Year end · 9 min read
Preparing for year end without the panic
A twelve week timetable for stock counts, bank confirmations and the board pack, written for companies with a December year end.
Year end is not a day. It is a season that starts in October and ends when the auditors sign, and the companies that find it painless are the ones that started early. Everything below assumes a 31 December year end and an audit signed by the end of April.
The biggest delays we see are not technical. They are a bank confirmation that never arrived, a stock count nobody planned or a director who is travelling the week the accounts need signing. Most of that can be fixed with a calendar.
- 12 weeks out
Early October
Agree the audit timetable with your auditors and book the stock count date. Decide who in your team owns each schedule.
- 10 weeks out
Mid October
Clean up the balance sheet: clear suspense accounts, chase old debtors, agree intercompany balances with group companies.
- 8 weeks out
Early November
Review the fixed asset register against what is actually on site. Dispose of assets you no longer have.
- 6 weeks out
Mid November
Send bank confirmation requests. Banks are slow in December, so ask now for 31 December balances.
- 4 weeks out
Early December
Issue stock count instructions, train the count teams and arrange cut off procedures with the warehouse.
- Year end
31 December
Count stock, count cash, record the last delivery notes and invoices, and photograph the count sheets.
- 4 weeks after
End of January
Close the books, prepare the draft accounts and schedules on the auditors' list and file the annual PAYE return.
- 8 weeks after
End of February
Fieldwork. Answer queries within 48 hours and keep a shared log so nothing is asked twice.
Ask your bank for the 31 December confirmation in November. In our experience it is the single most common reason audits finish late.
The stock count, done properly
Count on the year end date. Stop movements in and out during the count, or record them carefully. Use pre numbered count sheets, count in pairs, and let one person count while the other records. Your auditor will want to observe and test some counts, so tell them the date early.
What to give your board
A draft set of accounts, a one page summary of the year, a list of judgement calls (provisions, bad debts, stock write downs) and the tax computation. Boards that see the judgement calls early rarely delay the signing.
General guidance for this demo, not advice for your company.