How to Check a Hong Kong Audit Firm Before You Appoint It

Build a shortlist from the Hong Kong audit firm directory, then check each provider against the same evidence. A familiar name or a place in a directory does not settle whether a provider can accept the appointment.

Check the provider in the official register

The Accounting and Financial Reporting Council registers Hong Kong’s CPA practices and publishes a register you can search. Registration covers a CPA (practising), a CPA firm, or a corporate practice. Its Registration of CPA Firms page links to that register.

Search the name that will appear on the engagement letter. Record the registered name and practice type shown in the result. If the proposal uses a trading name or group name, ask the provider to identify the registered practice that would accept the appointment.

Keep a copy of the result with the proposal. Registration is a baseline check on the practice. It does not rank the firm or answer whether its team fits your company.

Confirm appointment eligibility and independence questions

Section 393 of Part 9 of the Companies Ordinance restricts eligibility for appointment as a company’s auditor to a practice unit. The same section disqualifies certain people, including an officer or employee of the company and a partner or employee of such a person. Section 394 requires an auditor to be appointed for each financial year.

Ask the provider to connect those rules to the proposed engagement in writing:

• Which registered practice will accept the appointment?
• Which company and financial year does the proposal cover?
• Who will answer questions about relationships or other work that could affect acceptance?
• Which point remains for your director, finance team, or professional adviser to confirm?

These questions create a record for review. They do not replace advice on a company’s circumstances.

Compare scope, records, and named responsibilities

Send each shortlisted firm the same short brief. Use one comparison sheet and leave a blank where a provider has not supplied an answer.

Comparison field	Evidence to request
Engagement	Exact company and financial year
Scope	Work included, exclusions, and any separate engagement
Records	Initial document request and the person receiving it
Responsibilities	Named contacts on the company and firm sides
Timing	Milestones stated in the proposal
Handover	Files, open items, and communication with the outgoing auditor

Do not fill a gap with an assumption. Ask the provider to revise the proposal or attach a written answer.

Record the decision and handover

Store the register result, proposal, answers, and decision record together. Note why the chosen scope fits the brief and which open points still need an owner.

For a change of auditor, ask both sides to name the handover contact and list the records that will move. Record receipt as each item arrives. Keep the file focused on the evidence behind the appointment, and do not read registration as a rating of quality.

Common questions

Whom may a Hong Kong company appoint as its auditor?

Section 393(1) of the Companies Ordinance permits a Hong Kong company to appoint a practice unit as its auditor and excludes other types of appointee.

Whom does section 393 disqualify from serving as a company’s auditor?

Section 393(2) of the Companies Ordinance disqualifies, among others, an officer or employee of the company and a partner or employee of such a person.

Does a company have to appoint an auditor every year?

Section 394 of the Companies Ordinance requires a company to appoint an auditor for each financial year.

How do I confirm that a firm is registered?

Search the register linked from the AFRC’s Registration of CPA Firms page, then match the registered name to the one on the engagement letter.