How to check your bookkeeper and auditor before filing financial statements in Thailand

Before filing its annual financial statements, a Thai company should check that its bookkeeper and its auditor are still properly registered, and that each of them has declared the company to the right authority. The Department of Business Development (DBD) recommends this check: if the details are wrong, the financial statements can be rejected, and using them with a bank or in other transactions becomes a problem.

Why check your bookkeeper and auditor

• Financial statements must be prepared by a qualified bookkeeper and audited by a licensed auditor whose licence is still valid.
• The bookkeeper must declare the companies it keeps books for to the DBD, and the auditor must declare the companies it audits to the Federation of Accounting Professions (FAP).
• The check also protects you against someone filing statements under a professional's name without authority.

How to check your bookkeeper

1. Go to the DBD website, dbd.go.th, and open the online services for bookkeepers (e-Accountant).
2. Search the bookkeeper information of your company with its registration number.
3. Check that your bookkeeper appears. You can also check the bookkeeper's FAP membership at tfac.or.th. If no record is found, the person is not qualified to act as bookkeeper.

How to check your auditor

1. Go to the FAP website, tfac.or.th, Online Service, and check the auditor's status.
2. The licence status must read "ปกติ" (normal). If it reads "สิ้นผล" (expired), the statements are treated as not audited by a licensed auditor.
3. Check that the auditor has declared your company for the relevant year.

The menus on these government websites change from time to time, and they are mostly in Thai. If you cannot find the record, ask your bookkeeper or auditor to correct it before you file.

What to do if the record is missing

Ask your bookkeeper or auditor to fix it quickly: the directors remain responsible for filing correct statements on time. If you are looking for a new accounting firm, Plizz is a member of the Federation of Accounting Professions and handles monthly bookkeeping, tax filings and the coordination with the auditor for more than 200 companies. See our bookkeeping service.

Source: DBD guidance published in May 2022 (Commerce News Agency).