Bookkeeping Requirements for a Mauritius Company

The bookkeeping requirements for a Mauritius company come down to one principle: the books must show, at any time, what the company has done with its money and what it owns and owes. Directors are responsible for that, even when a bookkeeper or a provider does the daily work. This page explains the accounting records Mauritian law expects, the supporting documents behind them, the form they can take and a sensible working rhythm.

It deals with the day-to-day ledger. How long records are kept is covered in company records: what to keep and for how long, and the year-end accounts are covered in preparing annual financial statements.

What "keeping books of account" means in Mauritius

Under the Companies Act 2001, a company must keep accounting records that correctly record and explain its transactions. Those records must let anyone reading them work out the company's financial position at a given date, and they must allow the directors to prepare financial statements and, where required, to have them audited.

Two practical points follow from that wording:

• Records must be complete. A bank statement alone is not a set of books. Every receipt, payment, invoice and adjustment needs an entry and a document behind it.
• Records must be understandable. Another person, such as an auditor or a tax officer, should be able to follow a transaction from the source document to the ledger to the accounts.

The duty applies to every company, including a company with no staff, a holding company and a company that trades very little. A dormant company is not released from it simply because activity is low.

The records a company should keep

Most companies organise their books around the same core elements.

Day-to-day records

• Cash and bank book: every receipt and payment, reconciled to the bank statements.
• Sales records: invoices issued, credit notes and amounts still owed by customers.
• Purchase records: supplier invoices, expense claims and amounts still owed to suppliers.
• General ledger and journal: the summary of all accounts, plus manual adjustments with a short explanation.
• Fixed asset register: equipment, vehicles and other long-lived items, with purchase date and cost, which also supports capital allowances.
• Payroll records: gross pay, deductions and employer charges, as described in payroll in Mauritius.
• Loan and shareholder accounts: funds moving between the company, its shareholders and its directors, see loans between a company and its directors.

Supporting documents

Each entry should be traceable to a document. Typical examples are sales and purchase invoices, receipts, contracts, bank statements, payroll slips, board approvals for significant transactions and correspondence that explains an unusual item.

Records that are not accounting records

Keep these separate from the ledger. The statutory registers (members, directors, charges and so on) are described in statutory registers a Mauritian company must keep. The beneficial ownership information has its own rules: the company must identify its beneficial owner at all times and keep a separate register with the name, address, national identity or passport number, nationality and ownership structure. See the beneficial ownership register.

Form: paper, electronic or both

The law does not require a particular software or a bound paper book. What matters is that the records are accurate, kept in an orderly way, can be produced when asked and cannot be altered without a trace.

If you scan documents, make the scan legible and name the file so that it matches the ledger entry. Keep access to the books for the people who must have it: directors, the bookkeeper, the auditor and the company's service provider.

Cash basis or full accrual: which method applies

Most companies keep their books on an accrual basis, meaning that income and expenses are recorded when they arise rather than when money moves. There is one notable exception. A small private company with turnover below Rs 100 million may prepare its financial summary on a cash basis, showing the profit and loss only. That relief concerns how the summary is prepared; it does not remove the need for good underlying records, since the figures must still be supported and, where a company later falls outside the small private company category, a fuller set of accounts will be needed.

Whether your company qualifies depends on its turnover for the previous financial year, whether it holds a Global Business Licence and whether it is an entity caught by the Financial Reporting Act. A newly incorporated private company is treated as a small private company for its first financial year. Because this depends on your facts, confirm the position with an adviser. For the financial reporting standard that usually follows, see IFRS for SMEs.

How often should the books be updated?

The law does not set a weekly or monthly cycle for the ledger; it asks for accurate records. In practice, the rhythm below keeps most companies safe and makes year-end far less painful.

A company with few transactions can work in larger batches, but a long gap is where errors, lost documents and missing explanations creep in. For a regular quarterly review, see management accounts: what to track every quarter.

Bookkeeping checklist

• Open a dedicated company bank account and never mix personal spending with it
• Choose a bookkeeping method (software or ledger) and a named person responsible
• Record every sale and purchase with its invoice
• Reconcile the bank account on a regular, fixed schedule
• Keep payroll records and contribution evidence together
• Maintain the fixed asset register
• Document shareholder and director loans with an agreement
• Back up electronic records and store them away from the original device
• Keep the beneficial ownership information, including the owner's written declaration, in the separate register
• Review the books before each filing and before the audit, if one applies

Who is responsible?

The directors are responsible for ensuring that proper accounting records exist. They may delegate the work to an employee, an accountant or a service provider, but they cannot delegate the responsibility. For a closer look at the duties involved, read directors' duties under Mauritian company law.

For an Authorised Company, the registered agent has a statutory role that includes keeping records such as minutes, resolutions and transaction documents under section 71A(8) of the Financial Services Act. Even then, the company should be sure that its own transaction documents reach the agent in good order.

Why good books matter for filings and checks

The books are the source for almost every later obligation:

• Financial statements: outside small private companies, they are filed with the Registrar within 28 days (or any other period set by the Registrar) after being signed. A small private company files, with its annual return, a financial summary or its financial statements.
• Annual return: filed within 28 days after the date of the annual meeting. See the annual compliance checklist.
• Tax return and review by the MRA: weak records make it difficult to support deductions. See preparing for an MRA tax review.
• Audit: an auditor starts from the ledger and the documents. See audit requirements.