PDF and editable spreadsheet
Month-End Close Checklist
A month-end close checklist covering reconciliations, accruals, cut-offs, review points and the reporting pack, with owner and deadline columns for your team.
Who this is for
Finance teams and business owners running a monthly close.
What you get
- A sequenced close checklist with owner and deadline columns.
- Cut-off guidance so transactions land in the right period.
- A review section covering the items most often missed.
- A reporting pack definition so the close produces something usable.
What is inside
The full contents are set out below, so the resource is useful whether or not you download the file.
1. Preparation, before period end
- Confirm the close calendar, owners and deadlines
- Chase outstanding invoices, expense claims and approvals
- Confirm cut-off dates with procurement and operations
- Prepare recurring journal templates
- Confirm payroll data will arrive on time
2. Transaction completeness
- All sales invoices posted for the period
- All supplier invoices received and posted
- Payroll journal posted and reconciled
- Bank transactions imported and categorised
- Petty cash and card accounts recorded
- Inter-company transactions recorded on both sides
3. Reconciliations
- Every bank and payment account reconciled
- Receivables ledger agreed to the aged listing
- Payables ledger agreed to the aged listing
- Stock reconciled to physical count or movement record
- VAT and withholding tax control accounts reconciled
- Payroll liabilities reconciled
- Loan and lease balances agreed to statements
- Suspense and clearing accounts investigated and cleared
4. Adjustments
- Accruals for costs incurred but not invoiced
- Prepayments released for the period
- Depreciation and amortisation posted
- Provisions reviewed and updated
- Foreign currency balances revalued
- Stock valuation and cost of sales adjusted
5. Review points
- Gross margin compared with prior periods and explained
- Unusual or large journals reviewed and documented
- Credit notes and discounts reviewed
- New suppliers and changed bank details reviewed
- Aged receivables reviewed with actions agreed
- Committed spend not yet invoiced identified
6. Close and lock
- Trial balance reviewed and agreed
- Period locked to prevent back-posting
- Working papers filed
- Exceptions logged with owners and dates
7. Reporting pack
- Cash position and rolling forecast
- Profit and loss against budget and prior year
- Gross margin by the dimension management uses
- Aged receivables and payables
- Balance sheet summary with reconciliation status
- Operational measures
- Exceptions and control report
These resources are general guidance, not advice on your specific circumstances. Where a topic touches on statutory requirements, confirm the current position with a qualified adviser.
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