Time to take stock and present your accounts? For companies with double-entry accounting the time comes once a year to close the fiscal year in accounting terms with the balance sheet, income statement and annex to the financial statement, providing a true and accurate view of the economic situation and the success of the business. In most cases, this comes at the end of the year, unless the fiscal year does not run from the beginning of January to the end of December.
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Created on 19.11.2021
Annual financial statements: tips for SMEs – a checklist
Does your company need to prepare its annual financial statements? Our checklist tells you which documents you need to provide.
The SME checklist for the annual financial statement
Our “Annual financial statements” checklist supports SMEs in their preparations. It can be expanded to include other activities depending on the company's situation. You or your fiduciary will need the following lists, statements or information:
Liquid assets
- Cash holdings or signed cash book
- statements Swiss Post and bank accounts as per the balance sheet date
Receivables
- All open customer balances relating to the financial year
- Other balances
- Prepayments to suppliers
- Reimbursement from suppliers or insurance companies
- Other balances (deposits, bonuses, etc.)
Prepaid expenses
- Prepaid expenses in the old fiscal year that relate to the new fiscal year –
e.g. rent, insurance - Income not yet received relating to the former fiscal year
Note on prepaid expenses and deferred charges
They are always a topic of discussion: prepaid expenses and deferred charges. They are important because all expenses and income must be recorded in the income statement on an accrual basis.
For example, if an expense was posted to a period that affects the next period, this must be corrected. The correction is made in the annual financial statement with accrued expenses and deferred income or transitory postings.
Inventories
- Inventory: all existing inventories on the balance sheet date
- Semi-finished and finished goods, material values and working hours
- Work started, material values and working hours
Short-term debt capital
Accounts payable: list of all unpaid supplier invoices relating to the previous fiscal year.
Deferred charges
- Invoices that are still outstanding from the previous fiscal year that are not expected until the new fiscal year (e.g. supplier invoices, telephone bills, AHV back payments, etc.).
- Income received too early that already relates to the next fiscal year
Long-term debt capital
- Loans: stock and interest statements
- Mortgages: statements, interest statements
Various information
- AHV final statements
- UVG final statements
- OPA final statements
- Salary statements
- VAT statements
Information on the annex to the financial statement (for legal entities)
- Information in the annex to the financial statement – guarantees, guarantee obligations
- Restrictions on ownership of assets such as e.g. debtor assignment, pledged securities custody account, borrower's notes on real estate
- Open leasing liabilities
- Fire insurance values of property, plant and equipment
- Shareholdings
- Obligations issued
- Obligations to pension funds
- Information on treasury shares held by the company
Keep an eye on important deadlines
Whether for payments at the counter, electronic payment orders, electronic credit advices or SWIFT MT101: please note the PostFinance end-of-year processing deadlines.
