Statutory and voluntary audit for Irish companies
Most small Irish companies do not need an audit and some are paying for one anyway. We will tell you which you are before we quote — and where you do need one, we run it without turning your year end into a three-month project.
In short
An Irish company needs a statutory audit unless it qualifies for audit exemption as a small or micro company. That means meeting two of three conditions in the current and preceding year: turnover not exceeding €15 million, balance sheet total not exceeding €7.5 million, and no more than 50 employees — and filing its annual return on time.
First question: do you actually need one?
Audit exemption is available to small and micro companies, and most owner-managed Irish businesses qualify. A company is small where it meets two of these three in both the current and the preceding financial year.
- Turnover not exceeding €15 million.
- Balance sheet total not exceeding €7.5 million.
- No more than 50 employees.
It must also fall outside the classes in the Fifth Schedule to the Companies Act 2014 — which excludes banks, insurers and investment firms — and it must file its annual return on time.
If you qualify and are still being audited, you are buying something the law does not ask you for. That is a legitimate choice, but it should be a choice.
How companies lose the exemption
Almost never by outgrowing the thresholds. Overwhelmingly by filing the B1 annual return late.
Under Section 22 of the Companies (Corporate Governance, Enforcement and Regulatory Provisions) Act 2024, in force since 16 July 2025, audit exemption is lost where the annual return is filed late more than once within a five-year period. The company must then be audited for the following two financial years.
When a voluntary audit is worth paying for
Companies that qualify for exemption sometimes choose an audit anyway, and there are good reasons for it.
- A bank or lender requires audited figures as a condition of facilities.
- You are preparing for a sale or raise, and audited accounts shorten due diligence considerably.
- Minority shareholders who are not involved in management want independent assurance.
- A grant body, a franchise agreement or a major customer contract requires it.
- The company has grown quickly and the directors want the controls tested before something breaks.
Note also that members holding at least 10% of the voting rights can require an audit even where the company qualifies for exemption.
How the audit runs
- Planning and risk assessment, agreed with you before fieldwork, so you know what will be asked for and when.
- A documented request list issued in advance rather than drip-fed during the work.
- Fieldwork, testing balances and transactions against evidence.
- Clearance meeting with the directors on findings and any adjustments.
- The independent auditor's report, and a management letter setting out control weaknesses and what to do about them.
- Filing of the audited financial statements with the B1 annual return.
The management letter is the part clients get most value from and the part most firms treat as a formality. It is where the audit tells you what is actually weak in how the business handles money.
What it costs
Audit is quoted as a fixed fee after a scoping conversation about size, complexity, group structure and the state of the underlying records. The condition of the bookkeeping is the largest single driver — a clean, reconciled ledger audits far faster than one that needs rebuilding first.
If our scoping shows you qualify for exemption and do not need the audit at all, we will say so. That conversation costs you nothing.
Sources
Audit questions we get asked
- Does my Irish company need an audit?
- Probably not, if it is small. A company qualifies for audit exemption where it meets two of three conditions in the current and preceding year — turnover not exceeding €15 million, balance sheet total not exceeding €7.5 million, and no more than 50 employees — sits outside the Fifth Schedule classes, and files its annual return on time.
- How do companies lose audit exemption in Ireland?
- Almost always by filing the CRO annual return late. Since 16 July 2025, exemption is lost where the return is filed late more than once within five years, and the company must then be audited for the following two financial years.
- Can I get audit exemption back after losing it?
- Yes, after the two-year audit period, provided the company keeps filing on time and continues to meet the size thresholds. Where the late filing has only just happened, a District Court application to extend the filing time can prevent the loss altogether if made promptly.
- What is the difference between a statutory and a voluntary audit?
- A statutory audit is required by the Companies Act. A voluntary audit is one a company chooses despite qualifying for exemption, usually because a lender, investor, minority shareholder or major customer wants independent assurance.
- Can a shareholder force an audit?
- Yes. Members holding at least 10% of the voting rights can require an audit even where the company would otherwise qualify for exemption.
- How long does an audit take?
- For a small Irish company with clean, reconciled records, fieldwork is usually a matter of days rather than weeks. The variable is almost always the state of the bookkeeping going in, not the audit itself.
Read more on this
CRO & Annual Accounts
The CRO annual return, and what it costs to miss it
What the B1 is, the 56-day rule, the fee structure, and the audit exemption consequence that costs far more than the fine.
Corporation Tax
Corporation tax in Ireland
The 12.5% and 25% rates, what counts as trading, preliminary tax, and the close company surcharges that catch owner-managed businesses.
Company Structure
Setting up a limited company in Ireland
Directors, secretary, registered office, the EEA resident rule and share capital — plus the Revenue and CRO obligations that start the moment the company exists.
Get a fixed quote for audit
Tell us about your business and we will send a fixed-fee proposal within 48 hours.