Your public interest score is the sum of four things: one point for each employee on average during the year, one point for every R1 million (or part) of third-party liability at year end, one point for every R1 million (or part) of turnover during the year, and one point for each individual holding a beneficial interest in the company's securities at year end.
It is a simple addition, and it decides three things: whether you need an audit, an independent review or neither; which financial reporting standard applies; and who is allowed to perform your review. Getting it wrong in either direction costs money.
TL;DR
| Component | Points |
|---|---|
| Average number of employees during the year | 1 each |
| Third-party liability at financial year end | 1 per R1m or part |
| Turnover for the financial year | 1 per R1m or part |
| Individuals with beneficial interest in securities at year end | 1 each |
What the total triggers:
| Score | Consequence |
|---|---|
| 350+ | Audit |
| 100–349 | Audit if statements internally compiled; independent review if independently compiled |
| Under 100 | Independent review at most, and often nothing if every shareholder is a director |
Always round up — R4.2 million counts as 5 points.
Calculated at the end of each financial year, and it changes annually.
Working through each component
1. Employees — average during the year
Not the headcount on the last day. The average number of employees during the financial year.
The usual approach is to take the number employed at the end of each month, add them up, and divide by twelve.
Worked example. A business that starts the year with 8 staff, hires 4 in July and loses 1 in November:
| Month | Employees |
|---|---|
| Mar–Jun | 8 (4 months) |
| Jul–Oct | 12 (4 months) |
| Nov–Feb | 11 (4 months) |
(8×4 + 12×4 + 11×4) ÷ 12 = (32 + 48 + 44) ÷ 12 = 10.33 → 10 points
Who counts as an employee follows the ordinary meaning. Genuine independent contractors are not employees — though if you have contractors who would fail the SARS classification tests, you have a larger problem than your PI score. See independent contractor or employee.
2. Third-party liability — at year end
One point per R1 million, or part thereof, of third-party liability at the financial year end.
Third party means owed to someone outside the company. So:
Counts:
Bank loans and overdrafts
Trade creditors
Finance leases and instalment sale agreements
Amounts owed to SARS
Accruals owed to outside parties
Generally does not count:
Shareholder loans from the company's own shareholders — these are not third-party liabilities. This matters enormously for owner-funded businesses and is the component most often overstated.
Worked example. Total liabilities R6.8 million, of which R2.4 million is a director's loan account.
Third-party liability = R6.8m − R2.4m = R4.4 million → 5 points (round up).
Counting the full R6.8 million would have given 7 points. Two points may not sound like much, but near a threshold it matters.
3. Turnover — for the financial year
One point per R1 million, or part thereof, of turnover for the year.
Turnover means revenue from ordinary operations. R18,600,000 becomes 19 points, not 18 — always round up.
Use the figure from your financial statements, not your VAT201s. VAT returns are on tax periods and include some items differently.
4. Individuals with a beneficial interest
One point for each individual who, at the end of the year, has a direct or indirect beneficial interest in the company's issued securities.
The word doing the work is individual — meaning a natural person, and looking through structures rather than stopping at them.
Worked example. A company with three registered shareholders: two individuals and a family trust with four beneficiaries.
You look through the trust to the natural persons behind it. That is 2 + 4 = 6 points, not 3.
For a close corporation, it is the number of members. For a non-profit company, the number of members.
A full worked calculation
A manufacturing company, February year end:
| Component | Detail | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Employees | Average 34 over the year | 34 |
| Third-party liability | R11.2m total, less R3.5m shareholder loans = R7.7m | 8 |
| Turnover | R42.4 million | 43 |
| Beneficial interest holders | 2 individuals + 3 trust beneficiaries | 5 |
| Public interest score | 90 |
At 90, this company falls under 100 — so an independent review at most, and if every shareholder is also a director, potentially neither.
Notice how close it is. Add R10 million of turnover next year and the score crosses 100, changing the requirement entirely.
What your score triggers
Assurance level
| Score | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 350 or more | Audit |
| 100 – 349, internally compiled statements | Audit |
| 100 – 349, independently compiled statements | Independent review |
| Under 100 | Independent review |
All of the above is subject to the owner-managed exemption in section 30(2A), where every shareholder is also a director. See does your company need an audit or an independent review.
