You've hired your first sales rep. Revenue is real now. Then you realize: you've been invoicing in a spreadsheet, your SOCSO registration is overdue, and nobody knows what your EPF contribution code means. That's when you call an accountant or finance manager. The moment they sit down, they'll ask for three things: your invoicing system, your payroll setup, and proof that your tax ID matches your business registration. If those aren't ready, you've just hired someone to spend their first week chasing your paperwork instead of building process. This guide walks through what they'll demand, why it matters, and how to prepare before they start. Why your finance hire cares about invoicing before anything else An accountant's job is not to fix your invoicing. It's to trust it. The moment they discover that your invoices don't match your bank deposits, or that you've issued invoices without tax ID validation, they stop trusting the data. Everything after that—tax planning, statutory filings, cash forecasting—depends on fixing the broken foundation first. Here's what they need to see: Consistent invoice numbering: Sequential, unbroken, with no gaps or duplicates. Gaps signal missing invoices; duplicates signal careless data entry. Both trigger LHDN audits. Customer tax IDs on every invoice: In Malaysia, B2B invoices must carry the buyer's SST Registration Number if they're registered. If you don't have it, you're not just missing data—you're creating a compliance gap that blocks payment and triggers enquiries. Proof of integration: Your invoicing tool should feed directly into your accounting software. Manual export-and-import cycles guarantee data drift and reconciliation nightmares. Audit trail: Every invoice should show who created it, when, and any changes made. Spreadsheets don't do this. Software does. If you're still invoicing manually, use invoicing software that validates customer tax IDs before send and syncs automatically to your accounting system. Your finance hire will thank you. More importantly, LHDN will have less reason to call. EPF setup: What your finance hire will check EPF—the Employees Provident Fund—is not optional in Malaysia. The moment you hire someone, you're required to register with EPF within 15 days. If you haven't done this yet, your finance hire's first job is legal risk management, not strategic work. Here's what they'll want to verify: EPF registration number: Proof that you've registered with the EPF board. This is not your business registration number; it's a separate identifier for your payroll obligations. Contribution rate: For 2024, the employer contribution is 12% of the employee's salary (up to a maximum of RM6,500 per month). Employees contribute 11%. You're responsible for both, though employee contributions are deducted from their pay. Your finance hire needs to confirm that your payroll system calculates this correctly. Member registration: Each employee must be registered individually with EPF. This generates a Member Number. Without it, you cannot legally deduct EPF from their salary. Monthly submission proof: EPF contributions must be submitted by the 10th of the following month. Your finance hire will want to see a record of submissions to prove compliance. Reconciliation: EPF contributions should match payroll records. If they don't, the difference is a financial and legal liability. If you haven't registered yet, do it now. The form is available on the EPF website, and registration takes a few days. If you have registered but don't have a system to track contributions, your finance hire will build one—but they'll lose days on setup that could've been prevented. SOCSO coverage: Statutory liability you can't skip SOCSO—the Social Security Organisation—is Malaysia's mandatory social insurance for employees. It covers medical treatment, temporary and permanent disability, and survivor benefits. It's not optional, and it's cheaper than the legal consequences of not enrolling. Here's what your finance hire will check: SOCSO registration: Proof that you've registered as an employer. Like EPF, this must happen within a set timeframe of hiring. Contribution rate: For 2024, the rate is roughly 0.5–1.25% of employee salary, depending on the wage bracket and employment type. Your finance hire needs to confirm that your payroll software applies the correct rate. Coverage status: Not all employees are covered. Employees earning above a certain threshold (RM4,500/month in 2024) are not eligible for SOCSO coverage, though you may still need to register them. Your finance hire will verify eligibility for each employee. Monthly reporting: Like EPF, SOCSO contributions are due by the 10th of the following month. Your finance hire will want proof of timely reporting. Claim history: If an employee files a claim (medical, disability), SOCSO will cross-check your contribution records. Missing contributions invite audits and penalties. If you haven't registered for SOCSO, your finance