Do I need an accountant?

When you own or run a business in the Dutch Caribbean you will need to file your financials annually. The big question is if those financials need to have been compiled and controlled by a chartered accountant or a CPA?

In the Netherlands these persons have their name followed by the "RA" which basically means that have been registered. For the most our clients do avail themselves of these very highly trained persons because of the simple fact that there is no need for them to do so. No legal obligation to hire these people nor from a standpoint of quality. So most of our clients use an office that provides for administrative services. Curacao is plastered with offices that provide for these services and most of them deliver the quality needed. A lot of these offices have an alliance with a small tax law firm like ours for back-up when tax matters need to be addressed. Also tax lawyer can provide feed-back or act as a sparring partner when the financials need to be finalized. If you are lucky enough to find a quality administrative services provider in combination with a smaller tax law firm you may be surprised of the speed and quality of their combined services. Not to mention the fees you save by circumventing the services of a chartered accountant of CPA. There is of course a place in society for these as well but not in all situations.

We work with numerous small administrative services firms and always enjoy a good talk on how to prepare the financials.

Bewaarplicht

De rechtbank Gelderland heeft onlangs vonnis gewezen over de zogenaamde bewaarplicht. De moeite waard om een paar woorden aan te wijden. De betreffende ondernemer had kassarollen bewaard die -dat krijg je met dat type papier- snel verschieten en daardoor onleesbaar worden. De rechter oordeelde dat de ondernemer dit had moeten digitaliseren om aldus de fiscus haar controlemogelijkheden te laten behouden.

Wat moet u bewaren en hoe? U moet uw administratie bewaren. Simpel toch? Bedenk wel dat u en de fiscus verschillende gedachten kunnen hebben over welke documenten tot uw administratie behoren. Heeft u zich wel eens gerealiseerd dat uw agenda daar toe kan behoren. Wij hebben wel eens een dierenarts geadviseerd die moeilijk tussen bloedend dier en computer heen en weer kon rennen dus veel met kladjes werkte en die later tot declaraties verwerkte. De kladjes, u raadt het al, maken deel uit van de adminsitratie van de ondernemer.