Finance & Accounting Operations

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name: finance-accounting description: Create journal entries, perform account reconciliation, run variance analysis, and manage financial close processes. Use when recording transactions, reconciling accounts, analyzing budget variances, or executing month-end close procedures. tags: [finance, accounting, reconciliation, financial-close]

Finance & Accounting Operations

Operational accounting framework for journal entries, reconciliation, variance analysis, and financial close. This skill covers the day-to-day accounting operations — not strategic financial planning (which is the CFO agent's domain).

Use this skill when

• Recording transactions as journal entries (accruals, prepayments, depreciation)
• Performing bank, intercompany, or subledger-to-GL reconciliation
• Analyzing budget vs. actual variances with root cause decomposition
• Executing or designing month-end / quarter-end close processes
• Preparing financial statement review checklists
• Building close calendars and sign-off workflows

Do not use this skill when

• Optimizing cloud infrastructure costs (use cost-optimization)
• Building startup financial projections or models (use startup-financial-modeling)
• Making strategic capital allocation decisions (use CFO agent directly)
• Conducting investor-facing financial analysis (use startup-business-analyst-financial-projections)

Instructions

1. Identify the accounting task — journal entry, reconciliation, variance analysis, or close process.
2. Apply the appropriate template from the sections below.
3. Follow the verification steps — every entry needs supporting documentation.
4. For close processes — use the Month-End Close Checklist with day-by-day sequencing.

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Journal Entry Templates

Standard Entry Structure

Date: [YYYY-MM-DD]
Entry #: [JE-XXXX]
Prepared by: [Name]
Approved by: [Name]
Description: [Clear description of transaction]

| Account Code | Account Name | Debit ($) | Credit ($) |
|-------------|-------------|-----------|------------|
| XXXX-XX | [Account] | X,XXX.XX | |
| XXXX-XX | [Account] | | X,XXX.XX |
| **Total** | | **X,XXX.XX** | **X,XXX.XX** |

Supporting documentation: [Reference #, invoice, contract, etc.]

Common Entry Types

Type	Debit	Credit	Frequency	Notes
Revenue Recognition	Deferred Revenue	Revenue	Monthly/per performance obligation	ASC 606 five-step model
Accrued Expense	Expense	Accrued Liabilities	Month-end	Reverse next period
Prepaid Expense	Prepaid Asset	Cash/AP	At payment	Amortize over benefit period
Depreciation	Depreciation Expense	Accumulated Depreciation	Monthly	Per asset schedule
Payroll Accrual	Salary Expense	Accrued Payroll	Per pay period	Include benefits, taxes
Bad Debt	Bad Debt Expense	Allowance for Doubtful Accounts	Quarterly	% of AR aging
Intercompany	IC Receivable (Entity A)	IC Payable (Entity B)	As incurred	Must net to zero

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Account Reconciliation Process

Reconciliation Workflow

Step	Action	Output
1	Pull system balances (GL, bank, subledger)	Raw data extract
2	Match transactions (automated where possible)	Matched items list
3	Identify unmatched items	Exception list
4	Investigate exceptions	Root cause for each
5	Book adjusting entries if needed	JE references
6	Document and sign off	Reconciliation worksheet

Reconciliation Worksheet Template

## Account Reconciliation — [Account Name] — [Period]

**Account #:** [XXXX-XX]
**Preparer:** [Name] | **Reviewer:** [Name]
**GL Balance:** $[X] | **Source Balance:** $[X]

### Reconciling Items
| # | Description | Amount | Status | Age (days) |
|---|-------------|--------|--------|------------|
| 1 | | $ | Open/Resolved | |
| 2 | | $ | Open/Resolved | |

**Adjusted GL Balance:** $[X]
**Adjusted Source Balance:** $[X]
**Difference:** $[X] (must be $0 or within threshold)

### Sign-off
- [ ] Preparer: [Name] — [Date]
- [ ] Reviewer: [Name] — [Date]

Reconciliation Types

Type	GL Account vs.	Frequency	Common Issues
Bank Reconciliation	Bank statement	Monthly	Outstanding checks, deposits in transit
Intercompany	Counterparty entity GL	Monthly	Timing differences, FX
Subledger-to-GL	AR/AP subledger	Monthly	Posting lag, unprocessed invoices
Suspense Account	$0 target	Weekly	Unclassified transactions
Fixed Assets	Asset register	Quarterly	Disposals not recorded

