AN ACCOUNTANT’S VIEW OF THE BUSINESS YEAR

Prepare early.
Have the useful conversation.

Explore the work, the information to gather and the planning questions each month can reveal. Save agreed tasks and track progress in your member workspace.

Planning example

February financial year-end. These are review themes, not your confirmed filing calendar.

Payroll applicabilityVAT applicability

FEBRUARY YEAR-END EXAMPLESeptember · Month 7 of the planning year

Reconcile the prior year and prepare payroll

01 · THE ACCOUNTANT’S WORKLOAD

Prepare the review

Review optional prior-year provisional-tax top-up
Prepare interim EMP501 using the verified current notice
Complete applicable VAT and employer work

VAT: use the assigned tax period and confirm filing and payment dates separately.

02 · INFORMATION TO GATHER

Tick what you have prepared for this review. This public checklist is cleared when you leave.

Prior-year tax and payment reconciliationCurrent payroll correctionsUpdated cash allocations0 of 3 inputs prepared

03 · THE PLANNING SIGNAL

Tax reserves or uncertainty about which period is being settled

Accountant confirms the period and amount; money committed to tax is excluded from possible investment funds.

Cash reserveInformation completeness

Explore the relevant tool Save tasks in your workspace

The client chooses whether a planning introduction is useful. An unresolved operational cash need goes to accounting and cash management first.

Make the calendar specific to the business

Confirm entity type, financial year-end, incorporation anniversary, actual VAT cycle, filing/payment channel and employer obligations with the responsible accountant. B-BBEE evidence follows its own validity period. COIDA and employer reconciliation windows need the current official notice. The calendar does not file returns, confirm payment or send client reminders.

Request → receive

Agree the client’s input deadline before the professional’s review date. Record missing information without placing financial documents in a public form.

Review → approve

The accountant confirms relevance and due dates. Separate prepared information from approved work.

File → pay → evidence

Filing and payment are separate tasks. Mark them complete only after checking their own acknowledgements.

Deadline references: SARS calendar · CIPC annual returns. Your professional confirms what applies.