Year-End Accounting Checklist for a Malaysian Sdn Bhd

What does a year-end close involve for a Sdn Bhd?

A year-end close turns twelve months of bookkeeping into a final, checked set of balances, from which your accountant prepares the financial statements and your tax agent prepares the tax computation. Most of the work repeats the monthly close; on top come a few tasks that happen only once a year: counting stock, reviewing fixed assets, deciding on doubtful debts and agreeing balances with lenders and directors.

Several parties rely on the same clean books:

• Bookkeeper: closes the months, reconciles the accounts and prepares the year-end schedules.
• Accountant: prepares the financial statements under approved accounting standards; most private SMEs use MPERS, the Malaysian Private Entities Reporting Standard.
• Auditor: audits the statements, unless the company qualifies for audit exemption.
• Company secretary: usually handles the lodgements with SSM.
• Tax agent: prepares the tax computation and Form C.
• Directors: make the judgement calls and approve the statements.

Our guide to the roles of accountant, auditor, tax agent and company secretary explains who must be licensed. If your books are months behind, clear the backlog first; see how to catch up on bookkeeping.

What is on the year-end checklist?

The checklist below assumes a 31 December year end; shift the timing if yours differs. The Who column shows the usual owner of each task in a small company.

Task	When	Who
1. Pre-close review: clear old suspense items (unexplained entries parked in a holding account), chase missing documents, confirm audit or audit-exemption status	1–2 months before year end	Bookkeeper and director
2. Count stock and cash on the last day; note the last delivery order and goods-received numbers for cut-off	Year-end day	Store staff and owner, with the bookkeeper
3. Close December and confirm all 12 months are reconciled for every bank account, card and e-wallet	By mid-January	Bookkeeper
4. Value stock and write down damaged or slow-moving items	January	Bookkeeper and owner; accountant reviews
5. Update the fixed asset register: additions, disposals and depreciation	January	Bookkeeper or accountant
6. Review receivables; list doubtful and bad debts with evidence	January	Owner and bookkeeper
7. Reconcile supplier statements; record accruals and prepayments	January	Bookkeeper
8. Agree the director's account and get the director's written confirmation	January	Director and bookkeeper
9. Agree loan and hire-purchase balances to lender statements; split principal and interest	January	Bookkeeper
10. Payroll year end: agree the year's pay to EPF, SOCSO, EIS and PCB paid; issue Form EA; file Form E	EA by end of February; Form E by 31 March	Payroll admin; director signs
11. Agree SST returns and e-Invoice records to the books, if registered or in scope	January	Bookkeeper
12. Hand the year-end pack to the accountant, auditor and tax agent	Good practice: by end of February	Bookkeeper; director approves

The statutory deadlines come after this: financial statements circulated to members within 6 months of year end and lodged with SSM within 30 days of circulation, and Form C within 7 months. The next section works back from them.

How do you work back from the SSM and Form C deadlines?

Start from the legal deadlines and work backwards, leaving your accountant, auditor and tax agent enough time for their part. Example: a company with a financial year ending 31 December 2026.

1. November 2026: pre-close review. This 11th month is the last chance to revise the year's CP204 estimate with CP204A, and the estimate for 2027 must be submitted at least 30 days before 1 January 2027.
2. 31 December 2026: year end; count stock and cash.
3. January 2027: close December, post year-end adjustments and collect bank, loan and supplier statements as at 31 December. If you issue consolidated e-Invoices, December's is due within 7 calendar days; December payroll contributions are due by 15 January.
4. End of February 2027: Form EA for 2026 to every employee, and a sensible target for handing the year-end pack to your accountant.
5. 31 March 2027: Form E filed.
6. March to May 2027: financial statements drafted; audit fieldwork, or unaudited statements if the company is audit-exempt; tax computation prepared.
7. 30 June 2027: latest date to circulate the financial statements to members (6 months after year end), followed by lodgement with SSM within 30 days.
8. 31 July 2027: Form C due (7 months after year end). LHDN normally allows a one-month grace period for e-filing, to 31 August 2027, but plan for July.

A late or missing Form C can lead to a fine of RM200 to RM20,000, up to 6 months' imprisonment or both, or, if LHDN does not prosecute, a penalty of up to three times the tax payable; see Form C deadlines and penalties and our CP204 guide. The SSM annual return runs on a separate clock: it is due within 30 days of your incorporation anniversary, whatever your year end.

