After months of research, you finally decided that Indonesia is the best place for you to start your business—and why not? The country has always been good to foreign businesses, offering excellent tax laws, great customers, and the best environment for business. But with those benefits also come strict laws, especially when it comes to accounting. This is because the country wants to protect both the interests of consumers and businesses by providing fair and strict accounting regulations that are guided by several laws and bylaws.
So if you’re just starting out in the country, here’s why it would make perfect sense to hire an accounting firm in Indonesia:
- You get to comply with strict accounting requirements.
The Investment Law of Indonesia stipulates that a business should comply with different standards to be able to legally operate in the country. This includes strictly complying with the country’s labor laws, adapting good corporate governance, being mindful of the country’s culture traditions and submitting quarterly investment activities to the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM). With the help of an accounting firm, you get to comply with all these standards and not miss anything that could incur a penalty or suspension of your business license.
- You get to follow Indonesia’s company laws for businesses.
When you’re doing business in Indonesia, you must follow the rule stated by the Company Law that requires you to have all your financial statements audited by a certified public accountant who’s registered in the country. Since a lot is at stake during this audit, working with an accounting firm will help you make sure that you meet the criteria stated in the law.
In Indonesia, all public companies, companies with assets exceeding $3.2 million, companies with public funds, and some state-owned companies are required to undergo this audit. Furthermore, the law requires that all financial records should be kept and organised for at least ten years from the end of the company’s reporting period.
- You get to fulfill all annual financial statements required by law.
All businesses in Indonesia are required to submit annual financial statements that include its profit loss statement, cash flow report, statement of financial position, notes to the financial year and statement of changes in company equity. And we’re not just talking about your financial statements for the year but also from the past years for the purpose of comparison. To add to that, all these statements must be in Bahasa Indonesia, which can be quite a challenge if you don’t speak the language. With the help of an accounting firm, you save yourself from being overwhelmed with fulfilling all these detailed financial statements. Simply delegate the task to your accountant and stay focused on running your business.
- You get to create a detailed audit report.
The rules in Indonesia don’t only require you to provide detailed records and financial statements that follow the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). You also need to submit a detailed audit report done by an auditor or accountant that’s certified by the country’s Ministry of Finance. Now if you don’t want to go through the hassles of creating a report, your accounting firm can do that for you.
In the end, working with a reputable accounting firm will surely make running your business in Indonesia a lot smoother. You just need to focus on mastering your business budget and leave the accounting tasks to professionals who know the field like the back of their hands. So if you still haven’t found one yet, find a firm that has a proven track record for efficiency in the business.
