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The Profession12 September 20265 min read

AQMM Applicability From April 2026: Which Audit Firms Are Now Covered

The dates attach to the peer review, and the thresholds are alternatives. Both details change who is covered.

In short
  • For peer reviews conducted on or after 1 April 2026, AQMM v2.0 is mandatory for firms auditing the holding, subsidiary, associate or joint venture of a listed entity, bank or insurer.
  • The same date covers firms proposing to audit an unlisted public company with paid-up capital or borrowings of ₹500 crore or more, or turnover of ₹1,000 crore or more.
  • From 1 April 2027 it extends to audits of entities that raised over ₹50 crore from the public, banks or financial institutions, and of public interest entities.
A tape measure and two metal rulers laid side by side on whitePhotograph: William Warby / Unsplash

The Audit Quality Maturity Model was mandatory for a narrow group of firms: those auditing listed entities, banks and insurers. ICAI has widened it in phases. From 1 April 2026 it reaches firms that audit the group companies of those entities and firms taking on the largest unlisted public companies, and from 1 April 2027 a third group follows.

Who it applied to until now

ICAI's Centre for Audit Quality announcement of 11 August 2025 restates the existing position. AQMM was mandatory for firms auditing:

  • a listed entity,
  • a bank other than a co-operative bank, with multi-state co-operative banks included, or
  • an insurance company,

leaving out firms that conduct only branch audits.

Who is added, and from when

The same announcement makes AQMM version 2.0 mandatory in phases. ICAI had released the exposure draft of AQMM v2.0 on 12 July 2024, after its 432nd Council meeting.

  • Peer reviews conducted on or after 1 April 2026: firms auditing the holding company, subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures of a listed entity, a bank other than a co-operative bank (multi-state co-operative banks included) or an insurance company. Firms conducting only branch audits are not covered.
  • Peer reviews conducted on or after 1 April 2026: firms, called Practice Units in the Peer Review Guidelines 2022, that propose to undertake the statutory audit of an unlisted public company with paid-up capital of ₹500 crore or more, annual turnover of ₹1,000 crore or more, or outstanding loans, debentures and deposits of ₹500 crore or more in aggregate, as on 31 March of the immediately preceding financial year.
  • Peer reviews conducted on or after 1 April 2027: firms that propose to undertake the statutory audit of an entity that has raised over ₹50 crore from the public, banks or financial institutions during the period under review, or of any body corporate, including a trust, covered as a public interest entity.

Press reports describe a clarification of this announcement issued in April 2026. The reports we found give the same three categories and the same dates; we could not retrieve ICAI's own text of that clarification.

Three details in the wording

The date belongs to the peer review. ICAI's table heads the column "Date of applicability (Peer Review conducted on or after)". What the date tests is when the peer review is conducted.

"Propose to undertake". The second and third categories are written for firms that propose to undertake the statutory audit, not only for firms that have already signed one.

Any one threshold is enough. Paid-up capital, turnover and borrowings are joined by "or". Each is tested as on 31 March of the immediately preceding financial year, and loans, debentures and deposits are added together.

Check your firm

Try it

Is AQMM v2.0 mandatory for your firm?

Four questions, taken word for word from ICAI’s announcement.

1. Does the firm audit a listed entity, a bank other than a co-operative bank (multi-state co-operative banks included), or an insurance company, other than only as branch auditor?
2. Does the firm audit the holding company, a subsidiary, an associate or a joint venture of such an entity, other than only branch audits?
3. Does the firm propose to undertake the statutory audit of an unlisted public company with, as on 31 March of the preceding financial year, paid-up capital of ₹500 crore or more, turnover of ₹1,000 crore or more, or loans, debentures and deposits of ₹500 crore or more in aggregate?
4. Does the firm propose to undertake the statutory audit of an entity that raised over ₹50 crore from the public, banks or financial institutions during the period under review, or of a body corporate, including a trust, covered as a public interest entity?

ICAI Centre for Audit Quality, announcement of 11 August 2025. The dates are the table’s own heading: peer review conducted on or after.

The level will be public

The level of a firm assessed under AQMM was already hosted by the Peer Review Board on the ICAI website, beside the validity date of the firm's Peer Review Certificate. The announcement adds two things: the list of firms reviewed under AQMM v2.0 will be hosted level-wise on the ICAI website, and the firm's AQMM v2.0 level will be mentioned on its Peer Review Certificate.

What this page does not cover

How AQMM v2.0 scores a firm, parameter by parameter, is set out in ICAI's model document, not in the announcement, and is not summarised here.

Questions this answers

Is AQMM mandatory for all CA firms?

No. It is mandatory for firms auditing listed entities, banks other than co-operative banks, and insurance companies, and, in phases from 1 April 2026 and 1 April 2027, for the further categories ICAI added on 11 August 2025.

Which firms does AQMM v2.0 cover from 1 April 2026?

Firms auditing the holding, subsidiary, associate or joint venture of a listed entity, bank or insurance company, and firms proposing to audit an unlisted public company with paid-up capital of ₹500 crore or more, turnover of ₹1,000 crore or more, or loans, debentures and deposits of ₹500 crore or more.

Does AQMM apply to firms that do only branch audits?

No. Firms conducting only branch audits are left out.

Will a firm's AQMM level be made public?

Yes. ICAI will host the list of AQMM v2.0 reviewed firms level-wise on its website, and the level will be mentioned on the firm's Peer Review Certificate.