Statutory Audit Services in Mumbai for Private Limited Companies
Last updated: 26 October 2026
Quick Answer: Only practising chartered accountants, their firms or Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) can provide statutory audits to Mumbai private companies; a standard corporate company cannot be appointed. For audit firms or LLPs, a majority of the partners practising in India must be qualified chartered accountants (section 141, Companies Act, 2013). In Mumbai, HSAG Consulting lists statutory and tax audits among its assurance services; the audit report itself is signed by a chartered accountant in practice.
A statutory audit is the annual audit of a company's financial statements that section 139 of the Companies Act, 2013 requires every company to comply with, whatever its turnover is. Its coverage and filings are set out in the statutory audit checklist for private limited companies. Choosing among statutory audit services in Mumbai depends on the key checks below.
| What to check | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who may sign | A practising chartered accountant; in a firm or LLP, only its chartered accountant partners | Section 141(1) and (2), Companies Act, 2013 |
| Who may not be appointed | Any body corporate other than an LLP; an officer or employee; a person whose relative is a director or key managerial personnel | Section 141(3) |
| Peer review certificate | Needed for Phase II and Phase III audits (see the peer review section) | ICAI Peer Review Mandate |
| Auditor rotation | Private companies with paid-up capital of ₹50 crore or more, or public borrowings of ₹50 crore or more | Rule 5(b) and (c), Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014; clause (b) as amended by G.S.R. 621(E), 22 June 2017 |
| Who fixes the fee | Members at the general meeting; the Board for the first auditor | Section 142(1) |
Sole practitioner, CA firm or network firm: which suits a private company's audit?
Sole practitioners and audit firms in Mumbai, from CA partnerships and LLPs to network firms, all can audit private limited companies. Five distinct providers are compared below: four chartered accountant firms and, listed first, a consulting company that lists statutory and tax audits among its assurance services; the audit report itself is signed by a chartered accountant in practice. The right type depends on size, sector, funding and any peer review certificate the audit needs.
What does each provider's own website state?
Each row comes from that provider's own website; the order is not a ranking. The first provider's assurance services cover the audits in its row, and its Director, CA Bhairavi Shah, works on statutory audits and consults on the auditor's reporting on internal financial controls.
| Firm | Services per its website (October 2026) | Offices it lists | One stated fact |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSAG Consulting | Statutory and tax audits under company and income tax law, with internal and management audits | Mumbai (head office), Delhi, Bengaluru and Dubai | Sets each audit's scope after reviewing the business |
| SAKG & Associates (CA Arihant Lodha) | Statutory audit of companies under the Companies Act, plus tax, internal and risk-based audits | Mulund West, Mumbai; states a Madhya Pradesh presence | CA Arihant Lodha, a Fellow Member of ICAI, states DISA certification |
| Vivek Shah & Co. | Statutory audits under the Companies Act, 2013 and the LLP Act, 2008, plus tax, GST and internal audits | Lower Parel (West), Mumbai | Lists audits of Ind AS and IFRS financial statements |
| Mohit S. Shah & Co. | Statutory, tax, LLP, internal, stock and bank branch audits | Marine Lines (East), Mumbai | Lists tonnage tax audits |
| Whitespace Consultancy | Statutory, tax and internal audits, internal financial controls reviews and information systems audits | Mulund West, Mumbai | Describes every engagement as partner-led |
What should you check before engaging a statutory audit firm?
Check five things before engaging a firm for the statutory audit of private limited company accounts: the signing partner, disqualifications, peer review, independence and capacity. Each rests on the Companies Act, 2013 or an ICAI mandate.
- The signing partner. Ask who will sign. Section 141 of the Companies Act, 2013 lets only the chartered accountant partners of a firm or LLP act and sign for it.
- Disqualifications. Section 141(3) bars an officer or employee, a person with a prescribed business relationship, a person indebted to the company above the prescribed limit, and anyone convicted of fraud within the previous ten years.
- Peer review. Confirm whether the firm needs a certificate for this audit, and its validity.
- Independence. Section 144 bars the auditor from accounting and bookkeeping, internal audit, financial information system design, actuarial, investment advisory, investment banking, outsourced financial and management services. Any other service needs Board or audit committee approval.
