Going independent as an auditor in Austria: appointment, APAB and your first engagements

Two separate approvals: KSW and APAB

Public appointment by the KSW makes you a Wirtschaftsprüfer:in (auditor). You may then carry out all activities under § 3 WTBG 2017: voluntary audits with and without an audit opinion, bookkeeping and payroll, accounting and financial reporting advice, restructuring advice, expert opinions and fiduciary tasks. The core of the reserved area is work that requires an assurance engagement by an independent auditor.

For statutory audits of financial statements, appointment alone is not enough. Here the Abschlussprüfer-Aufsichtsgesetz (APAG, Auditor Oversight Act) applies: before your first statutory audit, you notify the APAB of your activity and apply for a provisional certificate (§ 36 APAG). The APAB is an independent public-law institution based in Vienna and keeps the public register of statutory auditors and audit firms. So if you plan to audit the annual accounts of AGs or medium-sized GmbHs, factor both procedures in from the start.

The route to appointment in five stages

If your exam was more than four years ago, you have not mainly worked in the field during that time and you cannot show continuing professional education for the two preceding calendar years, you must retake the oral part of the exam (§ 46 para. 3). So if you stay with a large audit firm for a while after passing, you lose nothing, as long as the work is relevant.

General requirements and first costs

Besides the professional exam, § 8 para. 1 WTBG 2017 requires full legal capacity, particular trustworthiness, sound financial circumstances, valid professional indemnity insurance and a professional seat. The professional seat is the place where you actually run your firm. It must be known to the KSW and appears in the public list.

You will find the actual levy rates in the KSW members' area. Also plan for CPD: 120 hours in three years, at least 30 hours a year. If you are certified by the APAB as a statutory auditor, its CPD rules require at least 60 of those hours in financial reporting and auditing. You report by 31 March of the following year.

Indemnity cover: the minimum sum is only the floor

§ 11 para. 3 WTBG 2017 requires professional indemnity insurance of at least €72,673 per claim, for companies too. More decisive is § 77 para. 1: you may not accept engagements that are not covered by the insurance in kind or amount.

For statutory audits this means: under § 275 para. 2 UGB the auditor's liability is capped at €2 million for small and medium-sized companies, and at €4, €8 or €12 million for large companies. Cover well below that does not fit an audit engagement of this size. Get quotes from several insurers and check whether excess insurance through the KSW (§ 152 para. 2 no. 11) is an option for you.

Sole practice or audit company

Many start as sole traders under their own name. A company is possible in any partnership or corporate form that can be entered in the commercial register (§ 54 WTBG 2017), usually a GmbH or OG. The company needs its own recognition by the KSW (§§ 65 et seq.) and must meet a number of conditions on an ongoing basis:

• The majority of the management consists of authorised professionals; in audit companies, the majority is authorised to sign audit opinions (§ 52).
• The majority of capital and voting rights is held by authorised professionals (§ 53).
• The firm name contains the designation of the profession practised, such as „Muster Wirtschaftsprüfungs GmbH“ or „Muster Wirtschaftsprüfungs- und Steuerberatungs GmbH“ (§ 55).
• Audit opinions are signed only by authorised auditors (§ 57).
• Branch offices are permitted but must be run by authorised professionals and notified to the KSW (§ 74).

The general steps for setting up a firm, from tax number to bank account, are summarised in the post Setting up a firm in Austria. This post deals with what is specific to auditing.

Why so many are also tax advisers

In Austria, tax advice is not part of an auditor's authorisation. § 3 WTBG 2017 names auditing, bookkeeping, payroll and accounting advice, but not general tax advice, which under § 2 belongs to tax advisers. Legal advice and representation before authorities are only permitted where they are directly connected with Wirtschaftstreuhand work for the same clients.

If you want a small firm to be financially viable, you will often combine both authorisations and practise as a WP/StB (auditor and tax adviser). Ongoing tax and bookkeeping work brings predictable monthly revenue, with audits added seasonally. But note: in a statutory audit, you must not also have been involved in the bookkeeping or the preparation of the audited financial statements (rules on bias in §§ 271 et seq. UGB). Audit and advisory engagements must therefore be kept strictly separate. The route to a tax advisory firm is described in Setting up a tax advisory firm in Austria.

Before the first statutory audit: APAB and quality assurance

With your notification to the APAB, you prove your authorisation and your internal quality assurance rules (§ 23 APAG). This is followed by a quality assurance review by recognised quality assurance reviewers, risk-based and at least every six years (§ 25 para. 2). The APAB decides on the certificate by formal decision; it is time-limited and appears in the public register. For the assurance of sustainability reports, since the Nachhaltigkeitsberichtsgesetz (Sustainability Reporting Act, BGBl. I No. 6/2026) the law requires additional practice periods (§ 45a WTBG 2017) and a corresponding certificate.

Where the first engagements come from

Under § 268 UGB, an audit is compulsory in particular for stock corporations and for GmbHs that are not small or are required to have a supervisory board. Since 2024, a GmbH counts as small if it does not exceed two of the three thresholds: €6.25 million balance sheet total, €12.5 million turnover, 50 employees on annual average. For a new firm, large companies are rarely the first target. More realistic are:

• Associations (Vereine) with ordinary income or expenditure above €3 million in two consecutive years or donation income above €1 million (§ 22 para. 2 VerG)
• Voluntary audits and reviews, for example at the request of banks or shareholders, or on a change of ownership
• Certificates for funding bodies and lenders
• Restructuring opinions and the review of restructuring plans
• Court expert opinions on bookkeeping and financial reporting or on business valuation

Important for your start: in this profession, referrals rarely come from private individuals but from tax advisers, lawyers, banks and industry associations. These multipliers look at your firm online before they pass on your name. Commissions for arranging engagements are, incidentally, not permitted (§ 84 WTBG 2017). What is allowed in your communications is explained in Advertising for auditors in Austria.

The website of an audit firm

Searches for „Wirtschaftsprüfer“ or „auditor“ plus a town are comparatively rare. Your website is therefore less a tool for winning new clients through Google than a form of evidence: anyone who has been recommended to you wants to see within a few minutes who you are, which authorisations you hold and what kind of companies you work for. Good sites show:

What must go in the imprint is explained in Imprint for auditors in Austria. Which other pages and texts a firm website needs is set out in Website content. A finished website from us costs €1,800 net, or €3,600 with a content management system, plus €30 a month for hosting. How that compares with the market is shown in What does a firm website cost?. Complete your presence with a well-maintained Google Business Profile in the „Wirtschaftsprüfer“ (auditor) category and an up-to-date entry in the KSW member directory.