What affects the audit fee for a Hong Kong company?
Fees reflect the time and risk involved: the size and complexity of the business, quality of records, number of transactions, stock, group structure, prior-year issues and the seniority of the staff used. Fees differ by firm and engagement, so get written quotes.
The law does not set audit fees. Members fix the auditor's remuneration by resolution, or the directors do when making the first appointment (s.404).
Main drivers
- Scale and transaction volume. More invoices, bank accounts and staff mean more testing.
- Quality of records. Reconciled bank accounts and a tidy trial balance cut time; heavy corrections add it.
- Complexity. Inventory, fixed assets, foreign currency, related-party or director loans, group structure, revenue recognition.
- Risk. Going concern doubts, past qualifications, or limited controls.
- First-year audits. The auditor builds understanding and opening balance work.
- Timing. Peak-season work, or urgent deadlines imposed by banks.
- Other work. Bookkeeping or tax work bought from the same firm is separate and subject to independence rules.
Why no figures here Fees differ by firm and engagement, so this answer gives no typical amounts. Written quotes are the way to compare.
How to get comparable quotes
- Give each firm the same information (revenue, assets, staff count, transactions, year-end).
- Ask what is included (stock count attendance, group reporting, board meetings).
- Ask how extra time will be charged.
- Avoid a price that is unusually low; check the firm's registration.
Pay for the audit in line with the engagement letter.
Legal basis
- Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622), s.404
Sources
Applies to 2026 · Last reviewed 29 October 2026
General information for business owners, not legal, tax or professional advice. Rules change, so check the sources or ask a licensed professional before you act.
Related questions
- Can the same firm do my bookkeeping, tax and the audit?Sometimes, but it needs care. The HKICPA Code of Ethics treats services such as preparing the accounts the firm later audits as a self-review threat, which must be eliminated or reduced with safeguards, or the work declined. Check the specific firm's policy before combining services.
- What are audit adjustments, and why would the auditor change my accounts?Audit adjustments are corrections the auditor proposes when testing shows an error or omission, such as unrecorded costs or wrong cut-off. Management usually corrects the books and the final accounts reflect them; uncorrected material items affect the audit opinion.
- What does a qualified or adverse audit opinion mean for banks and IRD?It signals that the accounts may not be reliable, so lenders often ask questions, price risk higher or decline. IRD requires certified audited statements with the return and may query the accounts when the opinion is modified.
- What is the reporting exemption and the SME-FRF for small Hong Kong companies?The reporting exemption lets qualifying companies prepare simpler financial statements and directors' reports, usually under HKICPA's SME Financial Reporting Framework. The company is still audited, but the auditor need not give a true-and-fair-view opinion.
- Is the audit simpler for a small company under the reporting exemption?Somewhat. The accounts follow the simpler SME framework and the auditor need not express a true-and-fair-view opinion, but the auditor still tests records, balances and disclosures and reports on proper preparation. The saving depends on the firm.