Key points at a glance
- Auditors are appointed by the Wirtschaftsprüferkammer (§§ 15 et seq. WPO, Public Accountants Act); the profession is a liberal profession, not a trade.
- The WP exam comprises seven supervised written papers in four areas and an oral exam. Tax advisers take a shortened exam without tax law.
- Professional indemnity must cover at least €1 million per claim (§ 54 WPO); proof must be provided before appointment.
- You notify the WPK of statutory audits within two weeks of accepting the engagement; the first quality control review follows no later than three years after that.
- If you set up a practice after leaving employment, you may not solicit your employer's clients in advance.
This post is general information, not legal or tax advice for your individual case. Laws, professional guidelines and chamber fees change: check the details with your chamber, the relevant authority or your professional association before you make a decision.
The market in figures
According to the WPK membership statistics, on 1 July 2026 there were 15,246 Wirtschaftsprüfer:innen, 1,547 vereidigte Buchprüfer:innen (sworn auditors, vBP) and 3,076 Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaften (audit firms) on the register. Women made up around 20 per cent of auditors, and around 12 per cent of members of the profession had no university degree, because the WPO provides a route in via long professional experience.
The second figure is interesting for founders: the number of vereidigte Buchprüfer:innen has roughly halved since 2015. vBP may, among other things, audit medium-sized GmbHs (§ 319 para. 1 HGB, § 129 WPO), but the Wirtschaftsprüfungsexamens-Reformgesetz (Auditor Exam Reform Act) of 2003 closed access to this profession. When vBP practices retire, their clients look for new auditors. That is one reason why small practices have opportunities among the Mittelstand (small and medium-sized companies).
Admission and exam
| Step | Requirement | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Prior education | Completed university degree; alternatively ten years working for a WP/WPG or five years as a vBP or tax adviser | § 8 WPO |
| Practical experience | At least three years with a WP, WPG or auditing association (four years if the standard degree period is under eight semesters), at least two of them mainly in auditing | § 9 WPO |
| Admission | Application to the WPK examination office; possible before the end of the practice period, proof required before appointment at the latest | § 9 para. 6, § 15 WPO |
| Written exam | Seven supervised papers of four to six hours each in four areas: auditing, business valuation and professional law; applied business administration and economics; commercial law; tax law | §§ 4, 7 WiPrPrüfV |
| Oral exam | One oral module exam per area before the examination board, with a short presentation in auditing | § 15 WiPrPrüfV |
Tax advisers take a shortened exam in which tax law is dropped (§ 13 WPO). There is a separate shortened form for vBP (§ 13a WPO), and university credits can also be recognised (§ 13b WPO). In 2016 the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Federal Administrative Court) rejected appointing vBP as auditors without an exam (BVerwG 10 C 20/14).
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Application for admission to the exam | €500 |
| Exam area with two supervised papers | €1,000 |
| Exam area with one supervised paper | €500 |
| Application for appointment | €500 |
| Recognition as a Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft | €1,000 |
For the full exam, that adds up to €3,500 in exam fees plus €500 for admission. Preparation courses, specialist literature and the time in which you work less are usually the bigger item.
Appointment, oath and place of business
You apply to the WPK for appointment within five years of passing the exam. You swear the professional oath before the chamber and receive the certificate of appointment (§§ 15, 17 WPO). From that moment you use the designation „Wirtschaftsprüfer“ or „Wirtschaftsprüferin“ in your professional dealings (§ 18 WPO). Immediately after appointment you establish a place of business (berufliche Niederlassung, § 3 WPO).
On appointment you are entered in the professional register (Berufsregister), which the WPK keeps publicly (§§ 37, 38 WPO). It shows, among other things, the date of appointment, place of business, network membership and, crucially for statutory auditors, your registration as a statutory auditor. Every person and every firm receives a register number, which you can later also state on your website.
Professional indemnity under § 54 WPO
If you work in your own practice, you must hold professional indemnity insurance. The minimum sum insured is €1 million per claim. The annual maximum may be capped at four times that amount; for firms it depends on the number of shareholders, partners or managing directors. A deductible of up to 1 per cent of the minimum sum is permitted. You provide proof before appointment, for example as a provisional cover note (§ 25 BS WP/vBP, professional code).
