Only medium and large companies are required by law to have their annual report audited by independent, qualified and registered Dutch auditors.

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The financial statements must be prepared and approved by the managing directors no later than 5 months after the end of the financial year. Hereinafter, the shareholders must adopt the financial statements within 2 months after the financial statements have been approved by the managing directors. In addition, the company must publish its annual report no later than eight days after the determination or approval of the financial statements by the shareholders. This means filing a copy of the financial statements with the Trade Register at the Chamber of Commerce.

The preparation period for the financial statements may be extended for maximum of 5 months at the shareholders’ meeting. The deadline for publication will be then 12 months after the end of the financial year.

Please note that if the shareholders are also the managing directors of the entity, the approval date of the financial statements by the managing directors would be automatically the adoption date by the shareholders. Consequently, the deadline for publication will be then 5 months (or 10 months if the extension period of 5 months is applicable) after the end of the financial year.