Accounting firm · Accounts
Year-end accounts preparation
Prepare every client's annual accounts the same way, from year-end request to filing, without chasing records or signatures by email. The client shares records and approves the accounts through one shared link, and nothing reaches the client before the partner approves it.
- Duration: 6 to 8 weeks
- How often: Once a year for every client
- Steps: 9 steps
- AI agents: 1 AI agent
- Approvals: 1 approval
Free plan, no credit card needed.
What changes with this template
Without it
Year-end records arrive over months, and the accountant keeps starting and stopping the file.
Accounts reach the client before the partner has looked at them.
The director gets a set of accounts with no explanation.
Signed accounts come back by post, or not at all.
With it
The client ticks off each record on one link, and gaps show before work starts.
The accounts wait at the partner's approval gate.
An AI agent drafts a plain-language summary, and the client manager corrects it.
The director approves on the shared link and shares the signed accounts there.
The template, step by step
Each step says who does it: someone on your team, an AI agent, or the client through a shared link. An approval keeps every later step locked until it is given.
- Done by your team
- Done by an AI agent
- Done by the client, through a shared link
Starts when
The client's financial year ends. The client manager starts a run with the client name, the year end and the filing deadline.
- 1
Send the year-end request
Week 1Client manager · Team
Send the client the year-end checklist for their type of business with the shared run link, and agree when the records will be ready.
Checklist
- Checklist matches the type of business
- Shared link sent to the client director
- Last year's accounts on the client file
Fields to fill in
- Client name (required)
- Year end (required)
- Filing deadline (required)
- 2
Share the year-end records
Weeks 1 to 3Client director · Shared link
Through the shared link, the client ticks off each record as it is ready, shares a link to the folder and answers the year-end questions about the business.
Checklist
- Bank and loan statements at the year end
- Stock count at the year end
- Unpaid customer and supplier invoices listed
- Assets bought or sold this year listed
Fields to fill in
- Link to the year-end records (required)
- Changes in the business this year (required)
- 3
Prepare the draft accounts
Weeks 3 to 5Accountant · Team
Post the year-end adjustments, reconcile every balance sheet account and prepare the draft accounts with the lead schedules. If records are missing, mark the run blocked and note which.
Checklist
- Balance sheet accounts reconciled
- Accruals, prepayments and depreciation posted
- Stock and work in progress valued
- Comparatives agree to last year's accounts
Fields to fill in
- Link to the draft accounts (required)
- Link to the working papers (required)
- Profit before tax (required)
- Key judgements and adjustments (required)
- 4
Draft the summary for the client
Week 5Summary writer · AI agent
The summary writer drafts a plain-language summary of the year for the client: the result, the main changes from last year and the points to discuss.
Fields to fill in
- Draft client summary (required)
Checked by: The client manager corrects the summary in step 5, before the partner approves the accounts in step 6.
- 5
Review the accounts
Hidden from the shared linkWeek 5Client manager · Team
Review the accounts, the working papers and the judgements, clear the review points with the accountant, and correct the summary.
Checklist
- Review points cleared with the accountant
- Judgements supported in the working papers
- Summary corrected
Fields to fill in
- Review points
- 6
Approve the accounts for the client
Hidden from the shared linkWeek 6Partner · Team
Read the accounts and the review points, and approve the accounts before they go to the client.
Checklist
- Accounts agree to the working papers
- Notes to the accounts complete
- Going concern considered
Fields to fill in
- Partner notes
Approval: The accounts do not go to the client until the partner approves them.
- 7
Present the accounts to the client
Week 6Client manager · Team
Send the approved accounts and the summary, walk the director through them in a meeting and record their questions.
Checklist
- Accounts and summary sent
- Meeting held
Fields to fill in
- Meeting date (required)
- Questions the client raised
- 8
Approve and sign the accounts
Weeks 6 to 7Client director · Shared link
Through the shared link, the director confirms they approve the accounts the client manager sent in step 7, records the approval date and shares a link to the signed accounts and representation letter.
Fields to fill in
- Approval date (required)
- Signed by (required)
- Link to the signed accounts (required)
- 9
File the accounts and close the year
Week 7Accountant · Team
Check the signatures, file the accounts where the client is required to, roll the balances into the new year and archive the working papers.
Checklist
- Signed accounts checked
- Accounts filed where required
- Balances rolled forward
- Working papers archived
Fields to fill in
- Filing date
- Filing reference
Done when
The director has approved and signed the accounts, they are filed where required, and the balances are rolled into the new year.
Make it yours. Rename steps, change owners and add checklist items, fields or approvals. The template is a starting point for the way your team works.
The AI agents in this template
An agent only works on its own steps, and a person on your team checks what it did. Anything an agent writes to a connected app waits for approval unless you allow it.
Summary writer
Drafts a plain-language summary of the year's accounts for the client.
What it does
- Reads the profit, judgements and changes filled in on the run
- Follows the summary format in its step instructions
- Writes the draft summary into its step
- Completes its step, so the review can start
Checked by: The client manager corrects the summary in step 5, before the partner approves the accounts in step 6.
Questions this template answers
Send a year-end checklist that fits the business, and let the client tick off and share each record in one place. Step 1 sends the checklist with the shared link, and in step 2 the client works through it and answers the year-end questions.
Separate the manager's detailed review from the partner's approval. In step 5 the client manager clears the review points with the accountant, and step 6 is an approval gate where the partner approves the accounts before the client sees them.
Record each approval on the accounts themselves, with name and date. Step 6 records the partner's approval, and in step 8 the director records the approval date, their name and the link to the signed accounts.
Let AI draft a plain-language summary from the figures and judgements, and have a person check it. In step 4 the summary writer drafts the summary, and in step 5 the client manager corrects it before it goes out with the accounts.
Run each client's year end as its own run, with the year end and filing deadline recorded from day one. Step 1 records both dates, and the runs show which clients wait on records, on review or on the director's signature.
Make the signed accounts a required part of the client's approval step. In step 8 the director cannot complete the step without the link to the signed accounts, and step 9 has the accountant check the signatures before filing.
Run this workflow in OKiDO
Set up the steps, owners and approvals once, then start a run for every new case.