Does Your Fiji Company Need an Audit? Thresholds and Requirements

"Do I need an audit?" is one of the most common questions we get from growing Fiji businesses, and the honest answer is that it depends on your company's size, structure, and sometimes on what your bank, investors, or grant funder require, not just on Companies Act thresholds alone.

What generally triggers an audit requirement

Company size is set by consolidated revenue under section 19 of the Companies Act 2015: small private companies up to $5 million, medium private companies $5 million to $20 million, and large private companies above $20 million. Public companies and large private companies must have their financial statements audited. Small and medium private companies do not — a medium private company prepares pro forma financial statements, which sit outside the audit requirement. The one route into an audit for a smaller company is a direction from members holding 10% or more of the votes, and even then no audit is required unless the direction asked for one.

Audits triggered by someone other than the Companies Office

Even where the law wouldn't otherwise require it, plenty of Fiji businesses end up needing an audit anyway, because a bank wants audited accounts before extending finance, an overseas parent company's group audit requires it, or a grant or donor funding a non-profit's programme requires audited financial statements as a condition of the funding.

Why "we'll prepare for it when the auditor asks" is the expensive approach

An audit goes much faster, and costs less in professional fees, when the underlying records are already clean: reconciled bank accounts, properly supported journal entries, a chart of accounts that makes sense, and documentation for anything unusual that happened during the year. Businesses that only start organising this once the auditor is already engaged usually spend the first few weeks of the engagement just getting the file audit-ready, which the auditor bills for.

Clean records make any audit easier

Keeping reconciliations current, following your own internal processes and closing documentation gaps throughout the year means that, if an audit is required, the independent auditor can focus on genuine assurance work rather than basic file cleanup. It also means fewer surprises and fewer follow-up queries.

How Alvin Kumar & Associates helps

Alvin Kumar & Associates are tax agents and business advisors, not auditors, and we do not carry out audits. What we do is keep your bookkeeping, annual accounts and tax filings accurate and up to date, so your records are in good order whatever your obligations are. Whether your company needs an audit can also depend on bank covenants or funding conditions, so check your position with your bank and an independent registered auditor.