Preparing for the company year end? Here’s how to be au-dit you can be!

It’s that time again; company ‘year end’… Everyone is getting ready to file their company tax return with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). It’s absolutely vital to have all of your affairs in order, as your corporation tax is based on the financial position of your company at year end. In order to make sure you’re prepared to be all that you can be, follow these top tips from the team at Forbes Young.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail

Now is the time to prepare yourself, your team and your business as you approach year end. Some offices start a countdown months beforehand, whereas others send out regular reminder emails so that the accounts team is doing their bit year round, to ensure year end runs as smoothly as possible.

Make sure you have sufficient resources and an appropriate strategy to tackle all of the challenges that are coming your way. It’s time to chase all of your outstanding purchase orders and invoices and make sure they’re paid in. Any and all expenditures (which should be kept at a minimum) must be processed and put through your system.

Check your chart of accounts

As you know, your chart of accounts (COA) shows which accounts are directly related to your profit loss on your balance sheet. At the year end, the COA controls which accounts will be cleared down ready for the new year. If this isn’t right, it could distort your company’s profit margins and move charges to the wrong account, to name but a few issues. If you aren’t sure, it’s always worth taking advantage of accounting services for small businesses. Mistakes on your COA are not one your business can afford.

Who’s working for you?

HMRC always looks at payroll and expenses to ensure everything checks out, which is why it is important to make sure your employee data is always up to date and accurate. They are particularly interested in National Insurance and Tax. If anything is incorrect, you as an employer will be liable, rather than the employee. All employees should also submit all expenses with receipts, in order to avoid any confusion.

Keep Calm and Carry On

‘Year end’ is stressful for everyone. The pressure is on, so tempers can fray easily, people are more frustrated than usual and stress is threatening to take hold. Do your best to remove yourself from high pressure situations, so you can fully evaluate what is happening, why it has happened and what the resolution will be.

We hope that year end doesn’t cause endless amounts of stress and anxiety in your office this year. Following our top tips should result in you having a relatively peaceful time and submitting your reports, audits and tax returns in a precise and timely manner – we do offer expert accounting services for small businesses, after all.

Of course, if you have any questions or need any further assistance with your year end taxes, please don’t hesitate to contact the team here at Forbes Young!