Why every Thai company is audited
Every limited company in Thailand — without exception, regardless of revenue or activity — must appoint a licensed Thai auditor (CPA) each year and have its financial statements audited. There is no small-company exemption.
The auditor opines on the company's balance sheet, P&L, cash flow statement and notes, and signs the audit report that accompanies the DBD filing.
The yearly cycle
- December — financial year-end for most companies (you can elect a different year-end with Revenue approval).
- Within 4 months of year-end — auditor completes the audit and signs the audit report.
- Within 4 months of year-end — Annual General Meeting of shareholders approves the financial statements and the auditor for the following year.
- Within 1 month after the AGM — file audited financial statements and shareholders' list with the DBD via e-filing.
- Within 150 days of year-end — file PND.50 corporate income tax return with the Revenue Department.
Cost drivers
Audit fees scale with transaction volume and the complexity of revenue recognition, not with revenue per se. A dormant company with no activity audits for around 12,000–18,000 THB. A typical trading SME with 100–300 transactions a month audits for 25,000–45,000 THB. Companies with multi-currency transactions, deferred revenue, or related-party financing routinely audit for 60,000 THB or more.
Penalties for late filing
- DBD late filing: 1,000–50,000 THB on the company plus 1,000–50,000 THB on each director, scaled by how late.
- Revenue late filing: 2,000 THB penalty per form + 1.5% / month interest + a surcharge up to 200% of underpaid tax in audit cases.
- Repeat late filing: DBD can strike the company off the register, voiding the company's legal existence.
What auditors will refuse to sign
Inadequate documentation, large unexplained cash withdrawals, related-party loans with no agreement, missing fixed-asset registers, or a chart of accounts that doesn't reconcile to filed VAT returns. Fixing these in October–December costs far less than dealing with them under audit pressure in February.