Practice area
Find an audit firm in Hong Kong for your annual statutory audit. Who can sign, dormant company exemptions, the link to profits tax, and how to check a firm.
1 firm on Justenda. Compare firms
Describe your situation once. Justenda staff can share your inquiry with suitable firms after you confirm your email. No account needed.
Featured firms
Hong Kong company formation, accounting, company secretarial, audit coordination and AI support, with client satisfaction at the heart of it all.
Describe your situation once. Justenda staff can share your inquiry with suitable firms after you confirm your email. No account needed.
Every active company in Hong Kong needs an audit firm, whatever its size or turnover. The Companies Registry states that audit of financial statements is required for all companies, including small companies that qualify for simplified reporting, with dormant companies the only exception. An audit firm in Hong Kong examines the year-end financial statements and issues the auditor's report that accompanies them.
That report does double duty. For corporations, the Inland Revenue Department asks for audited financial statements with the profits tax return in all cases except a short list, dormant companies among them. So the audit sits on the critical path to the tax filing, and the accounting firm preparing the books and the auditor need to be lined up well before the return is due.
The rule is narrow. Only a CPA (practising), a CPA firm, or a corporate practice registered with the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC) can act as auditor of a company under the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622). A certified public accountant who intends to perform statutory audits needs a practising certificate from the AFRC first.
This is a recent shift. Hong Kong's new regulatory regime for the accounting profession has operated since 1 October 2022, and under it the AFRC became a full-fledged independent regulator that issues practising certificates, registers practice units, and handles inspection, investigation, and discipline. The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) remains the statutory body for training and developing CPAs and the standard setter for local accounting.
Checking an audit firm. The AFRC publishes a Find an Auditor register covering CPAs (practising), CPA firms, and corporate practices. Ask the firm for the name of the practising CPA who will sign your report, then check both the individual and the firm on that register before you engage them.
A statutory audit usually runs in four stages. The firm agrees the scope in an engagement letter, then plans the work around the company's books, size, and risks. Fieldwork follows: testing balances and transactions against supporting documents, confirming bank balances, and reviewing contracts and year-end adjustments. Finally the directors approve the financial statements and the auditor issues its report.
How long this takes depends mostly on the state of the books. Clean monthly bookkeeping with reconciled bank accounts shortens fieldwork considerably; a year of receipts in a box does the opposite.
Small companies get some relief on the reporting side. Private companies that qualify for the reporting exemption may prepare simplified accounts and directors' reports: for example, the financial statements need not give a "true and fair view", and the auditor does not express a true and fair opinion on them. The audit itself still has to happen.
All firms
Hong Kong company formation, accounting, company secretarial, audit coordination and AI support, with client satisfaction at the heart of it all.
The one route out of the audit is formal dormancy. A private company becomes dormant by passing a special resolution declaring that it will become dormant and delivering it to the Companies Registry. While dormant, it is exempt from certain Companies Ordinance requirements, including the audit and the annual return, although changes to its registered office, directors, and company secretary must still be reported.
Dormancy ends as soon as the company enters into an accounting transaction, meaning a transaction that has to be entered in its accounting records, other than paying a fee required by an Ordinance. It also ends if the company delivers a resolution declaring that it intends to enter into one. A company that simply had a quiet year with a few transactions still needs its audit. Whether a particular transaction counts is a question the Companies Registry itself refers to independent professional advice, and if the real plan is to close the company, corporate lawyers in Hong Kong can compare the options.
Profits tax applies to profits arising in or derived from Hong Kong, and no tax is levied on profits arising abroad, even if they are remitted to Hong Kong. That makes the audited accounts the starting point for more than compliance: the tax computation is built from them, and a company claiming that some profits arise outside Hong Kong needs the underlying records to support it. Offshore claims and tax disputes usually bring in tax advisors alongside the auditor.
Registration first. Confirm that the signing CPA holds a practising certificate and that the firm or corporate practice is registered, using the AFRC's public register.
Fit second. A small trading company, a regulated business, and a subsidiary reporting to a foreign parent need different things. Ask whether the firm audits companies of your size and industry, whether it can produce group reporting packages if a parent needs them, and in which language the working team communicates.
Scope and fee. There is no standard market price. Audit fees follow transaction volume, complexity, and the condition of the books, and a firm that quotes before seeing a trial balance is guessing. Ask what the fee includes: the audit alone, or also the tax computation and filing the profits tax return.
Independence. Some firms offer both the bookkeeping and the audit. Independence rules govern what else an auditor may do for an audit client, so if one firm offers both, ask how it keeps the audit work separate from the preparation work.
Timing. Appoint the auditor before the financial year ends, so the fieldwork can be scheduled well ahead of the profits tax return.
This page is general information, not accounting, tax, or legal advice. Audit, filing, and regulatory requirements change; for a specific company, speak with a qualified auditor. The firms below list their languages, locations, and areas of focus.
Next step
Tell us about your situation and the help you need. After you confirm your email, Justenda staff can share your inquiry with suitable firms.
Common questions
Guides from Justenda editors and insights written by verified firms. General information, not professional advice.
Tax & Accounting
Accountant, CPA, or practising auditor: what the titles mean since the AFRC took over registration, what a Hong Kong company files each year, how to check a firm, and how fees are built.
Keep exploring