Accounting and Auditing Services in Mauritius: An Overview

Accounting and auditing services in Mauritius are governed by the provisions of the Company Act of 2001. This legislation is further supplemented by another associated legislation called the Financial Reporting Act of 2004. As per the provisions of these regulations, statutory audits of the companies in Mauritius can be conducted by a competent member of the Mauritius Institute of Professional Accountants who has been given a license by the Financial Reporting Council to undertake such audits. These two legislations also lay down the preconditions to obtain business licenses in Mauritius.

In Mauritius, companies are classified on the basis of their annual turnover into small, medium-sized and large enterprises. There are certain business entities that are offshore companies and include the popular business vehicles of Global Business Corporations and Authorised Companies. All these companies in Mauritius are governed by the Companies Act of 2001 and the Financial Services Act of 2007.

Accounting and auditing are essential functions for every business entity operating in Mauritius as it helps to maintain a track record of all the previous financial transactions of a company and keep a check on the future transactions of a company.

Outsourcing the accounting and auditing functions of your Mauritian company helps to save high overhead costs. Enterslice offers virtual accounting and auditing services in Mauritius for your firm by precisely catering to the accounting and auditing needs of your Mauritius-based entity.

Regulatory and Statuary requirements in Mauritius

• Auditing

Auditing of the financial statements is a mandatory requirement for all the companies of Mauritius except for the Authorised Companies and the small and medium-sized enterprises. All the eligible firms and enterprises of Mauritius are supposed to prepare compulsory financial statements and get them audited by a professional accountant registered with the Mauritius Institute of Professional Accounts.

These audited financial statements are required to be presented to the Financial Services Commission within a period of 6 months after the end of the financial year. The time limit is of 3 months in the case of companies who have been licensed to engage in certain activities in the field of financial services.

• Accounting

The Companies Act 2001 requires that every financial statement prepared by a company in Mauritius must correctly explain all the transactions that reflect the financial position of the company at any time of the reporting year and comply with the requirements of the legislation and ensure that quality audit takes place.

All these financial reporting records of the companies are supposed to be kept in Mauritius only unless the directors of the companies determine otherwise. All the Authorised Companies are required to keep a record of their financial transactions and the supporting necessary papers at their respective registered agent’s addresses and annually file a financial summary (a simplified account of financial statements) with the Financial Services Commission.

On the other hand, in the case of Global Business Corporations, there is a requirement to keep financial statements in full, along with an auditor’s opinion prepared on the financial statements and file them with the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius.

The annual returns of the financial statements for a company in Mauritius have to be filed with the Registrar within a period of 28 days from the date of holding the annual general meeting of the shareholders. Failure to furnish these accounts within the prescribed time limit is punishable as an offence.

Small private companies are required to submit their annual returns along with a financial summary containing the information set out in the 9th Schedule of the Companies Act of 2001 to the Registrar of Companies. Additionally, Listed Companies have to file a copy of their annual returns with the Stock Exchange of Mauritius within a period of 90 days but not later than 6 months from the date of signing of their balance sheet.

Late filing of annual returns results in the imposition of an administrative penalty. Administrative penalties are charged for every workday, which runs into USD $10 for each workday. The maximum amount of penalty that can be charged by the applicant is calculated as follows:

1. A maximum amount of MUR 150,000 since 1^st January 2018
2. For unpaid amounts on 31^st December 2017:
3. up to MUR 150,000 – actual amount payable
4. over MUR 150,000 – MUR 150,000 plus one-third of the rest of the amount

Accounting and Auditing Services in Mauritius offered by Enterslice

• Bookkeeping Services -

The scope of bookkeeping extends to keeping records of all the financial transactions undertaken by the business during a particular calendar year. The records include sales and receipts, purchases, payments, and carriage inwards and outwards. Bookkeeping allows tracking the flow of capital in and out of the company. It is beneficial in reconciling the transactions, which is essential for maintaining accountability and combating fraud.    

Following are the accounting and bookkeeping services offered by Enterslice:

• Enter all the relevant accounting transactions into dedicated accounting software and ensure that bookkeeping is accurate and up to date
• Offering bespoke accounting and bookkeeping services using the client’s system and adopting a flexible approach so that client can view its transactions in real time
• We assign a dedicated accountant to provide you with individual support in meeting your reporting requirements.
• Integrate and implement a robust control and governance framework to manage your accounting and reporting requirements.

• Preparation of Consolidated Financial Statements -

Financial reports of companies are prepared in Mauritius in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This obligation is applicable to all the domestic and foreign companies that are conducting their business operations in Mauritius, for small, medium-sized and large enterprises. These enterprises have the option to choose full IFRS or IFRS for small and medium-sized enterprises. The Mauritian companies are supposed to prepare and furnish consolidated financial statements in accordance with the guidelines laid down in the IFRS 10, 11 and 12.

Preparation of the financial statements involves providing the external auditors with all the necessary Paper works to undertake the statutory audit and provide explanations in respect of the company’s financial transactions. Finally, it also includes managing the audit process and subsequently filing the statutory accounts and regulatory returns in compliance with the local requirements.