Who may perform the review
Score 100 or above — a registered auditor, or a member of a professional body accredited by IRBA
Score below 100 — any person qualified to be appointed as an accounting officer of a close corporation
Financial reporting standard
The score, together with whether the statements are audited, feeds into which reporting framework applies — full IFRS, IFRS for SMEs, or in limited cases another appropriate basis.
CIPC filing
Companies that do not submit annual financial statements with their CIPC annual return must complete the Financial Accountability Supplement, which asks for these figures.
The four mistakes that inflate the score
1. Counting shareholder loans as third-party liability. The most common and most expensive error. An owner-funded business can easily add five or ten unnecessary points this way.
2. Using year-end headcount instead of the average. A business that grew from 4 to 20 during the year has an average nearer 12 than 20.
3. Counting registered shareholders instead of individuals with beneficial interest. This one usually goes the other way and understates the score, because you must look through trusts and holding structures to the natural persons.
4. Rounding down. R4.1 million is 5 points, not 4. Every partial million counts as a full point.
When your score is close to a threshold
If you are sitting near 100 or 350, three things are worth doing before year-end rather than after.
Calculate it in month ten, not month thirteen. If you are heading for 105 and an audit you did not budget for, knowing in December gives you options that knowing in March does not.
Check who compiled the statements. In the 100–349 band this is the whole decision. Having an independent accountant compile the statements turns an audit requirement into a review requirement, and a review costs a fraction of an audit.
Verify your third-party liability split. Reclassifying shareholder loans correctly is not planning — it is accuracy — but it can legitimately move you below a threshold.
A word of caution: the score is what it is. Deliberately structuring transactions to fall below a threshold is a different exercise entirely, and it is not what this is about. Calculate it correctly, then plan around the correct answer.
Frequently asked questions
What is a public interest score? A number calculated at the end of each financial year under Regulation 26(2) of the Companies Regulations, made up of employees, third-party liability, turnover and holders of beneficial interest. It determines whether a company requires an audit, an independent review or neither, and which financial reporting standard applies.
How do I calculate my public interest score? Add one point for each employee on average during the year, one point for every R1 million or part thereof of third-party liability at year end, one point for every R1 million or part thereof of turnover during the year, and one point for each individual with a direct or indirect beneficial interest in the company's issued securities at year end.
Do shareholder loans count towards the public interest score? Loans from the company's own shareholders are generally not third-party liabilities, so they do not count. This is the most common error in the calculation and it inflates the score, sometimes pushing a company into a higher assurance requirement unnecessarily.
Is turnover rounded up or down for the public interest score? Up. The regulation says one point per R1 million "or part thereof", so R18.6 million counts as 19 points and R4.1 million counts as 5.
What public interest score requires an audit? 350 or more. Between 100 and 349, an audit is required only where the annual financial statements were internally compiled; where they were independently compiled, an independent review is sufficient.
Do I count shareholders or the people behind them? Individuals with a direct or indirect beneficial interest. That means looking through trusts and holding structures to the natural persons behind them, so a company with two individual shareholders and a trust with four beneficiaries scores 6, not 3.
How often is the public interest score calculated? At the end of every financial year. It changes as the business grows, so a company exempt this year may not be next year.
Does a dormant company have a public interest score? Yes, but it will be very low — typically just the number of shareholders, since there are no employees, no turnover and usually no third-party liabilities.
Know the number before it decides for you
The score is easy to calculate and easy to get wrong, and the error is usually in the same direction — overstating third-party liability and buying an assurance level you did not need.
Smartbook calculates the public interest score as part of preparing annual financial statements, confirms which assurance level actually applies, and flags in advance when growth is about to push you over a threshold.
Last reviewed: 26 July 2026. Written by the Smartbook team — SAIPA and SAICA accredited, SARS registered tax practitioners. The public interest score is set out in Regulation 26(2) of the Companies Regulations 2011 and involves fact-specific application. Worked examples are illustrative. General guidance, not advice on your circumstances.
Primary sources: Companies Act 71 of 2008 and Companies Regulations 2011 · CIPC · IRBA