Opening and Closing necessity in any jurisdiction

[Wm]

Mon, 22 Dec 2014 06:47:04 <20141222064704.50e3be19 at mum-quad.billiau.net> 
Liz <edodd at billiau.net>

>On Sun, 21 Dec 2014 17:36:16 +0000
>Wm <wm+gnc at tarrcity.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> So, is there anywhere in the world where accounts must be closed and
>> opened each year?  I think the answer is no but I'm curious to find
>> out if I'm wrong.
>
>I'm sure some people maybe from Croatia reported that they had specific
>requirements which included starting from 1 for the first invoice of
>the financial year.

That person is available in the ledger lists and still unsatisfied as 
far as I can tell, I very much doubt his peculiar detail was anything 
his government required as he is accounting for litres of milk at one 
shop v another and similar.  Weird.

>Otherwise, I see the point. Your bank didn't take away your passbook at
>the end of the year and issue a new one. The account was continuous
>from beginning to end. Now they send a regular report - with a starting
>balance and an ending balance, and a list of how they came to that
>number.

Yup, so honest people balance against honest reports.

>Reports need to be done at the intervals required - for me, GST every 3
>months, income tax report each month, and a bigger number annually
>which the accountant sorts out.

Yup.

>I put all that data on CD-R and give to the accountant.
>The accountant is not concerned whether I close my books or not - I
>provide the reports and the data. I think they work off the reports.

You are also doing something that other people think they are doing by 
closing and opening.  You are saying in a way that can't be argued with 
easily "that was the situation at that time".

If you're accounting honestly (and I've no reason to believe anyone here 
isn't) then that is that.

>Logically the annual reporting and the historical record of the annual
>reports are important, not the means of arriving there.

yes, I think some people have separated recording (what happened, income 
statement or P&L) and reporting (what really happened, e.g. a change in 
financial position)

-- 
Wm...