Oh the weather outside is frightful? Then cozy on up to ye olde quickbooks and sit next to that roaring fire…. here it is… the mac-daddy of all year end checklists:

1 Reconcile bank statements.
2 Reconcile petty cash.
3 Reconcile credit card statements.
4 Reconcile loan statements.
5 Ensure all AR & AP activity has been posted for the year.
6 Clear suspense/clearing account balances or note composition of balance with subsequent clearing dates.
7 Review AR for uncollectible accounts to either reserve for or write off
8 Prepare recap of due to/ from balances on all companies and reconcile with each company’s books.
9 Inventory - determine adjustments needed from either analysis or physical inventory
10 Fixed Assets
a. review detail to determine if all assets are still in service. If not, write off NBV.
b. review expense accounts to determine if any expenses should be capitalized, ie meet capitalization threshold.
11 Review AP to ensure all balances are recorded and reconcile to vendor statements.
12 Reconcile all other Balance Sheet Accounts - ie detail the composition of the ending balance, not all activity.
13 Accruals - accrue for items not yet recorded such as bonus, sales tax, property tax, etc.
14 P&L Review
a. After all of the Balance Sheet accounts are reconciled and current, review the P&L by Month report
b. Compare Gross Profit by month & explain significant fluctuations.
c. Explain unusual fluctuations in recurring expense accounts (excluding COGS)
d. Analyze composition of large YE balances or non-recurring YE expense such as legal, bad debts, taxes, etc.
15 Vendor 1099 Eligilbility Review
a. Run Vendor Contact report modified to include Taxpayer ID & 1099 Eligibility.
b. Run 1099 Summary report modified to include “all vendors” and “all accounts”
c. Compare two reports to see which vendors had activity in 2009 and which are missing ID # &/or 1099 Eligibility
d. Obtain missing information and update above reports.
e. Provide Manager preliminary 1099 report to review.

Now treat yourself to that hot toddy! mmmm…. hot toddy!