You may be thinking “I have all my data on Banklink/Xero, why do you still ask for my records”?
Although our computer system might show the year end balances and amounts, we need extra confirmation from a second source that the information we have is correct, and that nothing is missing, duplicated or miscoded.
Here are some key documents that we need that commonly get missed, and an explanation as to why we need them. Providing these to your accountant will make the job quicker and more efficient!
From the Bank:
- Account statements - shows balance of the bank accounts at financial year end to verify the balances and ensures that we have no duplicate transactions or missing transactions in our system.
- Loan Balances statements– To show the interest and principal breakdown - A lot of the time the payments of interest and principal are paid in lump sums. We split these payments at year end and claim the interest in the P&L and the principal portion gets moved to the balance sheet.
- RWT certificate – All interest earned must be added into the tax returns so we need all RWT certificates from your business entities and in your personal names.
- Term Deposit statements – This shows the balance at financial year end, and confirms the interest received/reinvested.
Dividend Statements for shares owned – Just like interest, Dividend income needs to be returned in the income tax return of the shareholder. Dividends reinvested still need to be declared, as they are “money’s worth” and count as income.
Shareholding statements at balance date – to ensure we have all purchases, sales and dividends reinvested, and to assist us in revaluing the shares at financial year end.
Invoices of assets purchased showing details of price, description, and any trade-ins so we can add these to your asset schedule and depreciate them at the correct rate.
Insurance invoice showing policy breakdown – so we can split out the business portion of insurance to claim, and not overclaim things like your personal home, contents, boat etc!
Repairs and Maintenance for large amounts – It is helpful to have a description of what the repairs were for, and whether they were replacing ‘like with like’ or upgrading.
Settlement statements and S&P agreements if selling property to help us dissect apportionment of commission, rates, legal etc.
Any other key statement or information – The more we know about what happened in your world during the financial year the better! We don’t need every single sales invoice or every receipt, but if you have any material transactions that you think might help us, let us know!
HOT TIP: Important documents often have a habit of getting lost throughout the year! Feel free to send or scan us any document at any stage during the year, which we will file and use when we prepare your annual accounts.
