Annual accounts
Balance sheet, income statement and notes that each company prepares at the end of the financial year, files with the court registry and publishes in the BODACC.
Definition
The annual financial statements are the accounting documents that a company prepares at the end of each financial year, in principle over a period of twelve months. They consist of three sets: the balance sheet, which describes at a given date what the company owns and what it owes, the income statement, which summarises the income and expenses of the period, and the notes to the financial statements, which supplement and comment on the first two.
These documents are presented to the general meeting of the partners or shareholders, who approve them. Approval takes place within six months following the close of the financial year. Filing with the court registry follows, within one month of approval or within two months in the case of electronic filing, and the BODACC publishes notice of that filing.
Not all companies have the same obligation. A company whose accounts are certified by a statutory auditor attaches its report. A micro-enterprise files a simplified version. A sole proprietorship, for its part, does not prepare annual financial statements within the meaning of the register, even if its owner keeps accounting records for the tax authorities.
The distinction from the tax return package is a common one. The tax package is the document sent to the tax authorities, with its own schedules and its own deadlines. The annual financial statements are the company's documents, approved by its partners, filed with the register and announced in the BODACC. The two resemble each other and are not to be confused.
What they say about a company
Three documents, three readings
The balance sheet provides a snapshot of the company's assets and liabilities at the closing date. The income statement recounts the past year, with revenues and expenses. The notes to the financial statements explain the accounting choices, off-balance-sheet commitments and the methods applied. A complete reading of all three avoids the hasty conclusions that a single isolated figure can suggest.
What remains public
Filing makes the accounts available for inspection at the court registry. A company that is not a micro-enterprise may request confidentiality for its income statement. The balance sheet remains available for consultation. This asymmetry explains why some directors protect their income statement without being able to withhold the entire filing.
Consolidated accounts
A group that exceeds certain thresholds must also prepare consolidated accounts, which bring together the parent company and its subsidiaries. These are separate documents, with their own filing and disclosure rules.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the annual accounts and the tax return package?
The tax return package is filed with the tax authorities and is used to calculate the tax. The annual accounts are the corporate documents approved by the shareholders, then filed with the court registry and announced in the BODACC. They serve different purposes.
Who can consult a company's annual accounts?
Anyone may request disclosure of the accounts filed with the court registry, unless confidentiality has been requested for the income statement. The BODACC, for its part, publishes only the notice of filing, not the content of the documents.
What happens if the accounts are not filed?
Failure to file is punishable by a fine, and it can lead to a procedure for automatic striking off initiated by the court registry. Beyond the penalty, the absence of publication over several financial years becomes a visible warning sign for third parties.