A month-end reporting checklist

A month-end checklist only works if the dates are fixed before the period ends. Publish a close calendar that shows the data cut-off, each reconciliation, the draft pack, the review, and the issue date. Use working days rather than calendar days, and exclude public holidays, so a long weekend does not quietly consume the buffer.

The timetable below is a workable default for a small finance team. Adjust the offsets to the business, then keep them stable for a quarter so people can plan around them.

Every source needs a named cut-off: sales invoices, purchase invoices, bank statements, payroll, stock counts, and timesheets. Write the time as well as the date. A supplier invoice received after the deadline is either accrued using a known estimate or held for the next period and disclosed in the pack.

Freeze the ledger once the cut-off passes. Backdated postings should require a logged adjustment with a reason and an approver. Without that rule, the pack will not agree to the ledger a week later, and the review meeting will be spent explaining versions rather than results.

Reconcile in priority order: bank and cash, debtors and creditors control accounts, intercompany, stock and work in progress, deferred and accrued revenue, payroll and tax control accounts, and fixed assets. Reconcile at the level at which the number is reported, not at transaction level.

Agree a materiality threshold in advance. A workable default is the greater of £5,000 or 1% of the balance, with any unexplained break above it escalated before the pack is issued.

Before writing commentary, test the numbers against each other. Most pack errors are not subtle: revenue does not agree to invoicing, gross margin has moved outside its normal range, or the cash movement does not tie to the balance sheet.

Apply a two-way test to every large P&L variance: it should be explained by a volume or price change, or by a matching balance sheet movement. If neither explains it, the number is probably wrong.

Use four parts: result, cause, evidence, action. For example, a line might read: Revenue is £28,000 below budget. Two orders worth £35,000 moved into the following month, partly offset by stronger renewals. The sales director will confirm revised delivery dates by Friday.

Do not repeat the number; the table already shows it. State whether the cause is timing, volume, price, cost, or a one-off, and name the person responsible for the response. A comment that ends without an action is a description, not reporting. Three sentences is usually enough for a material line.

The pack owner signs off the final version and records the date. Archive the pack, the trial balance extract, the adjustment journal, and any source file that cannot be regenerated. The archive lets you answer a question three months later without rebuilding the month from memory.

Review the process after the pack is issued, not during the close. Ask what arrived late, what was reworked, and which check would have caught the problem. Change one thing before the next close; changing five usually changes none.