- Limitation of liability: by individual agreement up to the minimum sum, by pre-formulated terms up to four times that amount, provided you are insured accordingly (§ 54a WPO).
- Statutory audits: the statutory liability cap for companies that are not public interest entities is €1.5 million (§ 323 para. 2 HGB). Your cover should match it.
- Higher risk: for larger engagements the professional code requires appropriate additional cover (§ 27 BS WP/vBP).
Sole practice, partnership or WPG
The simplest form is a sole practice under your own name. For joint practice you can join forces with other chamber-regulated liberal professionals who have a right to refuse to testify, such as tax advisers or lawyers (§ 44b WPO). A Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft (WPG, audit firm) can take any German legal form, or a European one (§ 27 WPO); the GmbH and PartG mbB are widespread.
For recognition as a WPG, the majority of the legal representatives must be auditors; with two representatives, one is enough (§ 28 WPO). Only recognised firms may use the designation „Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft“ (§§ 31, 133 WPO). A typical firm name is something like „Muster GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft Steuerberatungsgesellschaft“. The general set-up steps, from tax office to business account, are described in Setting up a firm in Germany.
Tax advice: allowed, but often still with the StB title
Unlike in Austria, tax advice in Germany is part of an auditor's statutory scope: auditors may advise and represent clients in tax matters (§ 2 para. 2 WPO). Many nevertheless also hold the title Steuerberater:in (tax adviser). The most common reason is the training route: anyone who passes the tax adviser exam first then benefits from the shortened WP exam. With the StB title you are also a member of your regional Steuerberaterkammer and bill tax advisory services under the Steuerberatervergütungsverordnung (StBVV, tax advisers' fee scale).
There is no fee scale for audits. However, the fee for statutory audits must not be tied to additional services, and contingency fees are ruled out for audits (§ 55 WPO). More on tax advice as a profession in its own right is in Setting up a tax advisory firm in Germany.
The first statutory audit: deadlines and quality control
Notification to the WPK
No later than two weeks after accepting your first engagement for a statutory audit, you notify the WPK of your activity (§ 57a para. 1 WPO).
Extract from the professional register
You must hold an extract from the professional register showing your registration as a statutory auditor; for your first statutory audit, no later than six weeks after the engagement is accepted (§ 319 para. 1 HGB).
Quality management system
You document rules for accepting engagements, independence, performance and monitoring (§ 55b WPO) and keep an engagement file.
First quality control review
No later than three years after the start of the first statutory audit, then risk-based at least every six years (§ 57a para. 2 WPO).
Ongoing costs include the chamber fee under the WPK contribution regulations and CPD: the professional code requires 40 hours a year, 20 of them at specialist events, each documented (§ 5 BS WP/vBP).
First engagements and leaving employment
Under § 316 HGB, audits are compulsory for medium-sized and large corporations and for commercial partnerships without a natural person as fully liable partner. A company counts as small if it does not exceed two of the three thresholds: €7.5 million balance sheet total, €15 million turnover, 50 employees (§ 267 HGB). Besides these statutory audits, typical work for new practices includes voluntary audits at the request of banks or shareholders, formation and contribution-in-kind audits, reviews of restructuring plans and business valuations.
Audit engagements rarely result from a spontaneous Google search. Usually tax advisers, banks or advisory board members recommend a name, and management then looks at the practice online. Your website must therefore show quickly who audits, with which professional qualification, for which sizes and sectors, and how to get in touch. The mandatory details are explained in Imprint for auditors in Germany, and the limits on self-promotion in Advertising for auditors in Germany.
For the new practice's online presence
- Domain and email address in the practice name before stationery is printed
- A website with services, team, register number and a complete imprint
- A link to your entry in the WPK's public professional register
- A Google Business Profile in the „Wirtschaftsprüfer“ (auditor) category, see Google profile for firms
- A careers page for audit assistants working towards the tax adviser or WP exam; the job ad generator drafts the matching ad
With us, a finished firm website costs €1,800 net, or €3,600 with a content management system, and hosting €30 a month. As a practice entitled to deduct input tax, the net amount is what counts for you. A market comparison is available in What does a firm website cost?.
Examples for audit and tax firms
See what our websites for auditors and tax advisers look like, with services, team and imprint.
