Year-End Closing Checklist for Timor-Leste Companies
Closing the books at year end is one of those tasks that feels large until you break it into steps. For a company in Timor-Leste, a tidy year-end close gives you accurate financial statements, a clean starting point for the new year, and far less stress when it is time to report.
This checklist walks through the work in a sensible order. None of it is glamorous, but doing it carefully now saves a great deal of trouble later.
Reconcile everything
Start by making sure your records match reality.
Reconcile every bank account, so what your books say matches the bank’s statements down to the last dollar. Do the same for any cash on hand, petty cash and credit accounts. Unreconciled balances are where errors hide, and year end is the time to flush them out.
Check your accounts receivable and accounts payable. Confirm that the people who owe you money are correctly recorded, and chase anything genuinely outstanding. Confirm that what you owe suppliers is accurate too. Clear out any duplicates or amounts that were settled but never marked as paid.
If you hold stock, count it. A physical stocktake at year end tells you what you actually have, which is often different from what the system thinks. Adjust the records to match the count.
Review the numbers for sense
Once everything reconciles, step back and read your accounts critically.
Go through your profit and loss line by line. Does each figure look right for the year? A category that is far higher or lower than expected usually points to a miscoding, where a transaction landed in the wrong account. Catching these now keeps your reporting honest.
Look over the balance sheet too. Confirm that your assets, liabilities and equity all make sense. Check that loans show the correct balance, that any prepayments and accruals are recorded, and that owner drawings or contributions are properly separated from business activity.
Make sure your tax position is consistent. Over the year you have lodged a monthly tax return each month, covering things like Wage Income Tax withheld at 10% on resident wages above $500, Services Tax where it applies at 5% on hospitality and telecom turnover above $500, withholding tax on payments such as rent and certain services, and social security with its employer and employee portions. Check that what your books show ties back to what you reported and paid. Any gap is best found and explained now, not later.
Tidy up and document
With the figures reviewed, finish the housekeeping.
Confirm that payroll is fully recorded for the year, including all wages, the tax withheld and the social security contributions. Make sure nothing from the final pay period of the year has slipped into the next.
File your supporting documents. Every significant figure should have an invoice, receipt or statement behind it, stored where you can find it. A well-organised set of records turns any future review into a simple task rather than a search.
Write down anything unusual. If you made a judgement call, took on a new type of transaction, or made a one-off adjustment, a short note explaining it will be worth its weight next year when nobody remembers the detail.
Close the year and look ahead
Once you are satisfied the numbers are right, lock the period so the closed year cannot be changed by accident. This protects the figures you have just worked to get right.
Then set up the new year cleanly. Carry forward the correct opening balances, review your chart of accounts and trim anything you no longer use, and bring forward the routines that worked well.
Finally, use what you have learned. Your closed accounts are a clear picture of how the year actually went, where money was made and where it leaked. A short review with your accountant turns that picture into a plan, so the new year starts not just with clean books, but with a clearer direction.
This article is general information, not advice. Rules and rates change and your situation may differ. Talk to us before acting on anything here.