Audit
It is a common misconception that audits are only carried out at the tax advisor's office when companies have their accounting handled by a tax advisor. Although traditional tax audits often take place at the tax advisor's office, the tax office makes a strict distinction between accounting (at the tax advisor's office) and document creation and archiving (at your company).
Procedural documentation in the focus of the tax audit: Procedural documentation forms the central basis for an on-site audit at your business premises. The tax authorities check not only the formal completeness, The tax authorities not only check for formal completeness, but also, in particular, for practical implementation: They verify whether the documented processes are actually “lived” in day-to-day business and meet the requirements for traceability.
Thanks to integrated process documentation, you can face any on-site audit with peace of mind.
Example: Transparency in the Revenue Module
Click the help button for process details:
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OriginTransparent generation of revenue elements and invoices.
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AuthorizationClearly defined roles for recording, generating, and sending.
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Audit ComplianceTechnically guaranteed, unalterable archiving (GoBD).
A tax advisor can only relieve you of part of your responsibility. Although they record the completed documents, they have no insight into how they were created. The obligation to provide evidence—such as which framework agreement an offer was based on or how a document was originally created—remains entirely with the company.
A key requirement of the GoBD is the traceability of the creation process. For each version of a document, it must be clearly documented when, by whom, and on what basis it was created. No tax advisor can assume this responsibility—it must be ensured technically by the ERP system you use —in this case, ManagerCloud.
A key pillar of the GoBD is the so-called transaction chain. This means that an invoice cannot be viewed in isolation, but must remain traceable in the context in which it was created. ManagerCloud automatically establishes this chain during the audit: Each invoice remains inextricably linked to the underlying offer or framework agreement. This allows you to easily prove how a claim arose during an audit – a requirement that is difficult to fulfill with simple word processing programs in a legally compliant manner.
Audits at your office premises
The tax office has three legal options for showing up at your premises unannounced:
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The Audit: For several years now, the tax office has been using instruments such as sales tax audits and cash register audits. This involves officials turning up unannounced at your premises during business hours. They want to see:
How are invoices issued?
Where are the original receipts stored?
Is the procedural documentation implemented on site? -
Audit of the “IT system”: The GoBD requires that the tax office has the right to access data (Z1, Z2, Z3 access). Since your invoices are created and archived in ManagerCloud, the tax office must be able to verify that this upstream system is secure. Since the tax advisor only has the accounting records in their system (e.g., DATEV), they cannot verify the audit compliance of your upstream system—you must do this on site (or by granting system access).
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Responsibility for primary documents: The tax advisor is only responsible for proper accounting. As an entrepreneur, you are responsible for the proper recording and storage of original documents. If the auditor has doubts about the authenticity or immutability of a document, they will always want to check the source—and that source is in your business.