Approved or authorised unit trust scheme formed outside Malaysia need not appoint AOB registered or recognised auditor to audit accounts
01 September 2026
Section 31N of the Securities Commission Malaysia Act 1993 (“SCMA”), among others, prohibits a person from acting as an auditor of:
- a public interest entity listed in Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the SCMA (e.g. a company listed on Bursa Malaysia, a licensed bank or Islamic bank, a licensed insurer or takaful operator, and a capital market intermediary); or
- a schedule fund listed in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the SCMA (e.g. a private retirement scheme approved by the Securities Commission Malaysia (“Commission”) and a unit trust scheme approved, authorised or recognised by the Commission under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007),
unless he is registered as a registered auditor with, or recognised as a recognised auditor by the Commission’s Audit Oversight Board (“
AOB”) under section 31O of the SCMA.
With effect from
1 September 2026, the Securities Commission Malaysia (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 2026
1 has replaced the words “
a unit trust scheme approved, authorised or recognised by the Commission under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007” in paragraph (b) of Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the SCMA with “
a unit trust scheme formed within Malaysia which is approved or authorised by the Commission under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007”.
The practical effect of the amendment is that a unit trust scheme that is
not formed in Malaysia is not required to appoint an auditor who is registered with or recognised by the AOB under section 31O of the SCMA to act as its auditor.
This amendment has removed an obstacle for collective investment schemes (such as exchange-traded funds and real estate investment trusts) that seek mutual recognition and cross-listing under the
Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Mutual Recognition of Covered Funds, and Simplified Dual IPO Listing Framework signed between the Commission and the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) on 23 July 2026.
2
Alert by Tan Wei Liang (Partner) of the Corporate Practice of Skrine.
2 Our Alert on the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Mutual Recognition of Covered Funds, and Simplified Dual IPO Listing Framework can be accessed
here.
This article/alert contains general information only. It does not constitute legal advice nor an expression of legal opinion and should not be relied upon as such. For further information, kindly contact skrine@skrine.com.