The website of an audit firm: what management, supervisory boards and applicants need to find there

Who reads an audit firm's website

Private individuals often search for a tax adviser, almost never for an audit firm. Your readers are professionals who have little time and know exactly what they are looking for. Each group has a different question, and the website should answer each of them quickly:

This also means that promotional language works less well here than elsewhere. People choosing an auditor look for evidence, not slogans. Factual information also fits professional law best: in Germany, advertising is permitted under § 52 WPO as long as it is not unfair; in Austria, the UWG and the KSW's practice guidelines set the limits. The details are in Advertising rules for auditors in Austria and in Germany.

Describing audit services clearly

A “Services” page with ten keywords helps nobody. Better is a separate page for each service that explains, in the readers' language, when the audit is needed, how it works and what the firm needs for it. Present these services separately, as far as you offer them:

• Statutory audit of annual financial statements: when a company must be audited is governed by § 268 UGB in Austria and § 316 HGB in Germany. Explain the size classes, the timeline from the interim audit to the audit opinion, and which documents you need when.
• Voluntary audits: for example at the request of banks, shareholders or investors, as a full audit or a review. It is worth explaining the difference between reasonable and limited assurance here.
• Special audits: formation, contribution-in-kind and merger audits under company law, audits of grant claims, and in Germany for example audits under § 16 MaBV (the regulation for estate agents and property developers).
• Due diligence and valuation: financial due diligence in a purchase or sale, business valuations, fairness opinions.
• Associations and public companies: in Austria, large associations must be audited under § 22 VerG; in Germany, municipal companies are often additionally audited under § 53 HGrG.

One limit always applies: you do not offer audit clients services that endanger your independence as their auditor. Anyone who has been involved in keeping a company's books or preparing its financial statements may not audit those statements (§ 271 UGB, § 319 HGB). A page promising “bookkeeping, financial statements and audit from a single source” is therefore not just unfortunately worded, it describes something you are not allowed to do.

Sustainability reporting: word it carefully

Assurance on sustainability reports under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD, Directive (EU) 2022/2464) is a new line of business for many firms. Initially, the directive provides for limited assurance. This is exactly where restraint on the website is called for, because the legal situation has shifted several times.

Only advertise sustainability assurance if you are authorised to provide it. In Austria, the APAB register shows whether a certificate also covers the audit of sustainability reports. Independently of that, you can write about voluntary services, such as reviewing a voluntary ESG report or advising on preparation, as long as it is clear that advising a company and later auditing the same company do not go together.

Industries and size classes instead of “all industries”

“We audit companies of all industries and sizes” is on many websites and says nothing. A managing director from the construction sector wants to see that you know property developers, project companies and the valuation of work in progress. An association board wants to read that you audit charities and how they use donations. So name the three to five industries in which you actually work regularly, and describe each with concrete topics.

The reason for caution with references: according to the prevailing view, the duty of confidentiality under § 80 WTBG 2017 and § 43 WPO already covers the fact that an engagement exists. That your name appears in the published audit opinion does not change this for your marketing. Read more about useful pages per service and industry in Practice areas on the website.

Team with qualifications and register status

For supervisory board members and audit committees, the team is the most important page. Show each person's professional title, additional authorisations and focus areas, with a professional photo. It is important that every title is exactly right:

• Professional titles only if they have been conferred: “Wirtschaftsprüferin und Steuerberaterin” (auditor and tax adviser) in Austria, “WP StB” in Germany. Audit assistants and trainees (Berufsanwärter:innen) are not “junior auditors”.
• Register status: in Austria, state your entry in the APAB's public register and link to it; in Germany, your entry in the WPK's professional register. Check the entry after every quality assurance review or quality control.
• Additional qualifications such as CPA, CIA, certified expert witness or registered mediator only with the correct title and, for foreign titles, the country that awarded them.
• Focus areas per person, concretely: “audits associations and foundations”, not “expert for everything to do with numbers”.

How to structure portraits, CVs and responsibilities is shown in The team page of a firm; tips on the photos are in Photos for your firm.

Transparency report: who has to publish one

Statutory auditors and audit firms that audit public-interest entities, such as listed companies, credit institutions and insurers, must publish an annual transparency report. The basis is Art. 13 of the EU Audit Regulation (EU) No 537/2014, which applies directly in Austria and Germany. The report must appear on the website no later than four months after the end of the financial year and remain available there for at least five years.

• Legal and ownership structure and, where applicable, the network you belong to
• Governance structure and internal quality control system
• Date of the last quality assurance review or inspection
• List of public-interest entities audited
• Statement on independence practices and revenue figures, broken down into audit and other services

Most smaller firms do not audit public-interest entities and do not have to publish a transparency report. In that case, do not create a section with this name either: it suggests an obligation that does not exist. What you can show voluntarily: how you check independence before accepting each engagement, how quality assurance is organised and when the last external quality review took place. For audit committees, these are strong arguments.

The careers page: often the most important page

Many audit firms could take on more engagements if they had the staff. How to recruit trainee tax advisers and auditors in Austria, from the professional exam to the job ad, is covered in a separate post. Trainees and audit assistants choose their employer based on what they will learn, how exam preparation is supported and how the busy season is organised. A good careers page answers this concretely:

Legal notice and mandatory information

An audit firm's legal notice is read, and by exactly the people who decide whether to engage you. Besides the general information, it must include the chamber, the professional title with the country that conferred it, and the professional rules; in Austria, auditors of financial statements also name the APAB as supervisory authority. In Germany, the WPK is the competent chamber; the APAS at the BAFA is only added when you audit public-interest entities. The details are explained in Legal notice for auditors in Austria and Legal notice for auditors in Germany.

Common mistakes on audit firms' websites

• Only a home page with a list of services: management finds no answer to its specific question, search engines find no page they can show.
• Outdated size thresholds: Austria and Germany raised the thresholds for the size classes in 2024. Anyone still quoting old amounts does not look like an audit firm that is up to date.
• CSRD promises with outdated deadlines: pages from 2023 and 2024 often name dates that no longer apply.
• Ignoring independence: “tax advice, bookkeeping and audit from a single source” for the same company.
• Client logos without consent or case studies that reveal who is meant.
• A contact form for documents: financial statements and contracts belong in a secure client portal, not in a form or an e-mail.
• No careers page, or just a PDF with last year's job ad.

The basic building blocks every firm website needs are summarised in What a firm website needs. How to win new audit engagements is covered in Winning clients as an auditor, and how your pages get found in SEO for audit firms. A ready-made website from us costs €1,800 net, with a content management system €3,600, plus €30 hosting per month.