Other BriefingsNew Requirements for Independent Audits in Cambodia to Impact Certain Business Entities
- Cambodia’s Minister of Finance and Economy issued a new regulation that sets out the criteria for certain businesses to be independently audited.
- Public companies, companies with public accountabilities, and investment projects are all obligated to be independently audited.
- In addition, businesses that reach a certain amount of annual revenue or have a certain amount of total assets will also need to be audited.
On July 10, 2020, Cambodia’s Ministry of Finance and Economy issued Ministerial Order 563 (MO 563), which sets out the requirements for the types of business entities that must be independently audited.
Under MO 563, public companies, companies with public accountabilities (businesses that have debt instruments), and ‘investment projects’, are obligated to be independently audited for each financial period. The regulation also states that other business entities that achieve a certain annual turnover or have assets of a certain value will also need to be independently audited.
The auditor must be a member of the Kampuchea Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Auditors and licensed by the National Accounting Council in Cambodia.
Businesses that are obligated to be audited are required to do so for a minimum of three consecutive years, and the issuance of the audit report shall be completed no later than six months from the closing date of the accounting period.
How are these entities defined?
Investment Projects are defined as Qualified Investment Projects (QIPs). QIPs are projects that are eligible to receive fiscal and non-fiscal incentives from the Cambodian Investment Board. They are divided into three types – domestic QIPS, export QIPs, and supporting industry QIPs.
Companies with public accountabilities are those that have debt instruments traded in the domestic or international stock market.
These also include enterprises that hold assets in a fiduciary capacity (holding or managing assets on behalf of persons that are unrelated to the company. These are banks, insurance companies, credit unions, and mutual funds, among others.
Public companies are those that are effective under the Law on the General Status of Public Enterprise.
Auditing requirements for other business entities
Apart from the aforementioned business entities, MO 563 sets out the requirements for other business entities that are mandated to be independently audited. A company will only need to fulfil two of the three following criteria:
- Have an annual turnover of 4 billion riel (US$977,000);
- Have total assets worth over 3 billion riel (US$733,000); and
- More than 100 employees on the payroll throughout the year.
Non-profit organizations will also need to be audited if they meet the following criteria:
- Have annual expenses of more than 2 billion riel (US$489,000); and
- Have more than 20 employees.
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