Accounting & Audit in Thailand

What you need to know

Accounting is an ongoing legal responsibility, not just a year-end tax exercise. Registered partnerships, limited companies, public limited companies, foreign juristic persons carrying on business in Thailand and Revenue Code joint ventures are among the entities identified by the Department of Business Development as persons with a duty to keep accounts. The responsible business must arrange for bookkeeping, appoint a suitably qualified bookkeeper and give that person the records needed to make entries that are complete and true. Directors or managers should still understand who approves payments, keeps source documents, reconciles bank accounts and closes each reporting period; outsourcing the work does not remove management responsibility.

Start by mapping sales, purchases, payroll, fixed assets, loans, shareholder transactions and tax documents into a consistent chart of accounts. Keep invoices, receipts, contracts, bank evidence, payroll records and supporting schedules organised and accessible. VAT registrants must keep the tax invoices, reports and supporting documents covered by Revenue Code section 87/3 for at least five years from filing or report preparation, with longer retention possible in specified assessment cases. Accounting and tax are connected but not identical: a book entry under the reporting standard may require a separate tax adjustment, so reconciliations should be maintained rather than forcing the financial accounts to equal the tax return.

The financial reporting framework depends on the entity. Many privately owned businesses without public accountability use the Federation of Accounting Professions' TFRS for NPAEs, revised in 2022 and effective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2023; publicly accountable or otherwise in-scope entities use the applicable full Thai Financial Reporting Standards. Department of Business Development guidance states that financial statements generally require examination and an opinion by a certified auditor, with an exemption available only for qualifying Thai registered partnerships within prescribed limits. Confirm classification and any sector-specific rules with the bookkeeper and auditor rather than assuming the small-business framework applies.

For Thai limited and public limited companies, Department of Business Development guidance requires approved financial statements to be filed within one month after approval at the general meeting; registered partnerships, foreign-law juristic persons operating in Thailand and Revenue Code joint ventures generally file within six months after the accounting period closes. Use DBD e-Filing and check the current filing announcement for the applicable year. A practical annual plan is to agree a month-end close timetable, clear unreconciled items, prepare schedules for the auditor, set the shareholder-approval date and assign one person to track DBD and Revenue Department submissions. If records are incomplete, ownership or related-party transactions are complex, or the business has changed activity, raise those points well before year-end rather than waiting for the filing deadline.