Month-End Close Checklist Template (Quarter and Year-End)

Month-End Close Checklist: [Entity or group] [Period, e.g. March 2027]

Close calendar and checklist that takes a reporting period from cut-off to sign-off: working-day calendar (WD-3 to WD+10), roles, pre-close, sub-ledger and general ledger close, reconciliations, intercompany and consolidation, flux review, quarter-end and year-end additions, reporting pack, sign-off, close KPIs and an issues log. Control language follows the GAO Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government (Green Book, GAO-25-107721, 2025 revision, US public domain) and, for SEC registrants, SEC Release 33-8810 (2007) on the period-end financial reporting process. COSO, IFRS, ISA and PCAOB standards are cited by name and number only. Replace every [bracketed] value and every row marked Example. This is a document format, not accounting, audit, tax, legal or financial advice. Obtain the standard or law for the normative text.

Document control

Approvals

Revision history

Contents

1. Scope, entities and close calendar
2. Roles and responsibilities
3. Close process overview
4. Pre-close and cut-off
5. Sub-ledger close
6. General ledger close
7. Reconciliations and review
8. Intercompany, consolidation and eliminations
9. Flux and analytical review
10. Quarter-end additions
11. Year-end additions
12. Reporting pack and sign-off
13. Close KPIs
14. Issues log and post-close adjustments
15. Glossary and references
16. Standard and licence note

1. Scope, entities and close calendar

List every entity and ledger in scope, the local accounting framework it keeps for statutory purposes, and the system that holds its books. A group close is only as fast as its slowest entity, so the calendar must show local holidays and time zones. Agree the calendar with every entity controller before the year starts and publish it with the annual budget timetable.

1.1 Entities in scope

All entities report to the group on IFRS group accounting policies through a mapping of the local chart of accounts. Local statutory adjustments are booked in a separate ledger layer so that group figures and statutory figures can both be produced from one set of source entries.

1.2 Close calendar

The calendar below is the Example for March 2027. Good Friday (2027-03-26) and Easter Monday (2027-03-29) are holidays in Germany and the UK, so the pre-close working days move back. Use the group calendar for WD numbering and note local deviations in the last column.

2. Roles and responsibilities

The Green Book expects management to assign responsibility and delegate authority for internal control (Principle 3) and to design control activities that respond to risks (Principle 10). In a close, that means every task has one owner, one reviewer who is not the owner, and a deadline. Small teams should document compensating controls, such as a CFO review of all manual journal entries above a threshold, where full segregation is not possible.

2.1 RACI for key milestones

3. Close process overview

The close runs in gates. A gate opens only when the checklist rows for the previous stage are complete and reviewed, or when the financial controller records an exception in the issues log. Gates are the points where the ERP period status changes, so they also leave a system audit trail.

Status values used in every checklist table: Not started, In progress, Done (awaiting review), Reviewed, N/A (reason). A task is complete only when it is Reviewed and the evidence column holds a link or file reference.

3.1 Using the checklist each period

Copy the master checklist at WD-10 and remove nothing: mark tasks that do not apply as N/A with a reason, so a reviewer can see that the omission was a decision. Owners update their own rows; reviewers change the status to Reviewed only after opening the evidence. The financial controller reviews the whole checklist at each gate and at sign-off, looking for three things: rows still open, rows marked Reviewed by the same person who did the task, and evidence references that point to folders rather than to specific files. Keep the completed checklist with the period's ledger evidence for at least the statutory retention period of the strictest country in scope. When a task changes (new system, new entity, new standard), update the master, not only the current copy, and record the change in the revision history so that next period starts from the corrected list.

4. Pre-close and cut-off

Cut-off is where most period errors start. Revenue and costs belong to the period in which goods are delivered or services are performed, under the group revenue and accrual policies in the Accounting Policy Manual (finance/accounting-policy-manual). Issue accrual request forms to budget holders three working days before period end, and set a hard return deadline. Confirm intercompany balances with counterparties before the close, not after.