• Monthly Management of Accounts -

It is a standard practice for onshore and offshore companies to file their annual accounts with the Registrar. It is a criminal offence on the part of companies who fail to maintain financial records of the commercial transactions undertaken by them and provide an explanation for the same.

The best way to comply with the monthly requirements is to maintain monthly management accounts. Some of the necessary papers that have been recommended to be maintained as part of the monthly management of accounts are the cash flow statements, income and expenditure statements and the balance sheet.

• Payroll Management -

Payroll management is a complicated task, with frequent changes taking place in the local regulations and close monitoring from the revenue and tax departments. Enterslice, with its bespoke payroll management solutions, will navigate your company through these changes. Payroll Management is a labour-intensive and time-consuming process. Payroll management involves intensive paperwork and following the latest payroll regulations.

Enterslice works closely with tax teams, legal specialists and HR professionals in designing Payroll Management solutions specific to the needs and requirements of your firm, minimising compliance risks, standardising controls, streamlining processes, increasing flexibility and improving efficiency. Enterslice saves your company with your valuable time and allows you to focus on the growth of your business. Enterslice further helps you in bringing down the cost of payroll management by 50%. The typical tasks undertaken by Enterslice as part of payroll management services are as follows:

• Weekly, bi-weekly and monthly reports based on the needs of the company
• Issuing payslips
• Automation of manual processes of payroll management
• Integration of Finance, HR and Banking platforms of the organisation
• Providing overall management control mechanisms and procedures
• Managing end-to-end statutory requirements of payroll management requirements
• Administration services and payroll management across Africa and the Asian subcontinent from the service delivery centre

• Audit of Financial Statements -

It is a legal obligation to audit the financial systems of a company in Mauritius except for the Authorised Companies and small and medium-sized enterprises. The scope of audit of the financial statements of a company is not just restricted to meeting the applicable statutory obligations but also beyond that. Enterslice offers its diverse experience and expertise in diverse fields, which ultimately results in the improvement of business processes and organisational results of our clients. 

The annual statutory audit of the financial statements of a company is performed by Enterslice according to the regulations laid down under the Financial Reporting Act of 2004. 

The annual financial audit is performed by an experienced team of professional accountants who are registered with the Mauritius Institute of Professional Accountants (MIPA) and are eligible to ensure an effective audit reducing both the time and cost of the audit so that our client has the best safety net for his/her business.

Following are the services offered by Enterslice as part of the audit of financial statements:

• Determining the scope of the audit in advance to focus on the statutory aspects and also processes important to the business;
• Designing a clear audit plan;
• Settling as many queries as possible and minimising disruption;
• Offering a transparent view of the financial processes.

We undertake not only statutory audits but also special purpose audits (called assurances), which include reviewing of reports, agreed-upon procedures, limited review reports and other services such as due diligence and business investigations. Enterslice has the privilege of serving both domestic and offshore companies in the fields of manufacturing, import-export companies, offshore investments, hospitality etc.

• Internal Audit -

Enterslice has always given emphasis on preventive process-based auditing over inspection-based auditing, which helps create value for our clients instead of merely protecting them. The major services offered by Enterslice as part of Internal audit services are as follows:

• Setting up internal auditing functions
• Outsourcing and Co-sourcing services
• Reviewing and reporting internal controls
• Development and risk profiling of an internal audit plan
• Corporate advisory services

Enterslice offers not only statutory audit but also business advisory services, where they point out the inefficiencies of management control systems in the companies and sectors where inefficiencies are least expected. If these faults go unnoticed, a number of management issued can prop up, such as incomplete financial reporting and delays, overstaffing, wrong allocation of resources and ineffective debtors. Enterslice also advises on the prevailing risks and accordingly develops control systems to increase transparency and the work environment.   

• IT Systems Audit -

Lately, Information security has become a cause of concern for most organisations that are dependent on data to run their business operations. It is important for these organisations to conduct information security and IT systems audits, which will help them not only protect their precious data but also secure them from hefty penalties and fines in case of a data breach.

Enterslice undertakes the following kinds of audits which include:

• The ISO/IEC 27001 Internal Audits where information security systems
• In-house security audits where the audit is done by the IT Security staff itself using the industry standard Vulnerability Assessment Toolset to cull out the vulnerabilities and recommendations implemented by the Departments. These audits target small to medium IT infrastructure with basic to medium complexity.
• Outsourced audits where the focus is on the highly complex and critical information systems of the government.

• IFRS Compliance -

A significant number of improvements have been made in the regulatory landscape with respect to the financial reporting practices in Mauritius. Enterslice ensures that our clients stay compliant with the Financial Reporting Act of 2004, guidelines and rules of the Mauritius Institute of Professional Accountants and related legislations like the Insurance Act, Banking Act and Companies Act which have lain financial reporting requirements.

The team of reporting specialists at Enterslice ensures that your business entity has successfully implemented IFRS requirements and offers the following solutions as part of the IFRS compliance services:

• Effective and smooth transition to IFRS for first-time adopters
• Assistance and advisory over complex technical accounting and financial reporting issues
• Customised IFRS training for the in-house requirements
• Preparation and presentation of consolidated financial statements