Audit
Finding an auditor for your corporation
Who may audit your corporation depends on its registered size. At $5 million or more the auditor must be a registered company auditor. Below that, a CPA, a chartered accountant or a member of the Institute of Public Accountants may also sign.
We are your accountant, so we cannot be your auditor. What we do is find you one and run the process for you.
If you have been told you need a registered company auditor
That rule applies at $5 million and above. Below it the Registrar’s guide permits a wider group, and corporations lose months searching for a category of auditor they never needed.
Small ($100,000–$5 million) and medium under $5 million
Any of these may audit your financial report:
- a registered company auditor
- an audit firm with at least one member who is a registered company auditor
- an authorised audit company
- a certified practising accountant or a fellow of CPA Australia
- a chartered member or affiliate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia
- a member or fellow of the Institute of Public Accountants
Large, or income of $5 million or more
Only these may audit your financial report:
- a registered company auditor
- an audit firm with at least one member who is a registered company auditor
- an authorised audit company
Checked against ORIC — Corporation reporting guide (June 2020), .
Whether you need an audit at all
A small corporation with consolidated gross operating income of $100,000 or less does not lodge an audit report. Every medium and large corporation does, whatever its income. The reporting checker will tell you which applies to your corporation, and the guide sets out how size and income work together.
If you would like us to handle it
We prepare your accounts, so under subdivision 339-D of the CATSI Act we cannot be your auditor. Your auditor is always a different firm. We find that firm for you and run the process from there. We take no referral fee and receive nothing from the auditors we introduce you to. They are simply the firms we would use ourselves.
We work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations across Australia, including remote communities. Most audit work is now done remotely, so distance rarely decides whether a firm will act.
How an engagement runs
- We confirm whether you need an audit. Small corporations at or below $100,000 do not lodge one, so that is settled first.
- We introduce you to auditors who can act at your corporation’s size and who take on remote corporations.
- The appointment is yours. Under the CATSI Act your corporation appoints its own auditor — we never do it on your behalf. We introduce you to firms that can act, and handle everything from there. ORIC is notified within 14 days of an appointment or a resignation. That is your corporation’s obligation and our reminder.
- We prepare everything the auditor asks for and answer their queries directly. Grant funding is where the questions concentrate, and it is the part we plan for first.
- We explain the result to your board in plain terms, including what would have to change for next year if the opinion is not clean.
To be completed — CONTENT-CHECKLIST §5
How long each stage takes, and how long the whole thing runs from engagement to a signed report. This is the question boards ask first and the site does not answer it anywhere. It has to come from the partners: a plausible range would be a fabricated commitment, and the corporations reading this are planning against a lodgement date.
When to start
Reports are due within 6 months of your year end, which is 1 July to 31 December for a 30 June year end. The audit cannot begin until the accounts are finished. A board that starts looking for an auditor in November is usually looking at a late lodgement.
If your corporation is already behind, see what to do about overdue reports.
Frequently asked questions
Do you audit corporations?
No. We prepare your reports, and under subdivision 339-D of the CATSI Act your auditor must be independent of whoever prepared the accounts. Your auditor is always a different firm. What we do is find you one and then run the process for you.
We were told we need a registered company auditor. Is that right?
It depends on your registered size. At $5 million and above it is correct. Below that, the Registrar’s guide permits a wider group: a CPA or fellow of CPA Australia, a chartered member or affiliate of CA ANZ, or a member or fellow of the Institute of Public Accountants. Check which tier your corporation is in before you keep searching.
We are in a remote community and cannot find an auditor. Can you help?
Yes. Most audit work is done remotely now, so distance matters far less than it used to. We will introduce you to firms that can act at your corporation’s size, and we take no fee for doing it.
Do you get paid for referring us to an auditor?
No. We take no referral fee and receive nothing from the auditors we introduce you to. They are the firms we would use ourselves.
Who appoints the auditor?
Your corporation does, and it is not a formality: the auditor answers to the corporation and its members. We introduce you and handle everything afterwards, but the appointment is yours to make. ORIC must be notified within 14 days of an auditor being appointed or resigning.
How long does an audit take?
It depends more on the state of the accounts than on the audit itself. A corporation whose books are current and whose grant records are in order is straightforward. One reconstructing several years takes longer. Reports are due within six months of your year end, so the time to start is well before that.