For many New Zealand businesses, the Financial Year ends on the 31st of March, including my own business. For most farms, the year-end is the 31st of May or the 30th of June to fit with the farming season.
This is a busy time of the year as the farming season ends, cows are dried off, animals are shipped off to grazing, the staff is trying to take a break, and maintenance and setup for the new season all need to be finished before the next round of calving/lambing starts.
Some preparation now and during the year simplifies the process for everyone involved.
If you do a budget for the next season, now is the time to do it. This helps solidify your plans for next season and will also help you correct any coding mistakes made during the year, so you can recode before your accountant gets stuck in.
Most documents are attached in the accounting software during the year for the majority of our clients. Documents not in the accounting software that your accountant needs are:
Any loan or hire purchase documentation.
Any dividend statements for Fonterra and others like Ballance, Silverfern, LIC
Bank and loan statements showing the balance at year-end.
Make sure you tally your stock on hand at the end of the financial year, and let us know. We can correct your stock reconciliation for animals that died or have gone missing.
Review your assets from the accounts from last year; anything that has been written off, disappeared, or broken beyond repair?
Review any unpaid bills/invoices; will they be paid?