Preparing the documentation for Audit

Before sending the accounting to the auditor, it’s important to make sure the closing work is complete and consistent. We recommend visiting the page Year-end closure, where you’ll find guidelines on preliminary checks and the Banana Accounting features useful for properly finalizing the year.

Since the documents requested by the auditor may vary each year, we suggest preparing a custom checklist, noting which documents were requested in past years and what closing or adjustment operations were needed.

Preliminary preparation

Good organization throughout the year greatly simplifies the work for both the person doing the accounting and the auditor. We recommend:

Creating a folder for digital documents

Store all digitized documents for the fiscal year in a single folder: invoices, cash receipts, AVS statements, insurance and pension documents, bank communications, and other relevant documents.

Scanning the supporting documents

Regularly scan paper documents. This allows you to have organized and always accessible documentation.

Linking documents to transactions

With Banana Accounting Plus, you can attach supporting documents directly to accounting entries. The auditor will be able to view them with a single click, without searching through paper folders, making the work faster and more efficient.

How to send accounting to the auditor or fiduciary

With Banana Accounting Plus, you can digitally share all fiscal year data: the accounting file (.ac2), digitized documents, and required reports.

Sharing via Cloud

If you store your data on a cloud service (Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive), you can share the folder containing the accounting and supporting documents.
For added security:

  • Share the most sensitive documents as read-only
  • or create a copy of the folder before sharing it
  • if necessary, prepare a second folder with edit permissions

See the page Accounting in the Cloud for more information.

Sharing via USB stick

If you store the data on your hard drive, you can copy it to a USB stick or another storage device and hand it over directly to the auditor or fiduciary.

If the auditor or fiduciary doesn’t have Banana Accounting Plus

The auditor can download Banana Accounting Plus for free from our website and use the Free plan to open the accounting file (.ac2).

With the Free plan, they will be able to:

  • open and review the accounting
  • view the transactions and account details
  • access the attachments linked to the entries

The Free plan does not allow saving changes or printing, but it still allows the auditor to carry out all necessary checks.

Sending documentation in PDF format

If you prefer not to share the .ac2 file or if the auditor does not use Banana Accounting Plus, the program still allows you to generate a complete PDF dossier. 

Using the command from the File menu > Create PDF dossier you can include:

  • Account cards
  • Journal
  • Enhanced balance sheet with groups
  • Accounting report
  • VAT summary
  • End-of-year PDF printouts

With the Advanced plan, you can also include the digital attachments linked to the entries, creating a single comprehensive document to send via email.

Support for closing operations

If the year-end checks or closing are managed by the fiduciary:

  • you can send them the .ac2 file
  • or share the Cloud folder that also contains the digitized documents

This way, there is no need to deliver paper files and the fiduciary can work faster by consulting the digital documents independently. 

If they do not use Banana Accounting, you can send them the PDF dossier. The fiduciary will be able to review the data and inform you of any changes or entries to be made.

Documents to be sent to the auditor

Below is a list of documents that are normally requested during an audit. You can use it as a base and customize it according to the needs of your company or the requests of your auditor.

Employee Declarations

  • AVS salary declaration and adjustment as of 31.12
  • Family allowance declaration (included in the AVS declaration)
  • Employee salary journal
  • Salary account cards
  • Salary certificates
  • LAINF and complementary LAINF declarations with adjustment
  • Sickness benefit declarations
  • LPP statement as of 31.12
  • Withholding tax calculations, quarterly and annual

Bank/Post Account Statements and Calculations

  • Final statements as of 31.12
  • Bank calculations for withholding tax
  • Loan statements
  • Investment statements
  • Copy of form 103 sent to the FTA

VAT Declarations

  • Quarterly VAT calculations
  • Quarterly VAT declarations
  • Turnover – VAT reconciliation
  • Any VAT adjustments

Documents for Year-End Closing

  • List of open customer and supplier invoices as of 31.12
  • Inventory valuation
  • Details of accruals and deferrals
  • Details of fixed assets and depreciation

Official Documents

  • Minutes of ordinary and extraordinary meetings
  • Tax ruling from the previous year
  • Payment order for withholding tax
  • Copies of active contracts (leasing, loans, rental)
  • Insurance values of buildings
  • Documents for any patents
  • Annual reports and appendix to the financial statement

Printouts and Archiving

With Banana Accounting Plus you can automatically generate:

PDF Dossier

The Create PDF dossier command allows you to generate a single file with the entire documentation of the fiscal year.

Archiving

It is good practice to keep:

  • the accounting file
  • the PDF printouts
  • backup copies on an external drive.

Tools and exports useful for the auditor

Banana Accounting Plus allows you to export data in various formats.

  • The auditor can use the Free plan to open the accounting file.
  • Data can be copied and pasted into other programs.
  • Tables can be exported in various formats.
  • The Create PDF dossier command generates a complete file ideal for reading.
  • Extensions allow specific exports:

Other Useful Information