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Accounting and accounting rules in Japan

Accounting Rules

Tax Year
A Japanese corporation selects its fiscal year when it begins operations in Japan—the tax year may be the calendar year or another period not exceeding 12 months. A branch generally must adopt the same tax year used by its head office.
Accounting Standards
Domestic and foreign companies may choose one of the four accepted financial reporting frameworks : IFRS Standards, Japanese GAAP, Japan’s Modified International Standards (JMIS) (locally modified version of IFRS Standards) and US GAAP. SMEs usually use Japanese GAAP as the accounting framework.
Accounting Regulation Bodies
BAC
ASBJ
JICPA
Accounting Reports
The Commercial Code lists the requirements for a Limited Liability Company (Kabushiki Kaisha) to prepare an annual report and appendix. The annual report must be submitted to the general assembly of shareholders and must include the balance sheet and the income statement.
Publication Requirements
Only companies listed on the stock exchange must publish their accounts. According to the Law of Transferable Securities and the Law of Exchange, registrants must file annual and biannual statement reports to the Ministry of Finance and file a copy in the foreign exchange markets where transferable securities are registered.
Professional Accountancy Bodies
JICPA , The Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Tokyo Certified Public Tax Accountants’ Association , In Japanese
Certification and Auditing
Companies are required to seek a statutory auditor to conduct an annual audit of the financial health of their organisation.
Companies with more than JPY 500 million of share capital or JPY 20 billion or more of liabilities are required to appoint an external auditor (a public certified accountant) or an auditing firm, and must be subject to an audit based on the Company Law, as must a company listed on the Japanese stock markets.

You can contact the Board of Audit of Japan, the Japan Corporate Auditors Association (JCAA) and the Certified Public Accountants and Auditing Oversight Board.

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Latest Update: March 2024