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A public interest score is a requirement of the Companies Act (71 of 2008) in order to determine the type of annual financial statements the company needs to prepare and the reporting standards that apply to those financial statements. A company scores 1 point for each employee, 1 point for each R1 million of debt to third parties, 1 point for each R1 million of annual turnover and 1 point for every shareholder. The total of these points is the company's public interest score. If it is less than 100 and the company is owner-managed then the financials can be compiled internally and only require an independent review. The Act distinguishes between owner-managed companies and those companies which are not managed by their owners. It also distinguishes between companies where the financials are compiled internally and those where the financials are compiled by a third party. Companies with a score of between 100 and 349 must be audited if their financials are prepared internally and those with a score above 350 must be audited and their financials must be compiled externally. An independent review is far cheaper than an audit so smaller companies should always choose that option. Companies listed on the JSE normally have a score well above 350 and so require and external audit.

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