Reporting period (verslagperiode)
The reporting period is the timespan to which the profit and loss account and other period results relate.
What does reporting period (verslagperiode) mean?
The reporting period is the timespan to which the profit and loss account and other period results relate.
It need not equal the calendar year. With a short or long first financial year, comparisons with previous periods must be explained carefully.
How does it work?
The reporting period is the period reported on. For the annual accounts it coincides with the financial year, which is the calendar year unless the articles designate another financial year (art. 2:10a DCC). The profit and loss account gives the result of that period (art. 2:362(3) DCC), the balance sheet the position on its last day.
The length is not always twelve months. The Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) names as exceptions the first financial year of a new company, the last financial year on liquidation and the interim year after an amendment of the articles. That affects comparability: for each item the amount of the previous financial year is shown, revised and explained where necessary (art. 2:363(5) DCC).
Example
A BV is incorporated on 1 October 2025 with an extended first financial year up to and including 31 December 2026. The first reporting period is fifteen months, with € 300,000 turnover. The second financial year, 2027, is twelve months with € 264,000 turnover. Side by side, turnover seems to fall 12%. Per month the picture is reversed: 300,000 / 15 = € 20,000 against 264,000 / 12 = € 22,000, an increase of 10%. The notes to 2027 therefore state that the comparative figures cover fifteen months.
In the annual accounts
Period above the P&L and notes; the balance sheet date closes the period.
Difference from financial year
The financial year is a legal concept: the period designated by the articles and to which the periods of Book 2 DCC are linked. Reporting period is the broader, factual concept: any period for which figures are presented, so also a month, quarter or half year.
Common mistakes
- Adding up turnover of two periods
- Showing comparative figures without a period difference
What to watch for
- Put the start and end date above the profit and loss account and the balance sheet date above the balance sheet, also in the comparative column.
- With a deviating length: state the number of months of both periods and convert ratios with turnover or costs to twelve months.
- For the size class, net turnover over the financial year counts (art. 2:396(1) DCC); a long first financial year therefore reaches the turnover limit sooner. In the first and second financial year the position on the first balance sheet date decides (art. 2:398(1) DCC). See also first financial year of eighteen months.
Legal basis and sources
art. 2:362 DCC
Frequently asked questions
Can a reporting period be longer than twelve months?
Yes, with an extended first financial year or an interim year after a change of the financial year in the articles. The Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) does not allow a change that serves only to obtain an incidental tax advantage.
Must the period of the return equal that of the annual accounts?
Yes. According to the Dutch Tax Administration, the financial year for the corporate income tax return must equal the financial year in the articles.
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Preparing Dutch annual accounts?
Your first set of annual accounts is free, for every size class. Create an account and prepare the annual accounts of your Dutch company under Title 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.
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