What does the auditor need from me, and when?
A closed set of books and the paper behind them: bank statements, the ledgers from your bookkeeper, sales and purchase documents, contracts and loans, the statutory file, and a stock count where there is inventory. The timing runs backward from the AGM, which must happen within 4 months of year end, so for a 31 December close the audit really happens between January and April, and early files get the calm treatment.
Last reviewed 12 October 2026
The standard request list
- Bank statements for every account, all twelve months, and cooperation with the auditor’s confirmation letters to the banks. Bank confirmations are routinely the slowest item in the file, so this starts first.
- The books themselves: trial balance, general ledger and the supporting schedules. If your bookkeeping is outsourced, the auditor gets these from your accountant, and most of the audit runs accountant to auditor without you in the middle.
- Revenue and purchase documents: invoices issued and received, contracts with customers and suppliers, and the VAT returns if registered.
- Anything owed or owing: loan agreements, and above all any director loans or advances. An unreconciled director’s account is the classic SME audit delay.
- Payroll: the payroll register and the withholding and social security filings for the year.
- The statutory file: company affidavit, the บอจ.5 shareholder list, licences, and last year’s audited statements with their audit report.
- Inventory, if you hold any: a stock count at or near year end. This one cannot be reconstructed in March, which is why it is the item to plan before 31 December rather than after.
The calendar, run backward
- Statements reach the DBD within 1 month of the AGM, and PND 50 reaches the Revenue Department within 150 days of year end.
- The AGM approving the statements happens within 4 months of year end, 30 April for a December close.
- So the signed audit report needs to exist well before the AGM, which means the auditor needs the closed books and the documents above weeks before that.
- Practical version for a 31 December year end: books closed and handed over in January or February, fieldwork and questions in February or March, report signed in good time for an April AGM.
Questions from the auditor are the product working
An auditor who asks about the director’s account, queries an odd margin, or wants the story behind a round-number invoice is doing the thing the independence rules exist for. An auditor who asks for nothing and signs anything is the red flag, however pleasant the price; it is worth checking exactly who is signing.
If this year’s audit is not yet placed, three quotes from licensed auditors, each seeing the same revenue figure and document list, is the quickest way to a fair price, and the published fee bands tell you what fair looks like.
Related questions
- Audit, financial statements, tax return: what is the difference?
- Why is the audit fee sometimes higher than a whole year of bookkeeping?
- How do I check that an auditor’s CPA licence is real?
Sources
- DBD, แบบ ส.บช.3 financial statement submission form (PDF, Thai)
- Civil and Commercial Code, sections 1208 to 1214 on auditors (English translation, Siam Legal library)
This is general information about how a filing works, not accounting or tax advice for your company. Confirm anything that matters against the official notice or with your accountant. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.