Limited statutory examination: workflow, duties, software

Last updated: October 2026 · fastview ag, Suhr

Professionally responsible: Marco Zanetti and Reto Ackermann, fiduciaries and certified auditors, fastview ag

The limited statutory examination is the most common statutory audit of financial statements in Switzerland. It follows the Swiss Standard on the Limited Statutory Examination (SER) and ends with a negative assurance. This page summarises the process and shows which steps the audit software pruvia guides and which assessments remain with the auditor.

When the limited statutory examination applies

Companies not required to have an ordinary audit have their financial statements examined under the limited statutory examination (Art. 727a para. 1 CO). With the consent of all shareholders, it may be waived if the company has no more than ten full-time positions on annual average (opting-out, Art. 727a para. 2 CO).

The examination addresses whether there are matters from which it must be concluded that the financial statements and the proposal on the appropriation of the balance sheet profit do not comply with the law and the articles of association (Art. 729a para. 1 CO). The result is a negative assurance: the auditor does not confirm that everything is correct, but that it has not encountered such matters. The examination is limited to inquiries, analytical procedures and appropriate tests of detail (Art. 729a para. 2 CO).

Workflow in pruvia

The status overview sits on every engagement page and shows six stations. Each links to the corresponding page.

1. Data import. The client’s trial balance as Excel, CSV or PDF; the previous year is loaded separately. pruvia checks whether the balance sheet balances.
2. Acceptance. Preconditions, independence, going concern and overall assessment in four steps. For a first-time audit, questions on the predecessor auditor are added.
3. Planning. Six steps: governing bodies and relevant persons, knowledge of the business, journal, materiality, risk assessment and audit focus per audit area. Planning can only be approved once all steps are complete; it is then locked.
4. Performance. The audit areas with leadsheet, procedures and evidence (see below).
5. Completion. Evaluation of findings, loss of capital and over-indebtedness, adjusting entries, closing meeting; approval with initials.
6. Report. Only after approved completion: examination conclusion, additional paragraphs and notes, report date, approval.

Materiality and scope

pruvia calculates materiality from the imported trial balance and proposes three benchmarks with customary ranges: result before taxes (default 5 %, 3–10 %), net revenue (0.5 %, 0.5–1 %) and total assets (1 %, 0.5–2 %). From these follow overall materiality (W1), performance materiality (W2, default 75 % of W1) and the clearly trivial threshold (W3, default 10 % of W1). You choose the benchmark, adjust the rate within the range or set an amount with a justification.

pruvia derives the scope per audit area from materiality, risks and the factors under SER 3.3 (dependence on the future, complexity, valuation, judgement): “normal” with the recommended procedures, “increased” additionally with the extended procedures, “no procedures” for areas below the clearly trivial threshold unless they are mandatory. If you choose a different scope, pruvia requires a justification.

Audit programme, leadsheets and evidence

The audit programme comprises 20 audit areas from “A Financial statements as a whole” via cash, receivables, inventories, tangible fixed assets, liabilities, provisions, taxes, VAT, equity and the income statement to “Y Notes” and “Z Events after the balance sheet date”, with 267 procedures of the limited statutory examination.

• Leadsheet: per item and account, reporting year, previous year, change in CHF and per cent, status and evidence. You drag documents directly onto an item or account. You mark an account as examined or as not relevant; notes go into the closing meeting or the open items list with one click.
• Procedures: assessment “OK”, “nOK” or “n/a” with the initials of the signed-in person.
• Arithmetical checks: pruvia itself checks the balance sheet equation (A/02), the agreement of the result for the year with equity (A/03) and the reconciliation of subtotals with the general ledger accounts (A/05). Reconciling the previous-year balances (A/04) deliberately remains manual.
• Going concern: pruvia shows indicators from the trial balance, such as balance sheet over-indebtedness, loss of half the capital, negative net working capital or losses in two consecutive years, and derives the consequences for the report from your assessment.
• Closing an area: only once all procedures in scope have been assessed. If balances change through a new import, pruvia resets the completion and review of the area.

You request documents from the client via the client portal; analysing the journal is voluntary in the limited statutory examination, see Journal entry testing.

Auditor’s report

The report wording is based on the 17 report examples of the SER (Appendix F) and the text modules of EXPERTsuisse on the appropriation of profit and prior-year information, in German, French, Italian and English. You choose the examination conclusion (unqualified, qualified, adverse or disclaimer of examination conclusion) and the additional paragraphs, for instance on loss of capital, over-indebtedness, breach of the general meeting deadline, involvement in the bookkeeping or prior-year information. pruvia checks the report date: it may not precede the approval of the financial statements nor the completion of the examination work. The representation letter of management is produced under SER Appendix E; the report is delivered only after the signed letter. The output is a PDF with title page, report and financial statements, with a qualified electronic signature if desired.

What the auditor decides

• Acceptance of the engagement and assessment of independence;
• Benchmark and level of materiality, assessment of risks and deviations from the derived scope;
• Assessment of each procedure and each account, evaluation of findings and of the ability to continue as a going concern;
• Examination conclusion, additional paragraphs and report date.

Suggestions from pruvia, including those from AI support, become part of the file only when you adopt them. Which steps pruvia carries out automatically and where the AI makes suggestions is shown on the page AI and automation in the audit.

Frequently asked questions

Which audit procedures does the limited statutory examination require?

Inquiries, analytical procedures and appropriate tests of detail (Art. 729a para. 2 CO). pruvia’s audit programme is based on the customary procedures of the SER (Appendix D) and comprises 20 audit areas.

What does negative assurance mean?

The auditor confirms that it has not encountered any matters from which it would have to conclude that the financial statements do not comply with the law and the articles of association. It does not positively confirm that the financial statements are correct.

In which languages does pruvia produce the auditor’s report?

In German, French, Italian and English. The wording is based on the report examples of the SER and the text modules of EXPERTsuisse.

How does pruvia set the scope per audit area?

pruvia derives it from materiality, risks and the factors under SER 3.3 and proposes “normal”, “increased” or “no procedures”. If you deviate, pruvia requires a justification.

What is the difference between audit and Revision?

In Switzerland, the statutory audit of the financial statements is called “Revision”, divided into the ordinary audit and the limited statutory examination (Art. 727 and 727a CO). “Audit” is the international term for the audit of financial statements; the limited statutory examination with negative assurance is a Swiss type of audit.

Can I sign the report electronically?

Yes. The report is produced as a PDF and can be signed electronically, by default with a qualified electronic signature.

Try pruvia

The system tour shows pruvia with sample data, without registration. For questions about your audit firm, book an online demo.

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