Audit Lowe Down – Large proprietary limited – are you one? Tips and traps for your assessment

Lowe Lippmann Chartered Accountants

Large proprietary limited – are you one? Tips and traps for your assessment.


In Australia, being classified as a large proprietary limited company means that you have to prepare, and lodge audited financial statements with ASIC under the Corporations Act 2001 (the Act), however many companies are not necessarily applying the thresholds appropriately.

A proprietary company is large if it meets at least 2 of the following thresholds:

  • Consolidated revenue ≥ $50 million
  • Consolidated gross assets ≥ $25 million
  • 100 or more employees.

These thresholds seem simple, however some points to note:

  • The calculations must be performed applying ALL accounting standards so even if you are preparing special purpose financial statements, then you will need to assess these thresholds as if you were applying all standards, including:
  • AASB 16 Leases – this standard would add a right of use asset to your balance sheet potentially significantly increasing your gross assets.
  • AASB 10 Consolidated Financial Statements – if you have controlled entities then the inclusion of their income statement and balance sheet may significantly increase each of the thresholds.
  • AASB 128 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures / AASB 11 Joint Arrangements – if you have entities over which you have significant influence or joint control then applying equity accounting or including your share of assets and revenue would affect the thresholds.
  • In determining the number of employees, the Act is clear that it is all full-time and part-time employees (on a pro-rata basis), however casual employees need to be considered. For example, are they genuinely casual with varying hours / shifts each week or are they in substance a permanent member of your team but just employed on a casual basis.
  • The thresholds need to be met at the end of the financial year and therefore entities should track their performance during the year so they are aware if they will meet the definition of a large proprietary company at year end.


Please do not hesitate to contact your Lowe Lippmann Relationship Partner if you wish to discuss any of these matters further.

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation


August 26, 2025
How do we account for the costs incurred when acquiring an asset? When we acquire an asset such as property, plant and equipment, intangibles or inventory there are often significant other costs incurred as part of the purchase process, including delivery, stamp duty, installation fees. Whether we capitalise these to the value of the asset or expense them as incurred can make a significant difference to an entity’s reported position or performance. Since we have accounting standards for specific assets, the treatment can vary depending on the asset and the relevant standard. A summary of some common expenses and their treatment under four accounting standards has been included below. The four standards considered are: AASB 102 Inventories AASB 116 Property, Plant and Equipment AASB 138 Intangible Assets AASB 140 Investment Property.
August 12, 2025
What are contract assets and contract liabilities that arise under the revenue accounting standards? Deferred revenue, accrued revenue, revenue received in advance, contract assets, contract costs asset, contract liabilities and receivables are all line items we see in the balance sheet in relation to revenue. It can be confusing to understand what these terms mean and whether different words are being used for the same thing.  We have provided a guidance to these and similar terms to enable you to use them confidently and understand their meaning in a balance sheet.
August 6, 2025
Paid parental leave changes have now commenced As from 1 July 2025, the amount of Paid Parental Leave available to families increased to 24 weeks, and the amount of Paid Parental Leave that parents can take off at the same time has also increased from two weeks to four weeks. Superannuation will now also be paid on Government Paid Parental Leave from 1 July 2025, at the new super guarantee rate of 12%, paid as a contribution to their nominated superannuation fund. Parents will also benefit from an increase in the weekly payment rate of Paid Parental Leave, increasing from $915.80 to $948.10 (in line with the increase to the National Minimum wage). This means a total increase of $775.20 over the 24-week entitlement.
More Posts