As a public company in Australia, you must be audited annually by a certified, external auditor to ensure compliance with various industry and legislative standards. At Brown Auditing Services, we provide financial auditing advice and services to organisations across New South Wales. Below, we take a closer look at when companies need to be audited.
Public Audit Services
Public companies must be audited annually regardless of size, industry or market performance. Since members of the public can trade shares in those companies, maintaining accurate financial reporting verified by an impartial, external auditor is essential as investors rely on that information to make informed investment decisions.
Auditing for Private Companies
Private companies, as opposed to public companies, are generally not required to have external audits conducted, unless they are in a particular industry or meet 2 out of the 3 following criteria:
- Revenue of over $50 million per year
- Gross assets worth over $25 million
- 100 or more employees
The laws and regulations around financial auditing are essentially structured to place greater scrutiny on organisations. The larger a company, the more relevant stakeholders are involved and, subsequently, the potential impact of financial mismanagement increases.
Auditing for Loans, Grants & Business Sales
Both public and private companies may be required to have an external auditor verify their financial reporting if they are applying for a governmental grant or for a loan. This helps to ensure company statements and figures provided are accurate and impartial, reducing risks for lenders whilst ensuring grants are not awarded to ineligible organisations.
If a business owner plans to eventually sell their company in return for a financial profit, it’s worthwhile engaging an external auditor on a yearly basis to ensure you have impartial, factual information on your company’s financial performance. A company audit can also boost the credibility, reliability and overall appeal of your business as an investment proposal. Audits can also be used by company directors to convince investors to participate in business ventures.
Company Audit Services in New South Wales
Brown Auditing Services provides expert financial auditing advice and services to a range of entities. We offer public audit services and audits for trusts, for-purpose companies and not-for-profits across Orange and the wider Central Coast of New South Wales. To arrange a no obligation consultation, call our team on 0428 661 200 or contact us online to learn how we can help you.