A statutory audit is the audit of the financial statements as required by the laws of each country. Every country has specific regulations and laws in place (thresholds etc). For example, in the US, companies that are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or in other words companies that are listed need to have an annual statutory audit. In addition, there are sectors such as the financial services sector where a company might be required to have an audit regardless of the profit or the assets or the size.