Private or personal liability companies that are required to audited by the Companies Act, 2008 or regulation 28 must file a copy of the latest approved Audited Financial Statements on the date that they file their annual return with the CIPC.
The following private companies are required to have their annual financial statements audited;
- Any private or personal liability company if, in the ordinary course of its primary activities, it holds assets in a fiduciary capacity for persons who are not related to the company, and the aggregate value of such assets held at any time during the financial year exceeds R5 million;
- Any private or personal liability company that compiles its financial statements internally (for example, by its financial director or one of the owners) and that has a Public Interest Score (PIS) of 100 or more;
- Any private or personal liability company that has its financial statements compiled by an independent party (such as an external accountant) and that has a Public Interest Score (PIS) of 350 or more;
Unless the company has opted to have its annual financial statements audited or is required by its Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) to do so, a private or personal liability company that is not managed by its owners may be subject to independent review if;
- It compiles its financial statements internally and Public Interest Score is less than 100;
- It has its financial statements compiled independently at its Public Interest Score is between 100 and 349;
Private or personal liability companies that are not required to have their financial statements audited may elect to voluntarily file their audited or reviewed statements with their annual returns. If such companies choose not to file a full set of financial statements, they must file a financial accountability supplement with their annual return.
Close corporation that are required to be audited by the Companies Act, 2008 or regulation 28, must file a copy of the latest approved Audited Financial Statements on the date that they file their annual return with the CIPC.
Close corporations that are not required to have their financial statements audited may elect to voluntarily file their audited or reviewed statements, they must file a financial accountability supplement with their annual return.
IAS is Standards for the preparation and presentation of financial statements;
IAS1 the presentation of Financial Statements sets out the overall requirements for financial statements including how they should be structured, the minimum requirement for their content and overriding concepts such as going concern, the accrual basis of Accounting and the current and non-current distinction.
The standard requires a complete set of financial statements to comprise of a statement of financial position, statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity and statement of cash flow.
Fair Presentation and Compliance with IFRSs
The financial statements my “present fairly” the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of an entity.
Fair presentation requires the faithful representation of the efforts of transaction, other events, and conditions in accordance with the definitions and recognition criteria for assets, liabilities, income and expenses set out in the Framework. The application of IFRSs, with additional disclosure wen necessary, is presumes to result in financial statements that achieve a fair presentation.
Financial statements are normally prepared assuming the entity is a going concern and will continue in operation for the foreseeable future.
IAS1 requires that an entity prepare its financial statements, except for cash flow information, using the accrual basis of accounting.
NB: accrual system is an accounting method under which revenues are recognized on the income statement when they are accrued (rather than when the cash is received).
Reporting Period
There is a presumption that financial statements will be prepared at least annually. If the annual reporting period changes and financial statements are prepared for a different period, the entity must disclose the reason for the change and state that amounts are not entirely comparable.
How to file your annual financial statements
For filing audited financial statements or reviewed financial statements and a financial accountability supplement you visit the CIPC website complete the required fields and attach a pdf copy of your audited or reviewed financial statements and file
