Accounting Services or Statutory Audit? A Hong Kong Quote Guide
An accounting quote and an audit quote can cover different work even when one provider sends both. Define the records, financial statements, and auditor’s report you need before contacting firms. Use the Hong Kong audit and accounting directory to build a shortlist, then ask each provider to state its scope. Directory inclusion does not confirm a service or eligibility for an audit appointment.
Define the work before requesting quotes
Create one row for each workstream. Give each row its own period, company, inputs, output, owner, and target date.
| Workstream | Questions for the quote request |
|---|---|
| Record keeping | Which transactions, ledgers, reconciliations, and supporting documents will the provider handle? |
| Financial-statement preparation | Which company, financial year, statements, notes, and consolidation work will the provider prepare? |
| Company audit | Which registered practice will accept the appointment, and which auditor’s report will it deliver? |
The Companies Registry says a company’s directors must prepare financial statements for each financial year under section 379 and lists audit under section 405 as a separate requirement. The same FAQ says these requirements do not apply to a company that is dormant under section 447. For a company to which the requirements apply, a quote should show account preparation and audit as separate outputs.
Start with the company and period. Add subsidiaries, dormant periods, a change in business activity, or a first set of accounts to the brief where they apply. Ask the provider to identify any fact that changes its proposed scope instead of relying on a label such as accounting package or annual compliance.
Separate record keeping from financial-statement preparation
The Inland Revenue Department says a person carrying on a Hong Kong trade, profession, or business must keep sufficient income and expenditure records so the department can ascertain assessable profits. The IRD page lists books of accounts, vouchers, bank statements, invoices, receipts, asset and liability records, and day-to-day money entries. It also states a retention period of at least seven years.
Use those record types to describe the input file. Ask who will post transactions, reconcile bank accounts, maintain the ledger, resolve missing documents, and close each period. Record the accounting basis, software access, currencies, transaction cut-off, and person who approves adjustments.
Treat year-end account preparation as another scope. Ask whether the provider will prepare a trial balance, adjustment schedule, financial statements, notes, and consolidation file where one applies. Name the draft versions and sign-off points. The provider should mark each item included, excluded, or dependent on another engagement.
Keep payroll, tax-return preparation, company-secretarial work, and management reporting in their own rows. An unanswered row stays open. Do not infer an included service from a firm name, directory category, or prior-year engagement.
Identify the statutory audit engagement
The Accounting and Financial Reporting Council says a firm of CPAs practising in partnership under a firm name must register with the AFRC if it intends to perform statutory audits in Hong Kong under that name. The AFRC limits company-auditor appointments and services under the Companies Ordinance to a CPA (practising), CPA firm, or corporate practice registered with it.
Ask the provider to name the registered practice that will appear on the engagement letter and auditor’s report. Search that name through the register linked from the AFRC page. Save the result and check date with the proposal. A group name, accounting-services brand, or CPA reference does not identify the appointed practice on its own.
The Companies Registry separates preparation and audit in its current guidance: for a company to which the requirements apply, directors prepare the financial statements, and an auditor audits them under section 405. Its FAQ says the requirements do not apply to a company that is dormant under section 447. Ask the proposed auditor to list the statements covered, company and financial year, expected records, company contacts, report output, exclusions, and process for scope changes.
Do not use the audit row as a catch-all for tax, bookkeeping, internal audit, forensic work, or another assurance engagement. Ask the provider to put each extra service under a separate heading and identify the contracting entity for it.
Send the same scope sheet to each provider
Send one scope sheet with the same fields to every candidate. Replace generic requests such as annual accounting and audit with questions a provider can answer in writing.
| Field | Detail to supply or request |
|---|---|
| Company identity | Legal name, company number, group structure, and business activity |
| Period | Financial year and any opening or transition period |
| Record state | Last closed month, reconciliations complete, and known gaps |
| Record volume | Accounts, bank accounts, currencies, and transaction count basis |
| Accounting output | Ledgers, trial balance, adjustments, statements, notes, and consolidation file |
| Audit appointment | Registered practice name, covered statements, report output, and engagement contact |
| Other work | Tax, payroll, company-secretarial, management reporting, or another named engagement |
| Inputs | Documents, system access, schedules, and company contacts |
| Work plan | Milestones, query process, dependencies, and change process |
| Handover | Files returned, final versions, open-items list, and archive format |
Ask each provider to return the sheet with included, excluded, and unresolved fields marked. The completed sheets let you compare the same work instead of comparing proposal titles.
Compare responses without merging services
Create separate decision columns for record keeping, financial-statement preparation, and company audit. Compare the named contracting entity, scope, inputs, output, work plan, exclusions, and open questions in each column. Keep a combined proposal split across those columns.
Verify the proposed audit practice through the AFRC registration page. Use the IRD and Companies Registry sources to check the record and financial-statement fields. These official pages establish legal and registration points; they do not state a provider’s service availability, work quality, staffing, or commercial terms.
Ask the provider to revise any unclear scope. Keep the returned sheet, proposal version, source checks, and follow-up answers together. Choose after each candidate has answered the same material questions.
Common questions
Is bookkeeping the same as a statutory audit?
No. The IRD describes the business records that support the accounts. For a company to which the requirements apply, the Companies Registry treats financial-statement preparation and audit as separate requirements. Its FAQ gives dormant companies the section 447 exception. Put bookkeeping, account preparation, and the statutory audit in separate scope rows.
Who prepares a Hong Kong company’s financial statements?
For a company to which the requirement applies, the Companies Registry says the company’s directors must prepare financial statements for each financial year. The same FAQ says these requirements do not apply to a company that is dormant under section 447. A quote can name the provider helping with preparation, the company contact approving information, and the output delivered for director review.
Who may accept the company-auditor appointment?
The AFRC limits company-auditor appointments and services under the Companies Ordinance to a CPA (practising), CPA firm, or corporate practice registered with it.
Does an AFRC register result prove that a provider offers bookkeeping?
No. The AFRC page establishes the registration boundary for company-auditor work and links its registered-practice search. Ask the provider to state any bookkeeping or account-preparation service in its proposal.
Can one proposal cover accounting and audit work?
If a proposal contains both, split it into separate scope rows. Ask which entity performs the accounting work and which registered practice accepts the audit appointment. Keep any independence question open for written confirmation from the proposed auditor or a qualified adviser.
What should I send before requesting quotes?
Send the company identity, financial year, group structure, record status, volume basis, accounting outputs, proposed audit output, system access, company contacts, target dates, and known gaps. Ask each provider to mark inclusions, exclusions, dependencies, and open questions.
Sources
All information is compiled from sources available on the open internet.
- Record Keeping — Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department. Accessed 2026-07-22.
- Companies Ordinance - Accounts and Audit — Hong Kong Companies Registry. Accessed 2026-07-22.
- Registration of CPA Firms — Accounting and Financial Reporting Council. Accessed 2026-07-22.