For a SaaS retailer, revenue cut-off has two parts: physical goods (recognised on delivery under the group policy) and subscriptions (recognised over the service period). The billing system run on WD0 must produce the deferred revenue roll-forward so that unearned amounts are not reported as revenue. List any contract with unusual terms, such as a bill-and-hold arrangement or a free period, on the non-routine list so that technical accounting can review it before the close.

5. Sub-ledger close

Each sub-ledger (receivables, payables, inventory, fixed assets, payroll, cash) closes before the GL. The control check at this stage is simple and important: the sub-ledger total must equal the GL control account. Block manual postings to control accounts in the ERP so that differences can only come from interface timing.

Fixed asset detail is kept in the Fixed Asset Register (finance/fixed-asset-register). The expected credit loss allowance method and its inputs are documented in ECL Methodology (finance/ecl-methodology); the close only applies the approved method to the period-end ageing.

6. General ledger close

The GL close posts accruals, prepayments, deferrals, revaluations and allocations. Most of these are manual or semi-automated journal entries, which carry a higher risk of error and of management override than system-generated postings. Every manual entry follows the Journal Entry Support (finance/journal-entry-support) procedure: business purpose, calculation, source evidence, approval within limits, and a preparer who is not the approver.

Run the FX revaluation only after treasury publishes the closing rates (PRE-07), and use the same rate source for every entity. Lease accounting outputs come from the lease system described in Lease Accounting Memo (finance/lease-accounting-memo); the close checks that the system run is complete and that new leases signed in the period are in it.

7. Reconciliations and review

Every balance sheet account is reconciled at a frequency set by its risk tier, using Account Reconciliation (finance/account-reconciliation) as the format. High-risk accounts (cash, clearing, intercompany, revenue-related, judgemental provisions) are reconciled every month; low-risk, low-activity accounts may be quarterly. The reconciliation status report below is part of the close evidence and goes to the financial controller at WD+4.

7.1 Reconciliation status summary

A reconciliation that is late or missing is an issue for the log in section 14, not a reason to hold the close. Record it, estimate the exposure, and set a date.

8. Intercompany, consolidation and eliminations

Intercompany differences are resolved by the entities before consolidation, with the agreed tolerance recorded in the group accounting manual. The group reporting lead then loads entity trial balances, runs currency translation, eliminates intercompany balances, transactions and unrealised profit, and books top-side adjustments. Top-side entries are the highest-risk manual entries in the close because they bypass the entity ledgers, so each one needs the full journal entry support and CFO approval above the threshold.

Record the translation rates used in the reporting pack so that the variance analysis can split the FX translation effect from operating performance, as shown in Variance Analysis (finance/variance-analysis).

9. Flux and analytical review

Flux review compares each line of the income statement and balance sheet with the prior month, the same month last year and the budget or forecast. Set thresholds in both amount and percentage, and explain every line that breaches either. The reviewer challenges explanations that do not match what the business reports, such as revenue up while orders are flat. Analytical review is a detective control; it does not replace reconciliations or entry approvals, but it is the best last check before numbers leave finance.

Detailed budget comparisons are prepared after the close in Variance Analysis (finance/variance-analysis); the close flux review is the quick, line-by-line check that no number is wrong before it is reported.

10. Quarter-end additions

Switch on this block in March, June, September and December. If the group publishes interim financial statements, IAS 34 (Interim Financial Reporting) applies by name. Corvid, listed in London, publishes a half-yearly report under the FCA Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules (DTR 4.2) and, as a foreign private issuer, furnishes it to the SEC on Form 6-K; it files no Form 10-Q. Groups listed elsewhere follow their own market's interim rules. Even without public reporting, lenders often require quarterly covenant reporting, which uses the closed numbers.

