ACCOUNTING MATTERS IN THAILAND
Thailand continues to grow and succeed as a nation with strong economic impact in Southeast Asian region. Future economic growth and development is dependent upon maximum resource allocation and related business planning and decisions made in part with information provided by the accounting professions in Thailand. Having investment in Thailand’s competitive market can be a real challenge because the country’s complicated tax and accounting regulations which vary from international standards, are administered and implemented inconsistently, and are subject to common alteration or updates. Dealing with Thailand’s financial regulations can be troublesome and inconvenient, without a partner by your side to assist and guide your way of doing business.
Therefore, it is only sensible that a single firm handles foreign business accounting matters in order to comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and Thai regulations. Panwa Group of companies offers you the perfect solution to managing your accounts for your Thai business and we focus on your success.
We specialize in assisting foreign companies in Thailand and we have especial expertise in translating and interpreting Thai business practices in use for foreign company. We have licensed accountants, auditors as well as experienced and dedicated bookkeepers on our staffs. We are able to provide accounting services and documents, both in English and Thai language as follows.
A. MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORTS (BALANCE SHEET, P & L)
Income – Juristic company or partnership should record income according to the regulation of accrued income or monthly accrual basis of expenses; any income arises from services or products rendered, though cash have not yet received, should be recognized as income. The received income should be deposited to bank for selling and receiving control.
Expenses – Juristic company or partnership should record expenses according to the regulation of accrued expenses or monthly accrual basis of expenses; any expenses incurred, though not yet paid, should be recorded as expenses. The expenses should be business related to show the actual status of financial statement. The recorded expenses should have supporting documents as evidence to prove that:
- The company / partnership is the payer.
- The expenses are actually paid (by having receipts). If the recipient could not provide a receipt, the company or partnership should provide a receipt form to be filled up and signed by the recipient.
Some expenses cannot be uses in tax computation; we call these “Un-deductible Expenses”. But according to the principles of accounting, these have to be recorded to show the correct status of financial statement. Below are some examples of un-deductible expenses:
- Entertainment expenses that are not covered in ministerial regulations. If covered, they have to be more than 0.3% of the total income or the paid-in capital, whichever is larger.
- Tax penalty or penalty for criminal case
- Expenses that cannot be proved who is the recipient or expense that do not have any financial evidence.
- Expenses that do not involve business process.
- Unreasonably high expenses, etc.
B. ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT
Accounting Period: A newly established company or partnership should close accounts within 12 months from the date of its registration. Thereafter, the accounts should be closed every 12 months. The performance record is to be certified by the company auditor, approved by shareholders, and filed with the Business Development Office, Ministry of Commerce, within five months of the end of the fiscal year, and with the Revenue Department, Ministry of Finance, within 150 days of the end of the fiscal year.
If the company wishes to change its accounting period, it must obtain written approval from the Director General of the Revenue Department.
Accounting Principles: In general, the basic accounting principles practiced in the United States are accepted in Thailand, as are accounting methods and conventions as sanctioned by law. The Institute of Certified Accountants and Auditors of Thailand is the authoritative group promoting the application of generally accepted accounting principles.
Any accounting method adopted by a company must be used consistently and may be changed only with approval of the Revenue Department.
Certain accounting practices of note include:
- Depreciation – The Revenue Code permits the use of varying depreciation rates according to the nature of the classes of assets which have the effect of depreciating the assets over periods that may be shorter than their estimated useful lives. These maximum depreciation rates are not mandatory; a company may use lower rates that approximate the estimated useful lives of the assets. But if a lower rate is used in the books of the accounts, the same rate must be used in the income tax return.
- Accounting for Pension Plans – Contributions to a pension or provident fund are not deductible for tax purposes unless these are actually paid out to the employees, or the fund is approved as a qualified fund by the Revenue Department and is managed by a licensed fund manager.
- Consolidation – Local companies with either foreign or local subsidiaries are not required to consolidate their financial statements for tax and other government reporting purposes, except for listed companies which must submit consolidated financial statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand.
- Statutory Reserve – A statutory reserve of at least five percent of the annual net profits arising from the business must be appropriated by the company at each distribution of dividends until the reserve reaches at least 10 percent of the company’s authorized capital.
- Stock Dividends – Stock dividends are taxable as ordinary dividends and may be declared only if there is an approved increase in authorized capital. The law requires the authorized capital to be subscribed in full by the shareholders.
C. BOOKS OF ACCOUNTS AND STATUTORY RECORDS (JOURNAL ENTRIES AND GENERAL LEDGERS)
Rules in maintaining book of accounts (Section 12, Accounts Act of 2000) – In keeping accounts, the person with duty to keep accounts must hand over the documents required for making accounting entries to the bookkeeper, correctly and completely, in order that the accounts so kept may show the results of operations, financial position or changes of financial position according to facts and accounting standards.
Accounting entries may be recorded in a foreign language, but there should be an appended Thai translation. All accounting entries should be written in ink, typewritten, or printed.
Bookkeeping activities – Our day-to-day bookkeeping activities merely consist of:
- Posting or recording transactions in journal and on computer files and update the files when needed.
- Review computer printouts against regularly maintained journals and make necessary corrections.
- Review invoices and statements to ensure that all the information appearing on them is accurate and complete,
- Compare computer reports with actual reports.
- Verify records of transactions posted by other staff by checking figures, postings, and documents to ensure that they are correct, mathematically accurate, and properly coded.
We also use specialized accounting software, spreadsheets, and databases to make our bookkeeping services more convenient for our clients. This makes us save more time and to do additional responsibilities and services, such as payroll, procurement, and billing. Many of these responsibilities need writing and sending letters, email and fax messages and making phone calls to clients.
Some of our major accounting functions and your benefits includes:
- For in house accounting, our professional accounting team are very glad to teach/train, review and joint with your inside meeting and teach your staff how to do by themselves all the possible way to achieve a competitive business growth.
- We provide satisfactory services, thus, allowing you to focus on your business activities and objectives without interruptions.
- Our monthly or quarter financial report makes you understand the financial status of your business.
- Our payroll services helps your payroll function effective and efficient.
- You only pay the necessary tax you have to pay.
- Our team can help you do business planning for your success.
Furthermore, our services shall be practiced carefully under the Accounting Act of B.E 2000. The Accounting Act provides the basic requirements relating to financial reporting by all business entities incorporated in Thailand. It requires that, registered partnerships, limited companies, public limited companies established under Thai Law, and joint ventures and foreign entities operating in Thailand under the Revenue Code have a duty to maintain books of accounts. According to the rules prescribed under the Accounting Act; such accounts must be kept for a period of at least 5 years after the accounting period. The rules prescribe that Thai Accounting Standards (TAS) are mandatory for accounting and financial reporting by all business entities. The Ministry of Commerce, Bureau of Business Supervision of the Department of Business Development, is responsible for administering and implementing the accounting act.