Examination by the auditor

(1) The annual financial statements and the management report must be examined by an auditor. Unless otherwise provided in subsections (2) and (3), section 316(3), section 317(1), (2) sentences 1 to 3, (3a), (4a) to (6), section 318(1), (1a), (3) to (8), section 319(1) to (4), section 319b(1), section 320(1), (2) and (4), and sections 321 to 324 of the Commercial Code, on the examination of the annual financial statements, apply mutatis mutandis, save that, for an undertaking that is a public-interest entity under section 316a sentence 2 number 1 of the Commercial Code, they apply only to the extent that Regulation (EU) No 537/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on specific requirements regarding statutory audit of public-interest entities and repealing Commission Decision 2005/909/EC (OJ L 158, 27.5.2014, p. 77; L 170, 11.6.2014, p. 66) does not apply. Sentences 1 and 2 also apply to separate financial statements under section 9(1) sentence 1 in conjunction with section 325(2a) of the Commercial Code.
(2) Where the undertaking is that of a commercial partnership or a sole trader, the examination must also extend to whether section 5(4) has been complied with.
(3) Unless the statute, articles of association or partnership agreement provide otherwise, the auditor of commercial partnerships is elected by the partners. Where the undertaking is that of a sole trader, that person appoints the auditor. In other undertakings, unless otherwise determined for its appointment, the auditor is elected by the supervisory board; where the undertaking has no supervisory board, the legal representatives appoint the auditor. For an undertaking that is a public-interest entity under section 316a sentence 2 number 1 of the Commercial Code, the proposal for the election of the auditor must be based on the recommendation of the audit committee.