In the Netherlands the board of a private or public limited company has to prepare the financial statements and to make them available for inspection every year. This normally has to be done within five months after closing the financial year. Within the same term, the board also has to make the annual report available for inspection by the shareholders (provided the company is not exempted from this requirement by Dutch law).

Shareholders and Annual meeting

The financial statements then need to be adopted by the shareholders’ meeting. This meeting, which takes place at least once a year with the intention to adopt the financial statements, is referred to as the Annual meeting.