Accounts for the AGM: what to prepare

This is practical help, not legal or tax advice. Your state's rules for societies or apartment owners' associations, and your bylaws, decide what must be audited and filed. Ask your auditor.

The statements

Statement	The question it answers	Covers
Income & expenditure	Did we spend within what we earned?	The year
Receipts & payments	Where did the cash and bank money come from, and where did it go?	The year
Balance sheet	What does the society own and owe today?	A date, usually the year end
Fund statement	How much is in each fund, and why did it change?	The year
Dues by flat	Who still owes what?	A date
Collections and expense register	The detail behind the totals	The year

Income & expenditure

Income and expenses by category for the year: maintenance billed, corpus, interest and rent on one side; salaries, electricity, AMCs, repairs and water on the other. The difference is the surplus or deficit. It counts income when it is billed, whether or not the flats have paid yet.

Receipts & payments

The cash view: the money that actually came in and went out of the bank and the cash box, with opening and closing balances. The closing figures must match the bank statement and the cash you can count.

Balance sheet

On one date: what the society has (bank, cash, dues from flats, deposits) against what it owes or holds for members (funds, advances paid by members, unpaid bills to vendors). The two sides must balance.

Fund statement

For each fund, such as the maintenance account, the corpus and a sinking fund: opening balance, money in, money out, transfers and closing balance. This is where members see that the corpus is being saved, and what it was spent on.

Dues and registers

A list of every flat's dues, including old dues and late fees, and the registers behind the totals: collections for festivals or repairs, and every expense with its date, vendor and receipt.

Why the numbers differ

Income & expenditure counts a bill as income when it is raised; receipts & payments counts it when the flat pays. The gap between them is mostly unpaid bills. Corpus money is set aside for big repairs, so show it as a fund rather than as money available for monthly running costs.

Checklist before the AGM

• Reconcile the bank: the closing balance matches the bank statement.
• Count the cash in hand and record it.
• List every flat's dues, including old dues and late fees.
• Match every expense to a bill or receipt.
• Check each fund: opening + money in − money out = closing.
• Note any one-off works and which fund paid for them.
• Write a short note on the big changes since last year.
• Send the statements to members a few days before the meeting.

Do it in Socify

Socify keeps the society's books as you go: every bill, payment, expense and transfer is recorded when it happens. Finance › Reports then gives you the income & expenditure account, fund statement, receipts & payments, balance sheet, collections, dues and expense register for any period, exported to PDF or Excel for the AGM and your auditor.