Statutory audit

For some companies, auditing the annual accounts is a company law obligation; for others it is a voluntary decision that opens doors with banks, investors and buyers. At Asegi Auditores we approach both engagements with the same standard: to issue a sound technical opinion and, on top of that, to give you useful information about your own business.

When your company is required to be audited

A company is required to audit its annual accounts when, for two consecutive financial years, it exceeds at least two of these three thresholds: total assets above €2,850,000, annual turnover above €5,700,000 and an average headcount above 50 employees. Exceeding them in a single financial year does not create the obligation, and a company leaves it when it falls back below at least two of the three for another two consecutive years.

There are also cases that create the obligation regardless of size: companies that receive public grants above certain amounts, entities that issue listed securities, financial institutions and insurers, public interest entities, companies in insolvency proceedings, certain cooperatives and any company where the holders of 5% of the share capital request it.

What happens if a required audit is not carried out

The company cannot file its annual accounts with the Commercial Registry. That entails closure of the registry entry, administrative penalties and personal liability for the directors. It is a problem that tends to surface late, just when a deed has to be signed or a financing transaction closed.

Voluntary audit: when it pays off

Many companies are audited without being required to, and the reasons repeat themselves: a lender that asks for audited accounts above a certain amount, the arrival of a shareholder or investor who wants assurance about the company’s real position, the preparation of a sale in which the buyer will require an audit as part of the due diligence, a large client that only contracts with audited suppliers, or the simple wish to verify that the accounts reflect what they claim to reflect.

Which entities we audit

Commercial companies, cooperatives, foundations, associations, financial institutions and mutual guarantee companies. We are auditors registered with the Official Register of Auditors (ROAC) and we work across the four foral regimes: Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Araba and Navarra.

How we run the engagement

We plan before we start and give you in advance the list of documentation we are going to need, so that the audit does not turn into a run of improvised requests. You have a stable point of contact throughout the work, and the assigned team stays the same between financial years: in the second year there is no need to explain again how your company works. At the end, alongside the audit report, you receive in writing the internal control weaknesses we have identified.