🇭🇰 Company audit in Hong Kong

Lawyer, Family Office

Concept

Hong Kong is one of the few jurisdictions where annual audit is mandatory for all registered companies, including dormant and nil-activity entities. The audit report is filed together with the Profits Tax Return to the Inland Revenue Department, and without it a company cannot complete annual renewal at the Companies Registry.

Unlike European jurisdictions, HK audit does not require full bookkeeping throughout the year: the auditor works with bank statements, invoices and contracts in electronic form. Complexity and cost of audit are determined by only two parameters — annual turnover and number of transactions.

When audit is required

• Mandatory annually for every HK Ltd, regardless of activity.
• Filed together withProfits Tax Returnto IRD withinone month from date of issue(typically end of April).
• If the company had no movement of funds during the period —nil audit(audit nil) is prepared.
• If the company plans tax exemption (offshore profit claim) — the auditor prepares an additional opinion that profit was earned outside Hong Kong.

Documents for auditor

All documents are provided electronically — originals not required.

• Bank statements for financial year (all company accounts)
• Invoices — all issued and received
• Contracts — main trading and service agreements
• Register of directors and shareholders (if changed)
• Prior year audit report (for all audits except first)

Cost

Audit cost depends onannual company turnoverandnumber of transactions. Rates below are for standard financial year; first company audit is typically 15–20% higher.

Timeline

• Nil audit —5–7 business daysfrom confirmation of no operations.
• Standard audit —3–5 weeksdepending on volume and quality of documents provided.
• Rush audit (2 weeks before IRD deadline) — available with 30% premium.

Related services

• 🇭🇰 Hong Kong company— incorporation and maintenance
• 🇭🇰 Hong Kong company renewal— annual renewal at Companies Registry
• 🇨🇳 Company audit in China— if you have HK + mainland China structure

Common delays

• Missing statementsfor part of period — banks issue within 1–3 business days, but if account closed, may take up to one month.
• Mismatch between invoices and receipts— common after intragroup transfers; resolved by annotation or retrospective agreement.
• Request for additional information from IRDafter filing — typically concerns tax exemption claim; we respond within 14 days.