Completeness of documents
We check sales and purchase invoices, bank and cash transactions, expense reports, contracts, payroll records and other supporting documents.
Year-end accounting
Preparation of annual financial statements
Document review, reconciliations, inventory results and management information brought together in a complete, verifiable year-end report.
A reliable report starts with complete accounting records
An annual financial statement cannot be prepared from bank statements or summary figures alone. Transactions, payroll, taxes, fixed assets, income and expenses must be recorded in the correct period and supported by documents.
Account reconciliation
We reconcile banks, receivables, payables, taxes, employee settlements and other material balance-sheet items.
Management information
Management provides information about commitments, risks and events that are not evident from the accounting records alone.
A practical year-end process
The work is divided into clear stages so that every unresolved matter has an owner and a documented outcome.
1. Closing checklist
We list the accounts, documents and returns to be reviewed and record what information is still outstanding.
2. Inventory
The company verifies its assets and liabilities, prepares inventory records and documents any differences found.
3. Review and adjustments
We compare report items with the accounting registers, assess explanations and prepare justified corrections where required.
4. Approval and filing
Management reviews and approves the final report, which is then signed, filed through EDS and retained with proof of submission.
Information management should prepare
Some year-end matters require business knowledge and decisions that an external accountant cannot supply on the company’s behalf.
Receivables and payables
Information on disputed, overdue or unreconciled balances, as well as payment arrangements with business partners.
Inventory and fixed assets
Inventory results, acquisition and disposal documents, dates placed in service and information on damaged or unused assets.
Contracts and commitments
Loans, leases, guarantees, long-term contracts, legal disputes and other obligations that may affect the report.
Events after the reporting date
Material events after year-end that may require disclosure or affect the assessment of the company’s ability to continue operating.
Key year-end control points
A high-quality report is not just a completed form. Every material balance should be supported, reconciled and understandable.
Cash, bank accounts and settlements
Bank balances are matched to statements, cash is verified by inventory, and unexplained payments or old balances are investigated.
Taxes and returns
Tax accounts are reconciled with EDS and filed returns. Material differences are explained before the report is completed.
Accruals and liabilities
We review income and expenses attributable to another period, unused leave, loans, leases, guarantees and other contractual obligations.
Common obstacles
The report form itself is rarely what delays the work. More often, the obstacles are unreconciled balances, missing invoices, incomplete inventory records, unexplained payments or differences between tax returns and the accounting registers. These matters must be investigated and documented, not replaced with unsupported estimates.
Management remains responsible for organising the accounting function, retaining documents, arranging the inventory and preparing the annual financial statements. Even when an external provider prepares the report, management’s involvement and approval of the underlying information remain essential.
From accounting data to approved financial statements
The draft statements are an intermediate result. Before filing, the figures must pass review, management assessment and formal approval.
Preparing the draft financial statements
The balance sheet, income statement and any other components required for the company are prepared from the closed general ledger. The notes explain the accounting policies and material items in enough detail for a reader to understand what the figures represent, not merely their totals.
Management review and judgements
Management reviews the result and provides information on going concern, material risks and events after the reporting date. Judgements about recoverability of a debt, continued use of an asset or the likelihood of a liability must be supported by information available to the company.
Approval and filing
After the necessary checks, the annual financial statements are signed and approved under the company’s governance procedure and then filed through EDS. The company archive should retain the final version, approval documents and filing confirmation so the official version remains identifiable.
Connection with the next reporting year
Approved closing balances become the opening data for the next year. An unsupported year-end adjustment therefore affects not only one report but also future accounting, tax calculations and management information. Every correction must remain documented and traceable.
Situations requiring additional attention
Unusual transactions are not necessarily incorrect, but they generally require more complete evidence and a separate assessment.
Transactions with owners and related parties
For loans, employee advances, use of property and other dealings with owners or related parties, we review the agreements, payments, commercial rationale and tax effect. A personal payment does not become a business expense merely because it was made from the company’s bank account.
Foreign transactions and currencies
We check the VAT treatment, counterparty status, place of supply, currency conversion and year-end valuation of foreign-currency balances. The language of an invoice or a payment through a foreign bank does not by itself determine the transaction’s tax treatment.
Long-standing unresolved balances
An old receivable, employee advance, overpayment or unreconciled supplier balance is not correct simply because it has been carried forward for several years. The original documents must be recovered, settlements reconciled and a reasoned decision made about the appropriate accounting treatment.
Prepare your annual report from verified data
FinServices can organise the year-end records, reconcile balances, collect the required information and prepare the report for filing.
Frequently asked questions about annual financial statements
Answers about documents, inventory, reconciliations and management’s role.
Where does preparation of the annual report begin?
It begins by checking that the year’s transactions have been recorded, reconciling material balances and reviewing the inventory results.
Which documents are most often missing at year-end?
Common gaps include invoices, payment explanations, reconciliation statements, fixed-asset documents, contracts, inventory records and information about events after year-end.
Can the report be prepared if day-to-day accounting is incomplete?
An initial review can begin, but material gaps must be resolved before filing. Records may need to be restored and earlier returns corrected.
What is management’s role in the annual report?
Management provides documents, organises the inventory, supplies information on commitments and risks, makes the required assessments and approves the report.
Who is responsible for the inventory?
Company management is responsible for organising it. The accountant can prepare lists and record the results, but the actual verification is performed by persons appointed by the company.
Should receivables and payables be reconciled?
Material balances should be checked and, where appropriate, confirmed with business partners. Differences must be supported by invoices, payments, offsets or other documents.
What if an unrecorded invoice is found after year-end?
The transaction’s correct accounting period, materiality and effect on tax returns must be assessed. The date the invoice was received is not always the period to which it belongs.
Is the annual report only a balance sheet and income statement?
No. The required components depend on the company’s category and may include notes, a management report, a cash-flow statement and a statement of changes in equity.