Year-end closing checklist for SMEs: five workstreams over six weeks

Every year, Corvane's Accounting & Outsourcing team supports thousands of year-end closing files. Experience shows that most late adjustments stem from tasks that could have been done earlier: confirming balances, counting inventory and reviewing invoices. Below is a suggested six-week timetable starting in mid-November.

Weeks 1–2: Cash and balances

• Reconcile all bank accounts, including dormant and foreign currency accounts.
• Send balance confirmations to customers and suppliers with significant balances, and track response rates.
• Review overdue employee advances and request repayment or settlement.
• List doubtful receivables to assess provisioning under the company's accounting policies.

Weeks 2–3: Inventory and assets

• Plan the stock count: timing, participants and the cut-off method for receipts and issues.
• Identify slow-moving and damaged stock to assess net realisable value.
• Count fixed assets and reconcile them with the asset register; write off assets disposed of but not yet derecognised.

Weeks 3–4: Invoices and revenue

• Reconcile output e-invoices with recorded revenue, particularly for late-December transactions.
• Review input invoices: seller details, invoice status and payment evidence.
• Apply the correct cut-off for consignment goods, goods in transit and services in progress.

Weeks 4–5: Expenses and provisions

• Accrue costs incurred but not yet invoiced: utilities, service fees and year-end bonuses.
• Amortise prepaid expenses and tools over their useful lives.
• Review expenses lacking adequate supporting documents so they can be adjusted proactively at finalisation.

Week 6: Payroll, tax and reporting

• Reconcile payroll with employment contracts, social insurance and personal income tax withheld.
• Reconcile taxes declared and paid with the ledgers, noting any differences that need explanation.
• Prepare a trial balance and analyse unusual movements against the prior year before finalising the statements.

“Year-end closing is not a sprint in the last week of December. Businesses that split the work into workstreams and progress steadily from November usually end up with cleaner statements and fewer adjustments at tax finalisation.” — Ms Nguyen Hoai An, Partner, Accounting & Outsourcing, Corvane Advisory

This timetable is indicative; businesses can shorten or extend it depending on transaction volumes and the accounting policies they apply. Clients using Corvane Portal can download this checklist as a template and track the progress of each item online.

Three common mistakes

• Counting inventory after the closing date without preparing a roll-back to 31 December.
• Missing accruals, making this year's profit unusually high and next year's unusually low.
• Not keeping balance confirmation records, which makes large balances harder to explain.