As a (foreign) entrepreneur it is very important that you are aware of your obligations in the country of business. When you start a company in the Netherlands it is therefore of great importance to know when (and on which dates) you should publish your financial reports. In this blog we discuss which documents you'll have to file, when you have to file them, and most importantly what you have to publish for your company size.
The financial statements, or report, must be filed at the Chamber of Commerce where they are made public. As discussed in our article about the accounting requirements, one of the main reasons to publish these financial reports is to provide insights for (potential) creditors.
The financial report that will be filed will contain at least a balance sheet, and abbreviated Profit.
The financial statements must be prepared and approved by the managing directors no later than 5 months after the end of the financial year. Hereinafter, the shareholders must adopt the financial statements within 2 months after the financial statements have been approved by the managing directors. In addition, the company must publish its annual report no later than eight days after the determination or approval of the financial statements by the shareholders. This means filing a copy of the financial statements with the Trade Register at the Chamber of Commerce.
The preparation period for the financial statements may be extended for a maximum of 5 months at the shareholders’ meeting. The deadline for publication will be then 12 months after the end of the financial year.
Please note that if the shareholders are also the managing directors of the entity, the approval date of the financial statements by the managing directors would be automatically the adoption date by the shareholders. Consequently, the deadline for publication will be then 5 months (or 10 months if the extension period of 5 months is applicable) after the end of the financial year.
The publication requirements vary depending on the size of the company. They can be summarized as follows:
All filing dates in one overview
5 months after the end of the financial year, the annual financial report must be prepared by the board.
A maximum of 6 months can be granted by the shareholders' meeting if there are special circumstances. You do not have to report a delay to the Chamber of Commerce.
The prepared annual financial report is signed by all directors.
The company has 2 months to have the documents adopted by the shareholders' meeting.
13 months is therefore the deadline for filing with the Chamber of Commerce.
8 days after adoption, the board must file the annual statement with the Chamber of Commerce.
Do you need help or more info with regards to Dutch Publication Requirements? Get in touch or book a meeting!
This article gives a great overview on accounting requirements in Netherlands!