Annual accounts for corporations

All incorporated companies have a legal obligation to prepare annual accounts (Jahresabschluss). This important document not only serves as the basis of assessment for the distribution of profits, dividends or other performance-related payments (a requirement that comes from § 242 HGB). But, also shows the company's financial position and ensures transparency for creditors, business partners and shareholders. Moreover, a company’s tax liability is calculated using its tax balance sheet.

Any business that is listed in the commercial register (Handelsregister) and uses the double-entry system must prepare annual accounts (Jahresabschluss), including:

• Sole traders* (Einzelkaufleute)
• Corporations/incorporated companies (Kapitalgesellschaften)
• Commercial partnerships (Personenhandelsgesellschaften)
• Sole proprietorships and commercial partnerships under civil law** (Einzelunternehmen und gewerbetreibende GbR**)

*Sole traders who, on the first or the last two consecutive balance sheet dates (Bilanzstichtag), have annual sales of less than €600,000 and/or profits less than €60,000 are exempt from this obligation (this is in accordance with § 241a HGB).

**GbR and sole proprietorships not entered into the commercial register but have an annual turnover that exceeds €600,000 and/or profit that exceeds €60,000 are still obliged to file annual accounts (this follows from § 141 AO).

NB: Your competent tax office (Finanzamt) will decide whether the obligation is waived for the coming fiscal year.

If the annual accounts (Jahresabschluss) are completed by a tax adviser, the deadline is 14 months after the balance sheet date (Bilanzstichtag). Here you can find out about the deadlines in detail.

In addition to all the necessary accounting documents, a power of attorney from a tax adviser is necessary.

The setup fee of €139 is due upfront. The annual accounts (Jahresabschluss) will be invoiced by the tax advisory firm after completing the annual accounts.

No, a publication copy is not included in the annual accounts packages. But, this is an optional extra. Please do not hesitate to contact us about this.

Not every company is obliged to publish its annual accounts (Jahresabschluss). The obligation depends on the size of the company. Read more about size classes and publishing obligations here.

Proper bookkeeping is essential to the smooth preparation of a company’s annual accounts (Jahresabschluss). This is exactly why we bundle our annual accounts with bookkeeping from our tax advisory partners as a single solution. Why? The following steps need to be followed on the balance sheet date (Bilanzstichtag):

• Determination of necessary depreciation (Ermittlung nötiger Abschreibungen)
• Inventory (Inventur)
• Valuation of outstanding receivables (Bewertung offener Forderungen)
• Allocation of reserves (Einstellung von Rücklagen)
• Adjustment postings (Korrekturbuchungen)

The biggest challenge in closing a company’s books is the thorough examination of accounting as a whole and the posting of any adjustments. In order for a tax adviser to do his or her job efficiently, a company’s bookkeeping must be handled by a specialist. Only then can we offer a favourable fixed-price for our packages.

If you already work with a professional bookkeeper, you can book our annual accounts package individually. Please contact our customer service at support@firma.de or use our chat function.