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Create a month-end review checklist

Author: AILesson9 min setupTested with:ChatGPTReviewed: 2026-08-28

Quick answer

Turn an approved close process into sequenced checks with evidence, reconciliations, exceptions, approvals, and reopening rules. Provide: Close scope and calendar, Approved controls and reconciliations, Exception and sign-off rules. Expected result: An owned close calendar, control checklist, reconciliation register, exception log, sign-off pack, and retrospective prompts.

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Create an executable month-end review checklist using only the approved close rules below.

Scope and calendar:
[scope]

Controls and reconciliations:
[controls]

Exceptions and sign-off:
[exceptions]

Sequence tasks from pre-close through cutoff, data completeness, subledger close, reconciliations, estimates and adjustments, analytical review, reporting, sign-off, lock, and retrospective. For every item show timing or dependency, preparer, independent reviewer when required, exact action, source, expected evidence, tolerance, status, exception route, and completion criterion. Define what totals must reconcile and how outstanding items roll forward. Do not invent accounting policy, journal, materiality, owner, approval, tax treatment, deadline, system behavior, or supporting evidence. Never mark a control complete merely because a number is close; apply the stated tolerance and explanation rule. Separate preparation, review, posting, and approval authority. Include stop conditions, late-adjustment and reopening log, final sign-off pack, and next-month improvements without changing policy.
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From input to outcome

A worked example

See how concrete context turns this recipe into a usable result

Actual input

Close scope and calendar
August close for one CNY service company, accrual basis. Systems: SalesDesk billing, PayFlow bank, LedgerLite GL, payroll export. Cutoff 31 August 23:59 Asia/Shanghai. D-2 pre-close; D+1 subledgers and bank; D+2 accruals and reconciliations; D+3 review and report by 17:00. Accountant Lin prepares. Controller Kai reviews and approves adjustments. Operations owns service-delivery evidence. Materiality for escalation CNY 5,000; this is not a posting threshold.
Approved controls and reconciliations
Required: billing register to revenue and receivables; bank statement to cash GL; supplier ledger to payables; payroll export to payroll expense and payable; fixed-asset rollforward to GL; deferred revenue schedule; open purchase commitments for accrual review. Bank tolerance zero except documented timing items. Other reconciliations tolerance CNY 1; every difference still needs explanation. Lin drafts journals with source, calculation, period, account, and reversal flag; Kai approves and posts. Lin cannot approve or post own journal. Retain exported reports, reconciliation, journal evidence, approval, and final trial balance in close folder. Tax and inventory are outside this entity's close scope.
Exception and sign-off rules
Unreconciled bank difference, missing payroll control total, unsupported journal, or inability to export a source report stops sign-off. Items below 5,000 may remain open only with explanation, owner, due date, and Kai acceptance; items at or above 5,000 escalate to Finance Director. After Kai locks August, only Finance Director may authorize reopening, with reason, affected reports, journal, approvals, and reissued-report log. Final sign-offs: Lin preparation complete, Kai control review and financial report approval. Status fields not started/in progress/blocked/ready/reviewed.

Example output

August close control checklist

D-2 readiness — Lin exports the approved source-report list, confirms periods and control totals, opens the exception log, and asks Operations for service-delivery evidence. Evidence: dated exports and request log. Missing export capability is blocked.

D+1 completeness — Lin closes billing and supplier subledgers at the stated cutoff and reconciles billing register to revenue/receivables and supplier ledger to payables. Each reconciliation shows both totals, difference, explanation, outstanding owner and date. Kai independently reviews. Lin reconciles PayFlow statement to cash GL with zero tolerance except separately listed timing items; any unexplained difference stops sign-off. Payroll export must include its control total before payroll reconciliation begins.

D+2 adjustments — Lin prepares deferred-revenue, fixed-asset, payroll, and open-commitment reconciliations. For each proposed accrual or adjustment, attach source, calculation, August period, accounts, and reversal flag. Kai reviews, approves, and posts; Lin may neither approve nor post. Non-bank difference up to CNY 1 still receives an explanation. Open items below 5,000 need explanation, owner, due date, and Kai acceptance; 5,000 or more goes to Finance Director.

D+3 analytical review and sign-off — Lin compares revenue, costs, receivables, payables, cash, payroll, deferred revenue, and fixed assets with prior period and supplied expectations, labeling unknown causes. Kai verifies all reconciliations, journal approvals, exception disposition, and final trial balance, then approves the report by 17:00. Tax and inventory are explicitly out of scope, not silently completed.

Close pack: all dated source exports; signed reconciliations; outstanding-item register; journal support and approval; final trial balance; Lin preparation sign-off; Kai review and report approval. Kai locks August only after blockers are cleared. Post-lock reopening requires Finance Director authorization plus reason, affected reports, approved journal, and reissue log. Retrospective records late inputs, repeated differences, and proposed workflow improvements for approval next month.

Why this works

  1. 1

    Evidence and completion criteria turn a close checklist from reminders into verifiable controls

  2. 2

    Authority separation and reopening logs protect the integrity of late changes

Check the result

  • Does every close-critical task have a source, owner, reviewer, evidence, tolerance, and completion rule?

  • Do reconciliations identify both sides, control totals, differences, and outstanding-item treatment?

  • Are posting, approval, lock, late adjustment, escalation, and reopening authorities explicit?

Use it with confidence

Frequently asked questions

Practical answers about when to use this recipe, what to provide, and where human review still matters

What should I prepare before using “Create a month-end review checklist”?

For “Create a month-end review checklist,” prepare Close scope and calendar, Approved controls and reconciliations, and Exception and sign-off rules. Replace placeholders only with information you can verify. If a detail is unknown, preserve that uncertainty explicitly instead of asking the model to infer it.

When is the “Create a month-end review checklist” result not ready to use?

The result is not ready if it does not yet deliver the stated outcome—An owned close calendar, control checklist, reconciliation register, exception log, sign-off pack, and retrospective prompts—from the supplied evidence, or if it relies on unresolved assumptions, missing approvals, or invented details. Use the checks as release gates: revise the source inputs or assign a named, authorized reviewer instead of polishing an unsupported output.

Which AI tools have recorded tests for “Create a month-end review checklist”?

The published test record for “Create a month-end review checklist” lists ChatGPT as of 2026-08-28. This confirms recorded runs, not guaranteed compatibility or identical results in later product versions. For another tool or version, keep every constraint visible and repeat the result checks before use.

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