Accounting and Bookkeeping
Building an operational system on sound financial foundations to streamline financial processes, making them suitable for inclusion in accounting reports and submission to senior management. This is one of the most vital processes in organizations, enabling managers and owners to have full visibility of all financial operations, while ensuring that the entity’s financial statements comply with International Accounting Standards.
What the service covers
- Monthly bookkeeping, with entries prepared from source documents rather than from bank statements alone.
- Designing the chart of accounts to serve both financial and zakat reporting requirements.
- Monthly bank reconciliations, with reconciling items followed through to clearance.
- Periodic financial statements — monthly or quarterly, not annual only.
- Year-end close and preparation of the file for the external audit.
- Setting up the accounting system for new entities, and migrating balances for those moving between systems.
- Rebuilding books in arrears from source documentation.
The real problem in most businesses
From our engagements, the most common failure is not the absence of accounting software. It is three things: incomplete records, an untrained bookkeeper entering transactions without understanding their effect, and no monitoring during the year until the audit or the return falls due.
The consequence does not show up in the books — it shows up elsewhere: a deemed zakat base instead of an actual one, a qualification in the auditor’s report, and differences between the return and the statements that open the door to an assessment. The cost of weak books is paid later, and at a multiple.
We therefore do not treat bookkeeping as a data-entry service, but as the foundation the rest of your obligations are built on.
What changes with periodic monitoring
- Differences are found in the month they arise, while the supporting documents are still available.
- VAT returns are reconciled quarterly to the books, so differences do not accumulate and surface all at once.
- Figures are near-final by April — which is what the zakat return, due within 120 days of year end, requires.
- The external audit is faster and cheaper, because most of its time is normally spent putting in order what should have been kept in order throughout.
- Management decisions rest on current figures rather than estimates.
What you receive
- A monthly trial balance with the detailed general ledger.
- Periodic financial statements with a short variance commentary.
- A documented bank reconciliation for every account.
- A year-end close file ready to hand to the external auditor.
Related detailed guides
- Filing financial statements on Qawaem — deadlines, timeline and documents
- E-invoicing Phase 2 — Wave 25 and the 1 February 2027 deadline
- ZATCA fines cancellation initiative 2026
- Mandatory accounting books and record retention: what to keep, in which language, and for how long
- E-invoicing from generation to integration — what changes in your books
- Year-end closing: the checklist before preparing the financial statements, and the deadlines
- Outsourced bookkeeping or an in-house accountant? How to choose and what must stay with you
- Missed the zakat or VAT return deadline? How to fix it
- A CPA for contracting companies: long-term contract accounting
- Non-profit accounts: records and restricted funds
- Cash basis versus accrual accounting: why cash books are not enough
- Supporting an expense before the auditor and ZATCA
Frequently asked questions
Our books are years behind — is that acceptable?
Yes. Work begins by scheduling the available documentation and rebuilding the books from it, with an explicit statement of anything that could not be substantiated.
Can you work on our existing software?
Usually yes. If the system does not support Phase 2 e-invoicing requirements, we will tell you early.
Can you also act as our external auditor?
No. Combining bookkeeping with auditing the same books impairs the auditor’s independence, and we observe the professional code of ethics on this.