Statutory audit

When is a financial statement audit mandatory in 2026?

This question should be answered before year-end close, not when management is already short of time. In practice the issue is not only legal interpretation, but timely decision-making: whether the company must appoint an auditor, how quickly, and what risk sits with management if the answer is missed.

14 Apr 20266 min readBoard / CFO / owner
01
Some entities require audit regardless of thresholds.
02
For most entities, audit for 2026 depends on 2025 data.
03
In practice, a limited liability company falls into audit after meeting at least 2 of 3 conditions.

Who requires audit regardless of thresholds?

The first step is to separate entities that are subject to mandatory audit because of their legal form or regulated activity. For them, threshold analysis is not the deciding factor.

  • banks and branches of credit institutions,
  • insurance and reinsurance entities,
  • cooperative savings and credit institutions,
  • entities operating under securities, investment fund or crowdfunding regulations,
  • pension funds,
  • payment institutions and electronic money institutions,
  • joint-stock companies, except those still in formation on the balance sheet date,
  • annual consolidated financial statements of capital groups.
Practical conclusion: If your entity belongs to one of these categories, audit is mandatory even if size thresholds are not met.

When does a company fall into audit for 2026?

For other entities, including most limited liability companies, partnerships and sole proprietorship structures required to keep books, audit becomes mandatory if in 2025 the company met at least 2 out of 3 statutory conditions.

ConditionThreshold for audit of 2026 statements
Average annual headcount50 FTE or more
Total assetsPLN 13,208,437.50 or more
Net revenue from salesPLN 26,416,875 or more

The figures above should always be checked against the legal wording and the correct NBP EUR exchange rate applicable to the given year.

How to read the thresholds in practice

It is the prior year that matters

Audit for a given reporting year is usually triggered by data from the preceding year. That means the decision for 2026 depends on 2025 data, not on management’s current-year intuition.

Two out of three are enough

The company does not need to exceed every metric. Meeting two conditions is usually enough to move into mandatory audit.

Other triggers still matter

Even where the thresholds are not fully met, financing agreements, investor expectations, group reporting or special legal status may still require an audit or make one commercially necessary.

What should management do now?

  1. Confirm whether the entity belongs to a category audited regardless of thresholds.
  2. Recalculate headcount, total assets and net revenue using closed 2025 data.
  3. Check financing documents, investor expectations and group reporting requirements.
  4. If the company is close to the thresholds, speak to an auditor before the market tightens.

What is the risk of missing the obligation?

If the company is subject to mandatory audit and fails to arrange it on time, the issue is not merely administrative. In practice it creates pressure on closing, approval and filing, weakens credibility with banks or investors and raises management responsibility for the reporting process.

Common questions

Is one exceeded threshold enough?
Usually no. For most companies the statutory rule is at least two out of three thresholds, unless the company belongs to a category audited regardless of size.
Should management calculate this before year-end?
Yes. The earlier the company checks this, the easier it is to secure auditor availability and organise the process without deadline pressure.

See how this applies to your company

If you want to assess what this means for your company, prepare for audit or discuss a specific reporting issue, speak directly with a statutory auditor.

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