Year-end close is the accounting close carried out at the end of a company's financial year. It includes all the work of a normal month-end, plus annual tasks that prepare the books for the full-year accounts and the auditors. The general process is explained in Financial Close, and the routine version in month-end close.
Annual steps typically include stock counts, reviews of asset values and provisions, tax calculations and closing entries that move the year's revenue and expense balances into retained earnings, so the next year starts at zero. The result is a set of financial statements that external auditors check before the company can publish audited financials and its annual report. Because the audit depends on it, year-end close usually takes longer and draws more scrutiny than any other close.