It is important to ensure that your accounting records are accurate. Reconciling the accounts regularly will help you and your accountant know that your books are complete, accurate and balanced.

You should reconcile your company file records with any source documents and resources available to you. For example, your bank account can be reconciled with your bank statement, suppliers’ balances can be checked against supplier statements and customers’ balances verified. Typical end-of-month procedures include reviewing your trial balance, reviewing your budgets and cash flow and purging information that is no longer needed.

End-of-year procedures are carried out at the end of your financial year and include any adjustments you need to make to your company file so that it agrees with your accountant’s final records before you start a new financial year. If possible, your inventory should be counted, valued and, where necessary, adjusted in your company file. Follow the procedures in this section to close the year and begin a new financial year. By closing the year in your company file, you are effectively bringing the company file up to date and removing information not required in the new year.