- Capacity. Ask how many company audits the signing partner already holds, because section 141(3)(g) caps a partner at twenty company audits, not counting one person companies, dormant and small companies or private companies with paid-up capital below ₹100 crore that have not defaulted in filing their financial statements or annual return (G.S.R. 464(E), 5 June 2015, as amended by G.S.R. 583(E), 13 June 2017).
When does peer review limit which firm a company can appoint?
Peer review limits the choice in three cases: the firm has four or more partners, the company raised over ₹50 crore from the public, banks or financial institutions in the period under review, or it is a public interest entity. Where any applies, the ICAI mandate requires a valid certificate when the firm accepts the statutory audit and when it signs the report.
| Phase | Firms covered | Certificate needed from |
|---|---|---|
| II | Auditors of unlisted public companies with at least ₹500 crore paid-up capital, ₹1,000 crore turnover or ₹500 crore of loans, debentures and deposits; or attestation firms with 5 or more partners | 1 July 2024 |
| III | Auditors of entities that raised over ₹50 crore from the public, banks or financial institutions, or of public interest entities including trusts; or attestation firms with 4 or more partners | 1 July 2025 |
ICAI set these dates on 16 March 2024 and 22 January 2025 (Peer Review Mandate page).
Does auditor rotation affect the choice of firm?
Only above the rule 5 thresholds. A private limited company must rotate its auditor when its paid-up capital is ₹50 crore or more, under rule 5(b) as amended by G.S.R. 621(E). Rule 5(c) adds any company with public borrowings from financial institutions, banks or public deposits of ₹50 crore or more. One person and small companies are excluded.
Within those classes, section 139(2) limits an individual auditor to one five-year term and a firm to two, followed by a five-year cooling off.
What decides the fee and scope of a statutory audit engagement?
Statutory audit fees depend on the work the engagement covers. Section 142(1) of the Companies Act, 2013 has the members fix the auditor's remuneration at the general meeting, or in a manner they set, and the Board fixes it for the first auditor. Under section 142(2), it includes audit expenses but not pay for other services.
What moves the effort, and therefore the fee:
- Volume and spread: transaction cycles, locations and inventory sites.
- State of the books: schedules tied to the ledgers shorten fieldwork; accounting and bookkeeping services cover that preparation, from a firm other than the auditor.
- Reporting add-ons: CARO 2020, internal financial controls reporting and audit trail reporting, where each applies.
- Group work: consolidated statements, subsidiaries and branch audits.
A tax audit (section 44AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961; section 63 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 from tax year 2026-27) and a voluntary GST compliance review are scoped and priced separately.
Common Mistakes When Choosing a Statutory Auditor in Mumbai
Choosing a statutory auditor goes wrong when quotes are compared before eligibility is checked. A firm without a required peer review certificate, a partner at the audit ceiling or an unwritten scope can mean a delayed report, a second appointment or a breach of the Companies Act, 2013.
- Choosing on price alone. A firm that needs a peer review certificate and lacks one cannot accept the audit, whatever it quotes.
- Not naming the signing partner. Without a named partner, the company cannot check section 141(3) or the twenty-company ceiling in section 141(3)(g).
- Ignoring funding plans. Raising over ₹50 crore from banks or financial institutions brings the audit within Phase III of the peer review mandate.
- Leaving scope unwritten. CARO, consolidation and branch work cause disputes when the engagement letter is silent.
What happens after you engage the audit firm?
The engagement then moves through five steps, from the statutory audit engagement letter to the signed report.
- Engagement letter. Agree the scope, responsibilities and reports in writing. ICAI issued illustrative engagement letters for Companies Act, 2013 audits on 17 December 2014, as Appendix 1 to SA 210.
- Consent and certificate. Section 139(1) requires the auditor's written consent and a certificate under rule 4 before the appointment.
- Appointment and filing. The Board appoints the first auditor within 30 days of registration (section 139(6)); later auditors are appointed by the members at the annual general meeting. Form ADT-1 goes to the Registrar within 15 days, work that company and corporate services cover.
- Fieldwork. Section 143(1) gives the auditor access to the books and vouchers at all times.
- Report. The partner signs with the Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) after the membership number, required by ICAI from 1 July 2019.
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