End of Financial Year Checklist for Bookkeepers 2026
Close your client’s books with a year-end checklist for bookkeepers covering reconciliations, ATO obligations and the accountant’s handover.
- Published
- Updated
An end of financial year checklist for bookkeepers takes an existing client’s books from reconciled balances to a supported accountant handover. Assign each task, retain its evidence and leave every unresolved balance with an owner before you call the file ready for review.
Assign the Year-End Checklist
Confirm which entity and reporting year you are closing before you change the file. Record the engagement scope, the reporting basis for the financial reports and the GST accounting basis separately. Agree who prepares the work, who reviews it and what the accountant expects at handover.
Use the existing client record and prior approved closing reports. This is an annual close, so request only evidence missing from that work. The small business tax checklist covers the broader client-facing records request.
Copy the table into your working papers and replace each role with the responsible person’s name. Start each applicable row as open. Record not applicable with a reason where the client has no relevant obligation. Change a row to reviewed only when its reviewer has checked the linked evidence.
| Ordered task | Evidence to retain | Responsible person | Review status | Unresolved question |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Confirm the close scope | Entity, period, engagement and agreed report bases | Bookkeeper and accountant | Open until scope agreed | Who approves adjustments? |
| 2. Reconcile cash and borrowing | Bank, card and loan statements with reconciliation reports | Bookkeeper | Open until differences explained | Which item causes a difference? |
| 3. Review other closing balances | Debtor, creditor and suspense schedules with cut-off checks | Bookkeeper | Open until reviewed | Which balance lacks support? |
| 4. Check GST and BAS, if applicable | Lodged statements, GST reconciliation and ATO account record | Registered agent assigned to BAS work | Open until status checked | Which period needs correction or lodgement? |
| 5. Check PAYG obligations, if applicable | Withholding reconciliation and instalment notices | Responsible registered agent | Open until reconciled | Which payment or credit remains unmatched? |
| 6. Review payroll reporting for employers | Payroll totals, STP status and correction record | Authorised payroll practitioner | Open until reporting reviewed | Which employee difference remains? |
| 7. Check super for employers | Liability schedule, payment evidence and fund receipt records | Bookkeeper and responsible practitioner | Open until timing reviewed | Is any contribution late, rejected or unpaid? |
| 8. Check contractor reporting, if required | TPAR eligibility decision, payment report and receipt | Practitioner authorised for that work | Open until applicability recorded | Is a report or non-lodgment advice needed? |
| 9. Prepare adjustment decisions | Asset and inventory records, proposed journals and approvals | Bookkeeper and accountant | Open until decisions assigned | Which treatment needs approval? |
| 10. Deliver and record completion | Final report set, exception list and reviewer sign-off | Preparer and reviewer | Ready for review or finalised | Who follows up each remaining task? |
The ATO rows are an operational ATO checklist for bookkeepers. They do not give every bookkeeper authority to perform every listed service. The TPB’s BAS service guidance distinguishes ordinary bank reconciliations from work that interprets or applies a BAS provision.
BAS services for a fee or reward require registration unless an exemption applies. If you work under a registered agent’s instruction and supervision, retain that arrangement and its limits. Refer income-tax advice and decisions beyond your authority to the responsible tax agent.
Reconcile the Closing Balances
Match each bank, credit-card and loan balance to an independent statement for the closing period. Check the statement’s coverage and opening balance before relying on its closing figure. Explain genuine timing items with the transaction reference and evidence of later clearance.
Run the aged debtors and creditors at the same reporting cut-off as the balance sheet. Investigate outstanding invoices, missing bills and payments applied to the wrong account. Check for duplicates and transactions dated into the wrong year before accepting a total.
Keep an exception record for differences you cannot resolve immediately. These checks help you choose the next action.
| Symptom | Check | Action before completion |
|---|---|---|
| An old receivable remains unpaid | Match the invoice to receipts, credits and client correspondence | Correct a supported allocation error or refer recoverability and any proposed write-off to the authorised reviewer |
| A bank payment has no match | Trace its reference to the bill, payroll record or transfer destination | Obtain evidence and record the correct entry within your authority |
| An opening balance differs from last year | Compare the prior approved trial balance with subsequent journals and conversion records | Identify the intervening change and refer any unexplained amount to the accountant |
| Suspense contains an unexplained amount | Trace the original posting and any duplicate or reversal | Resolve from evidence or retain it as an open exception with an owner |
Never insert a balancing entry solely to remove a difference. Record the source report, amount and explanation for each remaining item. A nil reconciliation difference is useful only when the items behind it are supported.
Check the ATO Reporting Work
Reconcile the client’s reporting status as well as the balances in the books. Use the authorised client record to identify registrations, reporting frequencies and outstanding obligations. Compare it with the engagement so each task has someone authorised to complete it.
For each applicable period, match the lodged activity statement to the ledger and supporting reconciliation. Match payments and credits to the ATO account record. Record whether a difference is timing, an unposted transaction or a matter needing correction by the responsible practitioner.
