What is an audit file?
In short
An audit file is an export of your financial records in a fixed XML format, the Auditfile Financieel (XAF). The Dutch Tax Administration or your accountant can import this file into their own audit software, whichever accounting package you use.
What is in an audit file?
The Auditfile Financieel contains a financial year's data from your accounts: the company details, the chart of accounts with all general ledger accounts, the relations (customers and suppliers), the journals and all entries with date, amount, description and VAT code. The file has the extension .xaf and is written in XML, so any audit program can read it.
Besides the financial audit file, there are audit files for other parts of the records, such as payroll and checkout systems. Version 3.2 of the Auditfile Financieel has long been the common version; in 2024 a consultation version of version 4.0 was published.
When do you need an audit file?
- Tax audit: during an audit, the Tax Administration can ask for an audit file. You then receive instructions for submitting the file securely.
- Annual accounts and audit: accountants import the audit file to analyse the accounts.
- Switching software: with an audit file you take a year's entries to another accounting package that can import XAF.
What should you look out for?
You must keep your records for seven years and, when you switch, still be able to show what was in your old package. So when you cancel accounting software, export the audit files for all years you still have to keep, and check that each file is complete.
Which software helps with this?
Dutch accounting software should be able to export an audit file. With a foreign package or when switching, check whether export in the Dutch XAF format is available.