accounting firm authorisation under the Regnskapsførerloven, which is a distinct licence. Each entry shows the organisation number, the county and the date the audit firm approval was registered.