GST reporting applies according to the client’s registration and reporting obligations. PAYG withholding concerns amounts withheld from payments, including applicable employee payments. PAYG instalments are prepayments towards income tax and need their own reconciliation.
The ATO’s business activity statement guidance links to lodging, correction and payment rules. Use the actual due date shown for the client’s statement and any applicable concession or deferral. For the recurring preparation work, follow the BAS checklist.
Contractor-payment reporting depends on the client’s services and applicable reporting rules. Paying a contractor alone does not make every business a TPAR reporter. Use the ATO’s TPAR eligibility and reporting guidance to record whether reporting applies and follow its official deadline details.
Review Payroll Before Finalisation
Reconcile payroll for the selected reporting year before the authorised person finalises STP. Match employee totals to payroll reports and compare wages, withholding and super balances with the ledger. Reconcile net payments to the bank, explaining deductions and unpaid amounts separately.
Check whether all relevant employees and pay runs appear in the reporting totals. Record any correction, its responsible practitioner and the evidence that the corrected report was accepted. A completed STP finalisation does not complete the separate activity statement obligation.
Use the STP finalisation procedure for the declaration, applicable timing and corrections. Keep the authorised employer or agent responsible for execution in the checklist. Detailed payroll journals belong in the payroll accounting procedure.
For super, keep the ledger liability, payment release and fund receipt as separate records. A bank debit alone does not establish that the fund received and allocated the contribution on time. Check rejected or returned payments as well as amounts still unpaid.
Apply the super rules for the period you are closing. Where Payday Super applies, fund receipt timeframes and any permitted extension affect the review. The ATO’s Payday Super guidance links to the governing payment rules. Send a possible shortfall to the responsible practitioner with the employee, amount and payment evidence.
Prepare the Accountant’s Adjustment List
List decisions the accountant needs to make alongside the records supporting each balance. Match asset purchases and disposals to invoices and finance agreements. Reconcile inventory records to the stocktake and identify any unexplained quantity or value difference.
Check prepayments and accruals within the agreed bookkeeping scope. Give the accountant the underlying period and calculation for each proposed adjustment. Flag private-use amounts, unsupported balances and entity-specific transactions for an explicit decision.
Separate a supported bookkeeping correction from an accountant-approved year-end journal. Correcting a duplicate bill from its original evidence is different from deciding tax depreciation or the treatment of a director’s transaction. Retain the approving person, journal reference and source calculation for every approved journal you post.
Keep rejected and deferred proposals in the decision record so another person can see why the balance remains unchanged. For a company, the subsequent company tax compliance work starts from these supported records and the accountant’s decisions.
Hand Over a File the Accountant Can Review
Deliver one report set with a closing trial balance, balance sheet and profit and loss for the agreed period and basis. Include reconciliation summaries and the relevant source records. The exception list must identify each amount, its owner and the next action.
This fictional handover shows a resolved difference and a balance still awaiting a decision. The amounts are invented accounting balances, not service fees.
| Handover item | Source and trace | Resolution or next action | Status and owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank balance of $24,850 | Closing bank statement and corrected bank reconciliation both show $24,850 | Ledger previously showed $25,000. A $150 bank fee on the statement was missing. Posting it reduced cash by $150 and increased bank-fee expense by $150 | Resolved by preparer, checked by reviewer |
| Receivables of $8,000 | Closing aged receivables report totals $8,000 and agrees with the trial balance | One $1,200 invoice remains unpaid within that total. Retain the invoice and collection correspondence. Accountant decides whether an adjustment is required | Open with accountant. Bookkeeper obtains the client’s collection update |
The bank difference is $25,000 minus $24,850, or $150, and the correction removes that difference. The $1,200 receivable remains within the $8,000 balance until a supported decision changes it. The handover is ready for accountant review, with that question open.
Share through the agreed secure document route and invite the accountant with named permissions appropriate to the work. Record the client’s authority where required. Confirm that the recipient can open the reports and supporting records without sharing another person’s login.
Record Completion Before the Next Year
Record the preparer’s completion and the reviewer’s approval separately. Use ready for accountant review while decisions remain open. Mark the close finalised only when the authorised reviewer accepts the reports and the remaining-task record.
After approved journals are posted, rerun the affected reports and reconciliations. Replace the handover report set with that version and retain the journal approvals. Confirm that its closing balances agree with the balances carried into the next period.
Apply software period locks only after the authorised reviewer agrees. Follow the documentation for the client’s actual product and edition.
- Xero’s year-end procedure does not require a formal year-end close or roll-up journal. Its lock dates restrict changes to transactions dated on or before the selected date. An authorised user can change or remove a lock.
- MYOB’s financial-year tasks describe separate browser and desktop procedures. Starting a new financial year and locking a period are distinct actions. Use the instructions for the edition in use before proceeding.
Retain the report version, preparer and reviewer names, approval record and lock setting with the working papers. Carry open tasks forward with their original explanations and owners. Give the person following up the client a next action and agreed follow-up date before the file leaves your queue.
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