Balance sheet reconciliation checklist
- Reconciliations due this close
- 42
- Each preparer carries
- 14.0
- Preparation hours this close
- 17.5
- Review hours this close
- 5.6
The numbers on this page come from the inputs you enter and the method stated: sixty minutes to an hour and nothing else. No benchmark, no industry average and no assumption about how long a reconciliation should take. Where a page cites a rule it names it, and the rule is the source.
The figures above start from a worked example (42). Change any input and the answer updates as you type.
Download the Balance sheet reconciliation checklist worked example (CSV)
The balance sheet reconciliation checklist worksheet works your close's programme before it starts: the reconciliations due at your account count and monthly share, how many each preparer carries, the preparation and review hours, the review hours per reviewer per close day, and how many accounts have to clear each day for the close to land. Enter your own figures and it computes on the page, with no account.
What is actually due this close
The accounts you reconcile every month, not the whole schedule, is the number the close owes, and it is usually smaller than the schedule and larger than people think. Everything else on this worksheet is derived from it, which is why it is the first figure and the one worth arguing about.
What each preparer is carrying
Divide the due reconciliations by the preparers and you have the individual load. It is the figure that tells you whether the plan distributes or concentrates, and concentrated loads are why a close depends on one person being well that week.
The review constraint, counted honestly
Review hours divided by reviewers and close days is the number nobody computes. Review is a small per-item cost that lands on one or two people inside a fixed window, and when that figure exceeds a few hours a day the close is late before it starts, whatever the preparers do.
What has to clear each day
Due reconciliations over close days is the daily rate the programme requires. Compared against what actually cleared on day one, it is the earliest reliable signal that this close is going to slip, and it is available before anybody has to admit it.
What the worksheet refuses to decide
Which accounts must be reconciled, how often, to what materiality, and whether a completed reconciliation is acceptable are accounting and audit judgements. They belong to your accountants and your auditor; the worksheet does arithmetic on the counts you enter and nothing else.
Balance sheet reconciliation checklist: common questions
What counts as an account here?
Whatever is a line on your reconciliation schedule. Some companies reconcile at the account level, some at a sub-account or entity level; the worksheet counts whatever you count.
Why does the monthly count matter so much?
Because it is the one input a controller actually controls. Moving accounts from monthly to quarterly changes the hours immediately, and the worksheet shows by how much before the decision is made.
Where do the numbers come from?
Entirely from your inputs, plus sixty minutes to an hour. There is no benchmark and no assumption about how long a reconciliation ought to take.