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Variance Analysis Framework

Budget vs. Actual Analysis

## Variance Report — [Period]

| Line Item | Budget | Actual | Variance ($) | Variance (%) | Favorable? | Root Cause |
|-----------|--------|--------|-------------|-------------|------------|------------|
| Revenue | | | | | | |
| COGS | | | | | | |
| Gross Profit | | | | | | |
| OpEx — S&M | | | | | | |
| OpEx — R&D | | | | | | |
| OpEx — G&A | | | | | | |
| EBITDA | | | | | | |

Price / Volume / Mix Decomposition

For revenue or COGS variances, decompose into three components:

Component	Formula	Interpretation
Price Variance	(Actual Price - Budget Price) x Actual Volume	Did we charge more/less than planned?
Volume Variance	(Actual Volume - Budget Volume) x Budget Price	Did we sell more/less than planned?
Mix Variance	Residual (Total - Price - Volume)	Did the product/customer mix shift?

Materiality Thresholds

Variance Size	Action Required
<5% and <$10K	Note only — no investigation needed
5-10% or $10-50K	Brief explanation in variance commentary
10-20% or $50-100K	Detailed root cause analysis
>20% or >$100K	Management review and corrective action plan

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Month-End Close Checklist

Close Calendar (5-Day Close Target)

Day	Activities	Owner	Status
Day 1	Cutoff: close AP/AR sub-ledgers, post final revenue entries	Accounting
Day 1	Bank reconciliation for all accounts	Treasury
Day 2	Accruals: payroll, benefits, utilities, professional fees	Accounting
Day 2	Intercompany reconciliation and netting	Accounting
Day 3	Depreciation/amortization entries	Accounting
Day 3	Prepaids and deferred revenue amortization	Accounting
Day 3	Inventory valuation adjustments (if applicable)	Operations
Day 4	Variance analysis (budget vs. actual)	FP&A
Day 4	Financial statement draft (BS, IS, CF)	Controller
Day 4	Flux analysis — flag items >10% or >$50K movement	Controller
Day 5	Management review and sign-off	CFO
Day 5	Final adjustments and close period in ERP	Controller

Revenue Recognition (ASC 606 — 5-Step Summary)

Step	Question	Output
1. Identify contract	Is there an enforceable agreement?	Contract list
2. Identify obligations	What distinct goods/services are promised?	Performance obligation list
3. Determine price	What is the transaction price?	Price allocation
4. Allocate price	How is price allocated to each obligation?	Standalone selling prices
5. Recognize revenue	When is each obligation satisfied?	Revenue schedule

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Financial Statement Review Checklist

Check	Description	Status
Balance Sheet	Assets = Liabilities + Equity
Trial Balance	Debits = Credits
Cash Reconciliation	Cash per GL = Cash per bank (after reconciling items)
Revenue Reasonableness	Compare to prior period, budget, and run-rate
Expense Reasonableness	No unusual spikes or drops vs. prior period
Intercompany Elimination	IC balances net to zero in consolidation
Deferred Revenue	Matches contract schedules
AR Aging	No unexpected increase in 90+ day buckets
AP Aging	No past-due items without explanation

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Common Mistakes

• Posting to wrong periods — ensure cutoff dates are strictly enforced; late entries distort month-over-month comparisons
• Failing to reverse accruals — accruals booked in period N must be reversed in period N+1 to avoid double-counting
• Reconciliation without investigation — clearing reconciling items without understanding root cause hides errors
• Ignoring materiality thresholds — investigating every $50 variance wastes time; focus on material items
• Manual spreadsheet-based close — error-prone and not auditable; use ERP close management tools where possible
• Revenue recognition shortcuts — ASC 606 requires analysis per contract; don't apply blanket recognition policies

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Additional Resources

• Related skills: cost-optimization (cloud cost management), startup-financial-modeling (early-stage projections)
• FASB ASC 606 — Revenue from Contracts with Customers
• Close management best practices (BlackLine, FloQast methodologies)