Traditionally, accountants do a number of tasks in completing a set of accounts & tax returns. Here are a few of them. (Note that some of them may not apply to all businesses. For example, sole traders would not have to submit accounts to Companies House. If you don’t hold stock, then stock-takes and stock adjustments would be irrelevant… and so on)
- Check the opening balances agree to the previous year’s accounts
- Ensure that all the bookkeeping is complete
- Ensure that the bank account(s) reconcile to the statements
- Check the Petty Cash balances
- Reconcile the PAYE scheme
- Check the debtors
- Check the creditors
- Check for obvious mis-codings and non-business expenses/income
- Reconcile the VAT account
- Carry out a stock-take/carry out a stock adjustment
- Account for fixed assets & depreciation
- Clear suspense
- Prepare prepayments & accruals
- Tax computations
- Prepare draft accounts & tax return
- Meet with client to discuss accounts & tax
- Submit authorised accounts to Companies House
- Submit tax return to HMRC
