Do I get an extension if my bookkeeper is ill?

The short answer

Not automatically. Your bookkeeper's illness does not change the deadlines by itself. Arrange a replacement and assess a valid extension.

Basis: art. 2:210 and 2:394 DCC

Can illness justify an extension of the preparation period?

When your bookkeeper falls ill, the board of the BV remains responsible for the annual accounts planning. Contact the firm immediately about a replacement and handover of the file. A practical delay is not the same as a statutory extension. So first establish which deadline is approaching and which work is still missing.

For preparation, the general meeting may, on the basis of special circumstances, resolve an extension within art. 2:210 DCC. Whether the specific absence justifies such a resolution must be assessed on the circumstances; illness does not give an automatic right to the maximum extension. Note the cause, duration and available alternatives. Check whether an extension has already been granted. Filling in a missing resolution afterwards as if it had been taken earlier is not a careful solution. Publication also remains subject to art. 2:394 DCC. So do not let the firm merely name a new appointment date, but also explain the statutory planning.

How do you hand over unfinished year-end work?

Make the remaining work visible. Are the figures already closed and are only reporting and submission missing? Or do bank differences, inventory and tax positions still need to be investigated? Ask for the trial balance, movements, correction schedule and prior-year annual accounts, so that a replacement does not have to start again. Collect contracts and specifications yourself where possible. Give a replacement adviser an overview of open questions instead of just a folder of files. That speeds up the handover without assuming that anyone can responsibly finish an incomplete file immediately.

An exemption from annual accounts obligations is a separate and exceptional instrument. RVO describes the possibilities for serious reasons; that is not a general substitute for planning or capacity at an accounting firm. So do not assume that reporting sick produces such an exemption. If the annual accounts have been prepared but are not adopted in time, the route for publication without adoption may be relevant. That route does not, however, solve missing figures. Discuss with an expert which obligation can still be carried out in practice and which formal steps are needed in your situation.

When is an exemption possible?

On resumption, plan a check of the latest version. In a hurry, an old export and new corrections can get mixed up. Have the board go through the essential items, record the signing and decision-making, and check the receipt after submission. Then evaluate how the file stays available next year when one person drops out. Your own archive, a clear engagement description and a contact person for replacement are useful for that. Agree these measures with your adviser at a quiet moment. That reduces dependence on a single employee, without pretending that outsourcing moves the statutory responsibility of the board.

Sources

• KVK: deadline for filing the annual accounts
• RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency): exemption options for annual accounts

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