We are aware that the year-end process brings you additional tasks so that your professionals can carry out their mandate properly [1], in connection with your financial statements and the preparation of tax returns.
Here are a few tips and tricks to help you avoid work overload during this period and limit the questions our teams may have during their mandate:
Accumulate supporting documents throughout the year, rather than looking for them only when preparing the year-end file.
You can keep a copy of your documents to send us throughout the year, instead of having to collect them all at year-end. Examples include supporting documents for acquisitions and disposals of fixed assets, tax assessment receipts, official receipts for charitable donations, new leases, and contracts or amendments relating to debts.
Follow up on the list of requested documents
We are sending you a list of documents required to complete our mandate. Please make sure you read it carefully and send us all the documents indicated. If any items are not applicable, please feel free to forward this letter to us with your comments (e.g.: not applicable, none). That way, we’ll know it’s not an oversight on your part, and we’ll be able to limit the number of questions we ask.
Transmission of requested documents
When documents are sent to us via our secure portal, you can create a compressed file (.zip) [2]. In this way, you will only have to upload this compressed file to our portal, avoiding the need to upload each document one at a time. This also avoids the problem of documents not being uploaded if their name contains a special character.
In addition, don’t hesitate to create sub-folders according to major books or sections, and to give your documents proper names so that users know what a document consists of and can find it quickly.
Important reminder about your year-end
We take this opportunity to remind you that the deadline for filing tax returns is 6 months following your fiscal year-end. Tax-paying entities must ensure that they have paid their balance due no later than 2 months after their fiscal year-end at the provincial level, and either 2 months or 3 months at the federal level, depending on the type of company, in order to avoid paying interest on this balance. You must allow time for your data to be processed so that we can send you the balances due in good time.
At any time, if you’re unsure about how to prepare for the end of the year, don’t hesitate to contact a professional at Amyot Gélinas.
An article by Élyse Langevin, CPA auditor
Senior Director – Certification
