Accounting and Auditing Board of Ethiopia, AABE is a government body established by the Financial Reporting and Presentation Proclamation No. 847/2014 and the Council of Ministers Regulation No. 332/2014.
The Board is vested with a number of powers and functions under the Proclamation and Regulation, including the licensing, renewal, suspension, and revocation of accounting and auditing professionals; conducting quality assurance reviews; and providing accounting professional associations established domestically and abroad with accreditation or recognition as well as controlling/supervising the associations.
The Board has issued various guidelines to properly implement the proclamation and regulations, and has amended and replaced the Accounting and Auditing Professionals Licensing and Registration of Accounting Professionals Associations Directive No. 805/2021, which had been in effect since 2021, with Directive No. 1096/2025, which included additional services and has been put into effect since July 2025.
According to the regulations, the Board issues four types of accounting and auditing professional services licenses.
These are accounting license, certified audit firm license, public auditor license and Composite license. A person who has been granted a public auditor license by the Board may provide audit services to public interest reporting entities, while a certified auditor may provide audit services to medium and small enterprises. A professional who has been granted an accounting license may prepare financial statements for any type of reporting entity, while a person who has been granted a Composite license by the Board may provide accounting services in addition to auditing services. have been included, and the requirements for each professional are clearly outlined in the regulation No. 1096/2025. The regulation can be found on the board’s website www.aabe.gov.et under resources, general resources.
The Board issues professional licenses upon verification of the applicant’s professional qualifications. The service is being provided by facilitating the users to apply online through electronic service and then use their professional licenses, especially those who have received renewal services, to print and use their professional licenses on the spot. Users who want to issue a new professional license can apply for the service using the same technology .e.services.gov.et and only come to the Board in person to collect their final professional license certificate when they present main legal documents for verification.
Therefore, since January 1, 2026, approximately 1,450 clients have applied for new and renewal professional licenses at the Board, of which 542 have been granted accounting professional licenses, 84 audit professional licenses, 30 new public auditor licenses, 1 new certified accounting license, and 120 accounting and audit licenses particularly who have come from the region; a total of 777 license services.
The rest are in process.Similarly, Ministry of Finance has been providing the service to professionals who have been working with the regional auditor general offices since February 23, 2022, when it revoked the delegation of the accounting and auditing professional license service that it had previously given to the regions.
The service is being provided by raising awareness among professionals who wish to have their licenses renewed by the board, following its board of director’s decision, in accordance with the regulation number 1096/2025 and how to apply with the help of technology.Plus to this, activities are carried out to create awareness by preparing helpful videos on how to apply online for users, who do not attach a standard photograph according to the guidelines and that they respond by linking their medical results instead their ability to provide appropriate services in the profession and users are being informed.
The process has been challenged in such a way. The service has been streamlined by creating awareness that professionals should prepare the documents they are expected to meet in advance and apply through the system only when they are sure that they have submitted them. It is understood that uploading incomplete documents at different times will lead to penalties and that due care should be taken not to waste the time of both professionals and users by not repeating the process.
Many professionals are applying as a result through the service and receiving the service wherever they are.When renewing their professional licenses, professionals must submit evidence of continuous professional development (CPD), which includes 20 units/hours of certification and 20 units/hours of reading and other activities related to their profession. It was agreed that training on the Income Tax Proclamation is mandatory and that this will only be accepted when verified by the professional associations of which they are members.