Reconciliations
Stop recon chaos. Use this reconciliation structure to catch variances early, enforce reviewer sign-offs, and prevent mystery balances from growing.
Reconciliations That Don’t Break : A Controller’s Structure for Fast, Clean Closes
Why Reconciliations Are The Close Bottleneck
Reconciliations fail because they are :
repetitive (so they get delayed),
“invisible” until they explode,
hard to review when rushed.
Fixing recon discipline is one of the fastest ways to speed up close without buying software.
The 3-Part Reconciliation Structure
Every reconciliation must have :
1) Timing
Define when it must be done:
Day 1 : high-risk accounts
Day 2 : medium risk
Day 3+ : low risk
2) Owner
Name :
preparer
reviewer
No owner = no accountability.
3) Sign-off
A recon is not “done” until it has :
support attached
variance explanation (if material)
reviewer approval recorded
The “Top 10 Red Accounts” Rule
Pick your 10 highest-risk accounts (typical examples) :
Cash
Accounts Receivable
Revenue / Deferred revenue
Accruals
Intercompany
Inventory (if applicable)
Fixed assets (if heavy capex)
Taxes payable/receivable
Red accounts must :
be reconciled early,
be reviewed early,
be escalated if late.
Variance Discipline (What Good Looks Like)
A variance explanation should be :
short (3–6 lines),
factual (no stories),
supported (attachment or reference).
Example:
“Increase due to Q4 prepaid contract renewal; invoice attached; allocation schedule attached; approved by reviewer on date.”
The Fastest Recon Improvement You Can Implement This Week
Create a tracker for all balance sheet accounts
Mark Red Accounts
Add a reviewer sign-off column
Enforce “no sign-off, not complete”
This alone reduces rework dramatically.
Next Step (CTA)
If you want recon structure + sign-offs + evidence indexing bundled as a quarter-close control system :