Who is responsible for accurate accounting data?

Estonian law makes a clear distinction:

Party Main duties Legal basis
Client / Management Board โ€ข Provide complete, truthful and timely source documents (invoices, contracts, bank statements, receipts, etc.).
โ€ข Ensure underlying business transactions are legitimate.
โ€ข Approve financial statements and bear ultimate responsibility for their correctness. Accounting Act ยง 6
Commercial Code ยง 180
Accountant โ€ข Record transactions in accordance with the Accounting Act, Estoniaโ€™s Good Accounting Practice and tax laws.
โ€ข Safeguard data integrity and confidentiality.
โ€ข Flag inconsistencies or missing documents to the client. Accounting Act ยง 3 & ยง 6

If inaccurate or incomplete source data is supplied, the board members โ€“ not the accountant โ€“ are liable for any resulting tax penalties or legal consequences. Conversely, an accountant who misapplies valid data can be held professionally liable.


Can we catch up on previous periods?

Yes. We routinely perform โ€œcatchโ€‘up accountingโ€ (tagantjรคrele raamatupidamine) for businesses that have fallen behind on bookkeeping or need to reconstruct ledgers before an audit, sale, or liquidation.

Typical scope

  1. Document collection & gap list โ€“ we map missing invoices, expense receipts, bank statements.
  2. Data entry & reconciliation โ€“ post all transactions, reconcile banks, payables, receivables, inventory.
  3. Tax corrections โ€“ prepare or amend VAT, payroll and TSD returns if needed.
  4. Financial statements โ€“ produce compliant balance sheet & income statement for each outstanding year.
  5. Submission โ€“ file amended tax returns and overdue annual reports.

Pricing model

Our fee is based on the number of transactions per period and the effort to track down missing documents:

Transactions per FY Indicative fee (excl. VAT)
โ‰ค 300 from โ‚ฌ450
301โ€“800 from โ‚ฌ850
801โ€“2 000 custom quote

Large backlogs, multiโ€‘currency accounts or poor document quality may increase the scope. After an initial assessment we provide a fixed quote with no surprises.

How to start

  1. Contact us with a brief description of the backlog (years & estimated transactions).
  2. We send a document checklist and NDA.
  3. Once we receive your materials we issue a detailed quote within 3 business days.

FAQ

Question Answer
Do I risk a tax audit if I file late returns? Correcting the past voluntarily is viewed favourably by the Tax Board. Penalties apply mainly if errors are found during an audit.
Can you work with paper receipts? Yes, but scanning costs extra. We recommend using mobile apps to photograph receipts.
What if some documents are lost? We help reconstruct transactions using bank data and counterparty confirmations, but some costs may become nonโ€‘deductible.

This information is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice.

Category: Accounting
Tags: Accounting records, Estonia
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