How to Obtain an Auditor's Report: Process, Deadlines, Documents

Who needs a report and why

• entities required to have an annual audit: joint-stock companies, banks, insurers, funds, exchanges, companies with a state share, and commercial entities that meet two of three criteria — assets above 100,000 BCV, revenue above 200,000 BCV, headcount above 100 (Art. 35);
• companies applying to a bank for a loan, bidding in a tender or preparing a deal with an investor;
• owners and participants holding at least 5% who commission a voluntary audit (Art. 36).

Stages of obtaining the report

• Scoping: what the report is for, which period, the state of the accounting.
• Engagement contract: subject matter, timing and terms of the audit (Arts. 31, 36).
• Fieldwork: the auditor requests ledgers and source documents and performs procedures; the client must provide working conditions and documents (Art. 37).
• Written communication of identified violations: the client reviews it and within 30 days informs the auditor of the results (Art. 37).
• Issuance of the report with the financial statements attached.

Documents at the start

• annual financial statements and trial balances;
• accounting policy and founding documents;
• major contracts, reconciliation statements, bank statements;
• tax returns for the period.

Deadline for filing a copy with the tax authority

Entities subject to a statutory audit file a copy of the report with the tax authorities within 15 days after the audit, but no later than 15 June of the year following the reporting year (Art. 35). Failure to complete the audit by 15 June and the absence of a report are treated as evasion: first an administrative penalty on the responsible officer, and if the audit is not carried out by the end of the year — a fine on the entity of 100 BCV (UZS 44 million with a BCV of UZS 440,000).

Formal requirements

• the report is numbered;
• each page is signed by the auditor(s) who performed the audit and by the head of the audit firm;
• the financial statements on which the opinion is expressed are attached;
• form and content follow the auditing standards (Art. 39).

How to check the audit firm

An audit firm may operate only after it has been entered in the Register of Audit Organisations (Art. 27). For a statutory audit it must have at least two auditors with at least three years of continuous experience or an international accountancy certificate, and no violations found by external quality control (Art. 35). Also check the independence restrictions of Art. 34: for example, a firm that kept your books during the audited period cannot audit it.

What drives timing and cost

• the volume of transactions and the number of accounting areas;
• the state of the accounting — whether it needs to be fixed first;
• the purpose of the report: statutory audit, bank, tender, transaction;
• how quickly the company provides documents.