The income tax workpaper format is in Income Tax Provision (finance/income-tax-provision), the impairment documentation in Impairment Test Memo (finance/impairment-test-memo), lender reporting in Covenant Compliance Certificate (finance/covenant-compliance-certificate) and related parties in Related-Party Register (finance/related-party-register).

11. Year-end additions

Switch on this block in December, together with the quarter-end block. The year-end close feeds the audited financial statements, so its timetable is agreed with the external auditor and the audit committee. Hold a planning meeting in the third quarter to fix the hard-close date, the PBC list and the dates for the auditor's interim and final fieldwork.

Year-end 2026 is the last year before IFRS 18 (Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements) applies, from annual periods beginning on or after 2027-01-01. For the 2027 year-end, the presentation and comparative restatement work belongs in IFRS 18 Transition Plan (finance/ifrs-18-transition-plan), and the going-concern requirements are found in IAS 8 as retitled, rather than IAS 1. Auditors applying ISAs apply ISA 570 (Revised 2024) and ISA 240 (Revised) for periods beginning on or after 2026-12-15, which means the 2027 audit for a calendar-year group; expect more questions on going concern and fraud risk, including journal entries. For Corvid, the UK statutory audit by Ashgrove & Partners LLP applies the ISAs (UK) equivalents (ISA (UK) 240 and 570, issued by the FRC with the same effective date), and the Form 20-F audit applies PCAOB standards, including AS 2401 (fraud) and AS 2415 (going concern). Check the current official pages for these dates.

Supporting formats: Going-Concern Assessment (finance/going-concern-assessment), PBC Request List (finance/pbc-request-list), Management Representation Letter (finance/management-representation-letter), Financial Statement Disclosure Checklist (finance/financial-statement-disclosure-checklist).

12. Reporting pack and sign-off

The reporting pack is assembled from the locked consolidation only. Its contents are listed below; the narrative and KPI pages follow Monthly Management Report (finance/monthly-management-report). Sign-off is a statement by each signatory that the close tasks within their responsibility are complete and reviewed, and that open issues are listed in section 14 with their estimated effect.

12.1 Sign-off statements

If the group is an SEC registrant, the sub-certification process for the officer certifications under Sarbanes-Oxley Act section 302 usually runs from this sign-off. Corvid Commerce Group plc is an SEC foreign private issuer filing Form 20-F, so the section 302 certifications are given annually with the 20-F and section 404 applies. Corvid runs quarterly internal sub-certifications from this sign-off (QE-09), so the annual certification rests on documented evidence from every close.

13. Close KPIs

Track speed and quality together. A faster close that produces more post-close adjustments is not an improvement. Report the KPIs monthly to the CFO and quarterly to the audit committee, with a twelve-month trend.

14. Issues log and post-close adjustments

Log every missed deadline, late entry, unresolved difference and control exception. For each one, estimate the financial effect, decide whether to correct it in this period or the next, and assign a root-cause owner. Any issue that suggests a control did not operate is passed to the internal control lead, who assesses it in Control Deficiency Evaluation (compliance/control-deficiency-evaluation) if the group runs a formal internal control programme.

Close the period in the checklist only after the CFO sign-off, then hold a short retrospective: what caused late items, which tasks can move before WD0, and which manual entries can be automated next period.

15. Glossary and references

15.1 Glossary

15.2 References

Standard and licence note

Based on the GAO Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government (Green Book, GAO-25-107721, 2025), a US government work in the public domain, and SEC Release 33-8810 (2007), also a US government work; both are cited and the text here is original. The close checklist structure is original practitioner writing; no standard prescribes it. COSO, IFRS (IAS 8, IAS 10, IAS 21, IAS 34, IFRS 18), IAASB (ISA 240, ISA 570) and PCAOB (AS 2401, AS 2415) materials and the FCA Handbook (DTR 4.2) are cited by name and number only; no text from them is reproduced or paraphrased. Corvid Commerce Group plc, its entities and every figure are fictional. Check the current official versions of every cited source and your local law before use. Template licence: MIT.