Accounting oversight and emergency accounting support for companies

Accounting oversight is usually a periodic or ongoing service focused on reviewing the quality of the accounting records, taxes, month-end closing and reporting where day-to-day postings are performed by the client’s team or another provider. Emergency accounting support is intervention-based: its purpose is to quickly secure deadlines, clear backlogs, reconstruct data or take over tasks after an unexpected disruption to the process.

Emergency accounting support is needed where a company has accounting backlogs, unreconciled balances, overdue filings, missing reports, problems before an audit or tax inspection, sudden staff shortages or any situation in which the day-to-day accounting process no longer provides timely and reliable information.

Warning signs include, among other things, missing monthly closes, unreconciled bank accounts, old or unidentified receivable and payable balances, frequent corrections to tax settlements, lack of data for reporting, problems with the auditor, filing delays, management not knowing the company’s actual result and financial position and, of course, issues with the tax authorities.

The first step is to secure access to systems and bank accounts, documentation, data backups, the status of the accounting records, tax filings, JPK files, receivables and payables and the list of open issues. A contingency plan should then be agreed: who coordinates the close, which deadlines are critical, who communicates with management and which tasks need to be taken over immediately.

The start date depends on team availability, the scale of the problem and the ability to obtain access to the relevant data. The first stage may be a rapid diagnosis of backlogs, critical deadlines, unreconciled balances and tax or reporting obligations requiring immediate action. Only after that assessment can the scope and timetable for further work be determined reliably.

The price depends on the number of periods covered by the review, the condition and availability of the data, the number of bank accounts and transactions, the scope of reconciliations, required corrections, delivery deadlines and whether current accounting must be maintained in parallel. Following an initial assessment, we define the scope, priorities and project billing model.

The timing depends primarily on the number of overdue periods, the completeness of documentation, the quality of the data in the accounting system and the availability of people able to explain historical transactions. Simpler issues can be resolved in a short project, while rebuilding accounting records covering many months or years requires staged work and a separate timetable.

Yes. We can assess the extent of the backlog, identify priorities, reconcile balances, reconstruct missing documentation, prepare the necessary postings and data for corrections and organise the current accounting process so that the company can return to timely closing and reporting. The scope is agreed after we review the available data.

A review should cover, among other things, the opening balance, trial balance, balance sheet and profit and loss accounts, receivables and payables, bank accounts, VAT registers, CIT calculations, fixed assets, accruals and prepayments, consistency between the accounting records and tax returns and JPK files, and the ability to prepare reliable financial statements.

Accounting oversight involves periodic or ongoing verification of the correctness of the accounting records, balances, taxes, month-end close, reports and financial statements where day-to-day postings are performed by the client’s team. The scope may also include accounting consultations, an open-issues list, monitoring completion of reconciliations and reporting findings to management.

Yes. We can work directly in the client’s accounting or ERP system, provided that appropriate and secure access rights are granted. Before work begins, we agree the scope of access, responsibility for system administration, data archiving arrangements and communication rules with the client’s team and other service providers.

The scope may include identifying errors, reconciling tax returns and JPK files to the accounting records, preparing supporting data and — where agreed — preparing corrections. If an issue requires interpretation of tax law or specialist tax advice, we identify the need for consultation and can coordinate cooperation with a tax adviser.

Yes. The review may cover the chart of accounts and required tagging, completeness of accounting entries, tax data, the fixed asset register, reconciliation of accounting and taxable profit and the ability to prepare JPK_KR_PD and JPK_ST_KR structures. The scope of the review depends on the system, the taxpayer’s status and the stage of data preparation.

The first step is to secure the scope and deadlines resulting from the authority’s request and verify the completeness of documentation, consistency between tax returns and the accounting records, VAT registers, JPK files, receivables and payables, transactions identified by the authority, evidence of payment and explanations for material accounting entries. The priority is to organise the data covered by the inspection without disrupting current accounting. If it is not possible to respond to the tax authority’s questions by the stated deadline, the person handling the proceedings should be contacted to try to agree a realistic date for providing the necessary explanations.

First, the auditor’s information request list and deadlines should be agreed. The company then prepares the trial balance, reconciliations of material accounts, supporting documents for selected items, fixed asset registers, tax calculations, receivables and payables, contracts and a list of issues requiring explanation or management decisions. The work should be prioritised according to materiality and risk.

No. Accounting oversight is an operational and control service supporting the day-to-day maintenance of accounting records, closing and reporting. It does not replace a statutory audit of financial statements performed by an audit firm and a statutory auditor. It can, however, help the company prepare its accounting records and documentation for such an audit.

Yes, but this requires a review of historical data and a clear allocation of responsibility for earlier periods. A mid-year takeover should include verification of balances, tax returns, JPK files, receivables and payables, bank accounts, fixed assets and documentation before the new team starts day-to-day postings.

It may be a one-off remediation project or the beginning of an ongoing relationship. Once backlogs have been cleared, the company may hand the accounting records back to its own team or choose periodic accounting oversight, support for selected accounting processes, a chief accountant service or full accounting services provided by TOP Outsourcing.