New Company Director Guide: Thailand

First week: understand the company you are directing

• Obtain the current company affidavit, memorandum, articles and signing-authority wording.
• Review the shareholder register, certificates, capital records and recent decisions.
• Confirm the registered office, actual operating locations and existing licences or promotion conditions.
• Identify the financial year-end, tax registrations, bank accounts and existing service providers.
• Ask for current accounts, overdue obligations, notices, disputes and unresolved issues.

An incoming director should not assume that the file is complete because a company has been operating for years. Prepare an opening issues list and distinguish verified information from statements awaiting evidence. The statutory records guide explains the core document set.

Confirm authority and access before using them

Check who can sign and whether combinations of directors or the company seal are required. Review bank mandates, payment approval limits and access to tax, payroll and accounting systems. Registered authority, bank permissions and internal approval limits are related controls but separate records.

Use individual authorised accounts where the system allows, preserve an access inventory and remove obsolete access through a controlled handover. Avoid using a former director’s personal credentials. If the appointment or authority has changed, follow the director-change process and retain evidence of the update.

First month: build an accounting routine

Agree which documents the company supplies, when they are due and who answers questions. Define the monthly reporting package, tax preparation responsibilities, payroll approval process and payment authority. Set a calendar that leaves review time before external deadlines.

Review all bank and cash accounts, opening balances, customer and supplier lists, inventory and assets. Separate business transactions from owner spending and funding. If historical balances are unsupported, scope the catch-up work explicitly rather than treating them as verified starting figures.

The monthly checklists and accounting scope guide help turn an informal arrangement into clear responsibilities.

Map registrations and recurring obligations

Ask which taxes and forms apply to the actual activity and transactions. Review VAT status, invoice procedures, withholding obligations, payroll deductions and cross-border payments. A company with little revenue can still have record-keeping or filing obligations; inactivity should be assessed rather than assumed to remove them.

Use the Revenue Department calendar and the company compliance planning guide. Keep a register of returns, filing acceptance and payment evidence. Decide who monitors authority notices and who escalates unresolved matters.

Before hiring or relocating staff

Set up an employment and payroll process that records authorised pay, attendance, benefits, starters and leavers. Identify social-security and tax responsibilities and use a secure channel for personal information. The payroll guide explains the accounting workstream.

For foreign directors or employees, review the actual work activity, immigration status and work-authorisation route separately. Being a shareholder or holding a visa does not by itself answer every work-permission question. Use the business visa and work permit guides before the person starts the proposed activity.

Days 30–60: read the first management report

On smaller screens, scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Ask for explanations in business language. A report delivered on time can still contain unresolved estimates or missing evidence; those limitations should be visible. Select a few useful measures from the management reporting guide and your industry guide.

Days 60–90: test the controls and annual timetable

Review a sample transaction from authorisation to invoice, payment and ledger entry. Confirm that reconciliations are reviewed, payroll changes are authorised and old system access has been removed. Check that records can be retrieved by someone other than their original preparer.

Plan the annual accounts, auditor coordination, shareholder approval and filings from the company’s actual year-end. The DBD business duties guide and annual accounts guide provide the broader framework. Do not leave the annual process until the final filing month.

Revisit the plan when the business changes

New shareholders, directors, premises, branches, capital or activities can trigger several separate workstreams. Use a change register naming the decision, approval, effective date, authority filing and operational follow-up. Consult the company administration hub before assuming an updated affidavit completes everything.

A first-90-days review is complete when the company has a current records index, agreed accounting responsibilities, a reliable calendar and a visible issues list. Continue reviewing these as the business grows rather than treating onboarding as a one-time paperwork exercise.

Illustrative engagement example

Explore the fictional company setup through first payroll example for a proposed work plan, document requests, deliverables and review criteria. This teaching scenario is not a record of a completed client mission.

Frequently asked questions