Statutory Audit in Qatar
A statutory audit is the audit required by law, as opposed to one requested voluntarily by a bank or investor. In Qatar it is governed mainly by the Commercial Companies Law (Law No. 11 of 2015) and the Law on the Regulation of the Auditing Profession (Law No. 8 of 2020), which sets out who may sign an audit opinion.
When a statutory audit is required
- Companies with income above QAR 5 million are generally required to have their financial statements audited under the Commercial Companies Law.
- Separately, a corporate tax return must be accompanied by audited financial statements if the company's capital or profit exceeds QAR 100,000, or if its head office is outside Qatar.
- Most limited liability companies (WLL) and shareholding companies fall under one of these rules in practice, so the honest starting point is to assume an audit applies and check the exact figures for your company rather than assume you are exempt.
What happens if a required audit is missed
A missing or late audit can hold up your tax return, your commercial registration renewal, and any request to a bank or the Qatar Chamber that depends on your filings being in order. It is generally cheaper and faster to file on time than to catch up once a deadline has already passed, since a rushed engagement gives us less time to work through your records properly.
How we handle a statutory audit
We confirm which threshold applies to you, agree the timeline against your filing deadline, carry out fieldwork, and issue the signed opinion in the form your bank, the tax authority or the Chamber expects. If your records are behind, we tell you honestly what that means for the timeline rather than promising a date we cannot meet.
How it works
Engagement & scoping
We agree the scope, timeline and fee for your audit engagement.
Fieldwork & testing
Our team reviews controls, transactions and financial records on-site or remotely.
Findings & reporting
We report findings, adjustments and recommendations clearly.
Sign-off & follow-up
We finalise the audit opinion and remain on hand for any follow-up.
Free Guide: Does Your Qatar Company Need a Statutory Audit?
Who needs a statutory audit in Qatar, why it matters for licensing and banking, and how the annual audit process works.
Frequently asked questions
It depends on your income, and separately on your capital or profit if your tax return needs audited accounts, or on whether your head office is outside Qatar. We check your specific figures against the current thresholds rather than giving a blanket answer.
Annually, covering each financial year, filed alongside your corporate tax return and any Chamber of Commerce or MOCI requirements that apply to your structure.
It can delay your tax filing, your commercial registration renewal, and dealings with banks or the Chamber that rely on audited accounts. It does not remove the requirement, it only postpones dealing with it, usually at higher cost.
Yes. The applicable rules and filing requirements differ by structure, and we confirm those at the start of the engagement.
A company with organised records can typically complete a statutory audit within a few weeks. Poor record-keeping or a first-year engagement extends this, and we tell you honestly at the proposal stage.