26 August 2026 · Timing
Set the Close Around Your Financial Year
The close timetable should run from the last day of the company's financial year to the handover of tested accounts and tax working papers. The Federal Tax Authority's clarification on a juridical person's first Tax Period explains that the financial year used for financial statements matters. Set internal cut-offs early enough to investigate differences before the Corporate Tax return is prepared.
Exiloz Management & Tax Consultant · Dubai-based FTA-focused advisory · VAT, corporate tax & accounting
The deadline is the last step, not the start
A year-end close timeline should begin before the return deadline because the return is built from the accounts. The Federal Tax Authority General Corporate Tax Guide says Tax Returns and payments are due within nine months from the end of the relevant Tax Period. That is an external limit. It is not a sensible date to begin finding missing bank statements, supplier invoices or explanations for owner balances.
For a company whose Tax Period ends on 31 December, nine months after the period end reaches 30 September of the following year. The close must still allow time for management approval, tax adjustments and any required audit work. The exact internal dates depend on the records and the people available to answer them, so put those owners in the timetable.
If your return date is inside the next few weeks, start by confirming the Tax Period and freezing the latest trial balance. Do not start with a generic checklist. The first useful object is the period-end ledger, because every later request should tie back to the balances it contains.
Start earlier when the ledger has memory
A simple company with one bank account, regular invoicing and monthly reconciliations can work through a short close timetable. A company with several entities, gateways, inventory, foreign currency or related-party entries needs more room. The difference is not the label on the business. It is the number of balances that need another document, another person or another judgement before they can be signed off.
We would start the close before the final month for a business with old unreconciled items, because those items rarely resolve in the order they appear on a spreadsheet. A supplier statement may expose a missing invoice. That invoice may change the cut-off. The revised cost may then change the tax bridge. Starting early gives each answer somewhere to land.
You do not need a long project if the accounts are already reconciled and the source files are complete. You do need an owner for every open question. If nobody can answer who received the goods, approved the payment or signed the related-party agreement, the timetable is already at risk.
Build the timetable around actual handovers
The useful plan names what moves between people and when. The bookkeeper provides the ledger and source files. Management answers business questions and approves judgement-based entries. The tax preparer receives the frozen accounts and adjustment bridge. If the entity is within the audit rules, the independent auditor requests evidence and performs the audit work. Each handover should have a visible file, not just a meeting.
The table gives a workable sequence. It is deliberately written around objects rather than invented durations. The FTA General Corporate Tax Guide supplies the nine-month filing rule, but it does not prescribe how long your internal close should take. Your ledger condition, approval chain and auditor request determine that part of the plan.
Keep one version of the trial balance at each handover. Record the date, the person responsible and the balances still open. That simple record stops a late adjustment from being treated as if it had been part of the earlier review. It also tells the tax preparer which numbers are final and which remain conditional.
| Stage | Object handed over | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Period set | Financial year and period-end ledger | Confirm the Tax Period and cut-off |
| Records gathered | Statements, ledgers and supporting schedules | Mark missing evidence and owners |
| Close reviewed | Reconciliations and adjustment log | Approve or reject each judgement |
| Tax handover | Frozen trial balance and tax bridge | Confirm what the return preparer can use |
| Audit support | Lead schedules and source files | Answer the independent auditor's requests |
Let the open items drive the next action
First confirm the period, then request the records that prove the closing balances. Reconcile cash and payment gateways before reviewing profit. Tie receivables to later receipts and payables to supplier statements. Review fixed assets, payroll, provisions and related-party balances with the person who knows the underlying transaction. The ledger is the index. The documents are the evidence.
Example scenario. A company has draft revenue of AED 49,000,000 and a signed contract adds AED 2,000,000 of work completed before the period ends. AED 49,000,000 + AED 2,000,000 = AED 51,000,000. Because Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 uses an AED 50,000,000 revenue threshold for audited financial statements, the timeline should send the audit-scope question to management before the final pack is frozen.
After the review, issue a short close note showing entries posted, evidence received, evidence missing and approvals still due. A timetable that ends with a clean list of open items is useful. A timetable that ends with a green status and no supporting file is only a status report.
The FTA deadline does not set your close date
The FTA General Corporate Tax Guide confirms the filing and payment route within nine months after the Tax Period ends. It does not state how much internal review time a company needs before that filing, and it does not allocate responsibility for chasing your supplier, bookkeeper or management team. That boundary is genuine. Treat the government deadline as the outer limit and build the working timetable from the records.
The cost of delay is usually found in the evidence, not in a calendar entry. A late request can leave a bank contact unavailable, a supplier statement unreconciled or an auditor asking for a schedule that has never been prepared. We would rather see a short early review than a large final-week exercise, because it exposes the hard questions while there is still someone who can answer them.
Today, write down the Tax Period end, the latest ledger date, the person who owns each major schedule and the date for a management sign-off. Then send the first records request. Record the source file location beside each owner. The first review meeting can then focus on unresolved evidence instead of reconstructing the plan for the period now under review. That is the action that turns a deadline into a close plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
For planning the close before the next return.
When should year-end close work begin?
Begin before the financial year ends, with source-record requests and cut-off questions moving early enough to leave time for investigation. The Federal Tax Authority's Accounting Standards Guide links Corporate Tax reporting to financial statements, so waiting until the return is due can leave accounting errors unresolved.
Is every UAE business year-end the same?
No. The Federal Tax Authority's Public Clarification on the first Tax Period explains that a Taxable Person generally follows the financial year used to prepare its financial statements. Confirm the company's actual period in its records and Tax Registration details before setting the close timetable.
What is the handover point?
The handover point is when the final trial balance, reconciliations, adjustment explanations and unresolved-item list are ready for the next preparer. The Federal Tax Authority's Accounting Standards Guide provides the reporting context. Management should still approve the accounts and judgement-based entries.
Can an accountant manage the close timeline?
Yes. An external accountant can request records, track open items, reconcile the ledger and prepare the handover. The Federal Tax Authority's guidance does not transfer management responsibility, so the business still approves the final accounts and decisions that affect its reporting.
Is your close timetable clear?
Exiloz sets the close timetable, tracks the open items and prepares a tested accounts handover for your next Corporate Tax return.