Information required - preparation of Balance sheet

[Shai]

Hello,

I've joined in a firm where no proper accounting is followed and no proper data for the last year is available as well. I've prepared the profit and loss account for the year using the data available and it was quite easy as it doesn't need much data from the previous year. Now i want to prepare the balance sheet. As it requires several information from the previous year I'm quite confused about preparing it due to lack of data from previous year. Anybody have suggestions regarding this?

 

[kirby]

Do they have a general ledger?
Can you speak to the prior accountant and ask where the acctg records are?

 

[alexm]

Hello,
In the worst case, you may need to do a list of assets and liabilities that are known, come up with reasonable values for them and then determine the equity as a difference between both. E.g. what are known outstanding receivables/payables, what are inventory values, what are fixed asset values, what are known provisions and loans etc. In a certain sense, that would be like stocktaking but for the whole balance sheet. This would not represent a proper "going concern" picture, which you would have based on continuous accounting. However, that's an option (at least for some sections of the balance sheet) if nothing else works.