Which balances need the most attention at year end?

Stock, fixed assets, receivables, accruals, the director's account and loans deserve the closest look, because they depend on judgement or outside confirmation rather than on the bank statement alone.

Stock

Count everything on the last day and value it at the lower of cost and what it can realistically be sold for. Example: a Johor Bahru furniture trader's books show closing stock of RM185,000 at 31 December 2026.

Item	RM
Stock per the books	185,000
Less: shortfall found at the count	(13,000)
Less: water-damaged sets that cost RM6,000 but can only be sold for RM2,000	(4,000)
Closing stock in the accounts	168,000

Cost of sales rises by RM17,000 and profit falls by the same amount. Because closing stock feeds straight into profit, it also affects the tax computation, so keep the signed count sheets and the evidence for the write-down. Our stock accounting guide covers counts and valuation in more depth.

Fixed assets

Agree the register to purchase invoices and disposal records, and charge the full year's depreciation. Capital expenditure is not deductible as an expense for tax; capital allowances are claimed instead, so do not book a new machine as repairs.

Receivables and bad debts

Review every overdue balance. Where recovery is unlikely and you have evidence of collection efforts, the director can approve a write-off or provision; ask your tax agent how it is treated for tax. See how to collect overdue payments.

Payables and accruals

Reconcile supplier statements and accrue for goods and services received before year end but not yet billed, including professional fees for the year's accounts. An old supplier balance that never moves often points to a duplicate bill or an unrecorded payment.

Director's account and loans

Every entry in the director's account should be explained and confirmed in writing by the director, and personal spending should not sit in business expenses. Agree loan and hire-purchase balances to lender statements and separate principal repayments from interest.

What payroll, SST and e-Invoice tasks fall at year end?

Payroll runs on the calendar year, whatever your financial year end: give each employee Form EA for the previous year by the end of February, and file Form E by 31 March. First check that the year's salaries, allowances and bonuses in the books agree with the EPF, SOCSO, EIS and PCB actually paid; December's contributions are due by 15 January. See the payroll guide for employers.

If you are registered for SST, make sure every SST-02 return for the year has been filed (each covers two months and is due by the end of the following month) and that the SST payable balance agrees with the latest return. Details are in our SST registration guide.

If you issue e-Invoices, agree the invoices, credit notes and consolidated e-Invoices validated in MyInvois with your sales ledger. Year end is also the time to check turnover against the RM3 million exemption: as of October 2026, an exempt business whose annual turnover reaches RM3 million must start e-invoicing from 1 January of the second year after the year it reached that level. See the RM3 million e-Invoice exemption.

What should you give the auditor, or prepare if you are audit-exempt?

Give the auditor, or your accountant if the company is audit-exempt, one organised year-end pack rather than a box of papers. A typical pack contains:

• trial balance and general ledger for the full year;
• year-end bank statements and reconciliations for every account;
• receivables and payables listings with ageing;
• stock count sheets and the valuation;
• the fixed asset register, with invoices for additions and records of disposals;
• loan and hire-purchase statements, and the signed director's account schedule;
• a payroll summary with copies of Form EA and Form E, plus SST returns and e-Invoice listings where relevant;
• contracts, leases and agreements signed during the year;
• a list of open questions that need a decision.

Audit exemption removes only the audit. A qualifying private company still prepares financial statements under approved accounting standards, circulates them to members, and lodges the unaudited statements, the directors' report and a certificate of compliance with SSM within 30 days of circulation. Members holding at least 5% of the voting shares can still require an audit by written notice given no later than one month before year end, and banks or grant agencies may ask for audited accounts anyway. Check whether you qualify in our audit exemption guide.

How WeCount helps

WeCount keeps your books closed and reconciled every month, so year end starts from twelve clean months rather than a backlog. We then prepare an organised year-end handoff for your accountant, auditor and tax agent: bank reconciliations, receivables and payables listings, supporting documents and a list of open items. Work outside the monthly scope, such as historical clean-up or audit support, is quoted separately. Regulated audit, tax-agent and professional accountancy services are delivered through appropriately authorised partners where required. See our bookkeeping service or contact us.