The “new” Turkish Commercial Code which entered into force on 1 July 2012 introduced obligatory independent auditing requirements for some limited and joint stock companies as determined by the Turkish Council of Ministers. However, following harsh criticism of the criteria that determined which companies were subject to audits, the criteria have now been amended.

According to the previous decree of the Council of Ministers, joint stock and/or limited companies which met at least two of the following three criteria on their own or together with their subsidiaries and affiliates were defined by the Council of Ministers as being subject to an independent audit. These criteria were:

1. Total assets in the amount of TL 50 million or more;
2. Annual net sales revenue of TL 100 million or more;
3. 200 employees or more.

On 19 March 2016, the criteria were therefore amended by way of the new decree and accordingly, the number of companies which are obliged to fulfil independent auditing requirements has now increased.

The new criteria are as follows:

1. Total assets in the amount of TL 40 million or more;
2. Annual net sales revenue of TL 80 million or more;
3. 200 employees or more [i.e. unchanged].

Dr Gökçe Uzar Schüller, lawyer, Munich and Istanbul