Why a checklist saves weeks
Year-end closing is not difficult. It is repetitive, document-heavy, and unforgiving of gaps. The companies that close cleanly in February are the ones that organised paperwork in November. The companies that scramble in April are still tracking down a missing invoice.
Use the list below in November or December. Anything you cannot find by January 15 will become a real problem.
Transactions to reconcile
Every figure in the financial statements traces back to a source document. Reconcile these first.
- Bank statementsAll accounts, all 12 months, matched to bookkeeping.
- Sales invoicesSequential, with no missing numbers; aged receivables identified.
- Purchase invoicesOriginal tax invoices for input VAT claims; matched to payments.
- Petty cashCounted and reconciled to ledger as of December 31.
- Loans and credit linesYear-end balances confirmed by bank letter where possible.
Inventory and fixed assets
A physical count of inventory and a walkthrough of fixed assets need to happen close to year-end. Not on paper — physically. Differences become write-offs or write-ups, and either requires documentation.
For fixed assets, identify anything obsolete, missing, or no longer in use. Disposing properly at year-end is cleaner than disposing mid-next-year.
Accruals and provisions
Year-end is when accruals get caught up. Bonuses owed but unpaid. Utilities consumed but unbilled. Severance provisions. Bad debt provisions. Each requires evidence of the underlying obligation.
Schedule a 60-minute call with your CPA in mid-November to review this list together. The hour you spend in November saves five hours of back-and-forth in January.
Filings on the horizon
Once books close, three filings follow: audited financial statements (engaged auditor required), PND.50 corporate income tax return, and DBD annual filing. Each has its own deadline cadence — your CPA tracks them so you do not have to.