Quick tips from accountants

Accounting is the heartbeat of every successful company. Grant Thornton Baltic Partner Gaily Kuusik explains why price alone shouldn’t guide your choice of accounting service — and how quality, expertise, security, and partnership create real business value.

Financial investments are becoming an increasingly important part of companies’ asset portfolios. Whether these include shares, bonds, fund units or derivatives, their correct accounting treatment is essential both for compliance with legislation and for ensuring reliable financial reporting.

Grant Thornton Baltic offers payroll process mapping, rule configuration, integration testing, parallel payroll testing and training to ensure payroll runs smoothly and correctly. Naturally, we also provide a full-service solution—from HR support to payslips.

By 2 February, Annexes I–III of INF 14 must be submitted to the Tax and Customs Board, reporting information on compensation for the use of a personal passenger car, training costs, and health promotion expenses.

Protecting company funds is not just an accounting or IT task – it is a direct responsibility of the management board

The Level 6 Senior Accountant qualification is based on the occupational standard established by the Estonian Association of Accountants, describing the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required for the role. It covers financial, managerial and tax accounting, reporting, budgeting, and advisory work. Applying for the certificate requires practical work experience and professional training.

The reduced social tax for employees with decreased work ability is an accrual-based support measure in which the Unemployment Insurance Fund pays the employer’s social tax on behalf of an employee with decreased work ability, based on a one-time application. The allowance is calculated according to the monthly social tax rate applicable to the specific calculation period (month).

According to the guidelines of the Accounting Standards Board, every accounting entity must ensure that the information presented in the annual report is fair and reliable. This also includes confirmations issued by banks regarding account balances, loans, collateral, and other financial assets and liabilities.

Year-end is the time when the management of every company must ensure that the company’s equity complies with the minimum net asset requirements set out in the Commercial Code.

Every company must prepare and communicate the annual vacation schedule during the first quarter of the year. This is not just a formality – the purpose of the schedule is to ensure smooth work organisation and conscious, mutually considerate planning of employees’ vacation needs.

When closing a financial year, it can turn out that a company’s equity (net assets) does not meet the requirements set forth in legislation and so the equity must be brought into conformity with the law. Often auditors and lawyers receive queries about these topics, but their perspectives can sometimes vary.

Year-end means preparing financial statements, but many businesses overlook one critical aspect: whether the covenants of long-term loans are compliant with the indicators agreed with the bank as at the balance sheet date.

To ensure that your annual report is completed smoothly and on time, we have compiled the key steps and recommendations — what to prepare, when to act and which information your accountant will need.

As the end of the calendar year approaches, now is the perfect time to review employees’ remaining vacation balances. It’s important to remember that vacation days can only be used during the calendar year in which they are earned and the following calendar year.

According to the registrar's statistics, 95% of companies registered in Estonia have chosen a financial year that runs from 1 January to 31 December. However, a company’s fiscal year should reflect the cycle of the company’s operating activity and year-end procedures should be conducted at a time when volumes of activity are lowest.