"We can't audit or account for it."

What people are really asking

Finance teams worry that if auditors cannot verify an asset, the company will end up with a qualified opinion or a restatement. That worry made sense in the early years. It deserves a current answer.

What is true in the myth

Bitcoin does create new audit questions that cash and bonds do not. An auditor cannot ask a bank for a confirmation letter in the usual way. They need evidence that the company controls the keys, that the balance exists on the network, and that the valuation is reasonable. A company that has not planned for this will have a harder year-end.

Where the myth breaks down

Standards have caught up. In the United States, the accounting standard issued in 2023 (ASU 2023-08) lets companies measure qualifying crypto assets at fair value, with changes shown in earnings, for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Under IFRS, companies have generally applied the intangible assets or inventory standards depending on why they hold the asset. The right treatment depends on your jurisdiction and your facts, and that is a conversation to have with your auditors, not a reason to rule the asset out.

On the evidence side, the Bitcoin ledger is public. An auditor can confirm a balance at an address without trusting the company’s word, provided the company can prove control of that address, typically by signing a message or moving a small test amount. Professional custodians also provide reports that auditors can rely on.

What good looks like

Auditors tend to ask for the same things:

• A policy that says what is held, why and by whom.
• A record of the addresses and the people who can move funds.
• Proof of control at the reporting date.
• A clear valuation method and source of prices.
• Evidence of the controls around approvals.

Prepare these in advance and the audit becomes routine.

What we do with your team

We build the evidence pack with your finance team before the first year-end and brief your auditors early, so there are no surprises. We do not give accounting opinions. Those stay with your qualified advisers.