Company modification tips Hungary – Hiring an auditor

Company modification is the official procedure through which a lawyer’s help you can change the core data of your Hungarian company with the Company Registry. One of the cases when you need this procedure is when your company is hiring an auditor.

Company modification in Hungary

Since information about your Hungarian company is public data, it must always be up to date in the Hungarian Company Registry, which can be checked online at https://www.e-cegjegyzek.hu/.

Some data are updated automatically like your bank account numbers, some can be changed by your accountant like your activities, and in some cases you need to give an official notice to the Company Registry. This latter procedure is called company modification. It always needs to involve a lawyer, and it has a set fee.

For an overview of cases when you need company modification in Hungary, click here.

Audits and auditors in Hungary

What does auditing have to do with company modification? In Hungary, there are several types of audits, done either by the tax authority or by independent contractors.

• Audits by the tax authority are done more or less regularly. They do not affect the information that should be publicly available about your company. You can read more about tax audits here.
• If your Hungarian company meets specific conditions, it is required to hire an independent auditor to monitor the accounting procedures of your company. This auditor should be listed in your public company data, so hiring or changing one, or even extending the authorization of your existing auditor requires company modification.

When do you need an independent auditor?

Most Hungarian small and medium-sized businesses do not need an independent auditor. Your company will need to hire an auditor, however, when it reaches a certain point in its growth:

• If your company uses double-entry bookkeeping, AND
• If the average yearly net income of the previous two years is over HUF 300 million (ca. EUR 750,000) OR
• If the average number of your employees in the previous two years is over 50

In case your company has just been created recently, your yearly revenue should be considered proportionately. For example, if the company was founded on 1 September, and it generated a net income of HUF 140 million in just 4 months, it is reasonable to expect that its yearly revenue would be around HUF 420 million. That is above the limit indicated above, so the company needs an auditor.

Hiring an auditor in Hungary

If your Hungarian company meets the above conditions, it is required by law to hire an auditor. The auditor cannot be your regular accountant, but an independent contractor who will review the work of your accountant and who will make sure that everything is in order with your books.

Appointing an auditor represents a change to the core data of your company, and it requires company modification.

• The appointment of an auditor may start whenever, and it may last until they have reviewed the annual report of the given fiscal year.
• The appointment of an auditor cannot be longer than 5 years.

This means that if your Hungarian company is legally required to have an auditor, you will need to have a company modification from time to time, but at least every 5 years.

Company modification with Helpers

Helpers has almost 20 years of experience providing business solutions to foreign owners operating a Hungarian company. Taking care of company modifications with the help of a trusted corporate lawyer partner is just one of our services, but it is one we would happily take on for you.

Reach out to your account manager, or fill in the form below to contact us in order to learn more about company modification and hiring an auditor in Hungary.

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