What formal requirements must be observed when keeping financial accounts?
Mit dem Jahresabschluss wird die Buchführung eines jeden Geschäftsjahres abgeschlossen. Der Jahresabschluss hat große Relevanz, unter anderem, weil er die gesamtwirtschaftliche Situation eines Unternehmens repräsentiert. Ein Jahresabschluss kann jedoch auch nichtig sein. Wir von der Steuerkanzlei Martin Bleckmann in Köln erklären Ihnen, ab wann das der Fall ist und welche rechtlichen Folgen ein nichtiger Jahresabschluss mit sich bringt.
The legal requirements for keeping books are defined in Section 239 et seq. of the German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch). The following formal requirements must therefore be complied with in financial accounting:
- Truthful bookings
- Completeness of Entries and Inventories
- Proper storage of the cabinet
The aim of these regulations is to ensure the traceability of financial accounting to ensure. We from the law firm of Tax Advisors Martin Bleckmann wants to briefly explain to you the most important content and regulations of the commercial code relating to good financial accounting.
Accounting must be understandable
The first paragraph of Section 239 HGB states that the accounts must be kept in a living language. If necessary, as an entrepreneur, you are required to Translate used language into official language to leave. If any abbreviations, symbols or the like are used, they must be deciphered so that an expert third party can track all bookings right away.
The bookkeeping must be complete
You must also keep the records in your bookkeeping List completely and in an orderly manner. It is an advantage to arrange all payment transactions chronologically. As a result, required documents can be quickly found and made available to the relevant government bodies.
The Accounts Must Be Kept Truthfully
An essential bookkeeping requirement is that they Corresponds to the truth. You may the Don't change entries later. Should a change nevertheless be necessary, it must remain comprehensible to a third party. This means, among other things, that no false bookings can be made and only profits that are actually received may be reported. The same applies to deductible expenses.
All receipts via Business Expenses, Purchases and Other documents must be kept And can be presented as required, for example as part of an audit.
The accounts must be available
The accounts must also be retrievable, i.e. stored in an orderly manner. You can also store all receipts and bookings in digitized form under certain conditions. The prerequisite is, among other things, that the data carrier is backed up and can be retrieved when required. All other regulations must also be applied when filing accounts digitally, including a Retention requirement of ten years.
