The Ministry of Commerce clarified the parties responsible for preparing and filing companies’ financial statements, as part of efforts to enhance companies’ awareness of statutory requirements and enable them to clearly understand their responsibilities, thereby contributing to higher levels of transparency, governance, and the quality of financial disclosure.
The Ministry explained that, in joint-stock companies (unlisted), the Board of Directors is responsible for preparing the company’s financial statements, which must be prepared at the end of each financial year. The financial documents must be made available to the auditor (if any) at least 45 days prior to the date of the General Assembly meeting. The financial statements must be signed by the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, and the Chief Financial Officer (if any), and a copy must be kept at the company’s head office. The Chairman of the Board is responsible for filing the financial statements and providing shareholders with a copy at least 21 days before the Annual Ordinary General Assembly meeting. He is also responsible for filing the financial statements with the Saudi Business Center through the electronic financial statements filing program.
As for limited liability companies, the responsibility for preparing and filing the financial statements lies with the company’s manager or board of managers. The financial statements for the elapsed financial year must be prepared and made available to the auditor (if any) at least 45 days before the date of the Annual General Assembly meeting, and provided to partners at least 21 days prior to the meeting. In addition, the financial statements must be filed with the Saudi Business Center through the electronic financial statements filing program.
In simplified joint-stock companies, responsibility lies with the company’s chairman, manager, or board of directors, depending on the company’s structure. The financial statements and the auditor’s report (if any) must be presented to shareholders within six months from the end of the financial year.
In general partnership companies, the manager or partners are responsible for preparing and filing the financial statements. In limited partnership companies, the manager, or the partners in the absence of an appointed manager, are responsible for preparing and filing the financial statements.
The Ministry revealed that financial statements must be filed within six months from the end of the financial year for all types of companies, noting that filing is carried out electronically through the “Qawaem” platform via the link:
qawaem.bc.gov.sa