A month-end close that a tax officer could sit through
Five working papers every Dhaka SME should finish before the fifth of the next month — and why “we will catch up at year-end” is how assessments are born.
The firms that survive a VAT visit or a bank inspection are not the ones with the most expensive software. They are the ones that close the books every month, on a calendar, with the same five reconciliations.
Start with the bank. If the ledger cash does not match the statement, nothing downstream — TDS, VAT, or profit — can be trusted. Then debtors and creditors ageing. Then stock, even if only a roll-forward with a reasonableness check. Then tax accounts: what you deducted, what you deposited, what you claimed. Then a one-page commentary: what moved, what is late, what the owner should know.
Do this in five working days. The sixth day is for corrections. Waiting for June to “fix the year” is how you discover, too late, that a BIN profile is wrong or a related-party balance cannot be explained.
This note is general commentary for Bangladesh accounting and tax practice. It is not advice for a particular entity. Instruct the firm in writing if you need a view on your file.