--- name: account-reconciliation-reviewer description: "Reviews a submitted account reconciliation for completeness, mathematical accuracy, coding correctness, aging of open items, and GAAP-aligned red flags — then returns a pass/fail determination, a categorized issue list, and specific preparer follow-up questions. Use when reviewing balance sheet reconciliations during month-end or quarter-end close, approving a preparer's reconciliation, or triaging unreconciled or high-risk accounts before sign-off." argument-hint: "[account-type] [reconciliation-data]" allowed-tools: ["Read"] --- # Account Reconciliation Reviewer ## Purpose Evaluate a submitted balance sheet reconciliation the way a reviewing accountant would — checking that the GL balance ties, reconciling items are supported and current, coding is correct, and no GAAP red flags are hiding in the detail — then deliver a clear approve/return decision with specific issues and follow-up questions. Eliminates the risk of rubber-stamping reconciliations that mask misstatements, stale items, or improper cutoff. ## When to Use Invoke this skill when the user asks to: - Review or approve a preparer's account reconciliation during close - Check a balance sheet reconciliation for completeness and accuracy - Identify red flags or unsupported reconciling items in an account - Triage a reconciliation with a large or aging unreconciled difference - Prepare review notes or follow-up questions to send back to a preparer - Validate that a reconciliation is GAAP-aligned before sign-off ## Inputs Required Before starting, collect: - **Account type**: What is being reconciled (e.g., cash, AR, AP, prepaid, accrued liabilities, fixed assets, intercompany, suspense) - **GL balance**: The general ledger ending balance for the period being closed - **Supporting balance**: The independent source total (bank statement, subledger, amortization schedule, third-party statement) - **Reconciling items**: The list of items bridging GL to support — description, amount, date, and coding if available - **Period**: The close period (month/quarter/year) and prior period balance if available - **Preparer and date**: Who prepared it and when (for aging and sign-off checks) - **Materiality threshold**: The dollar or percentage threshold below which differences are acceptable (if provided) If materiality is not provided, apply a working threshold of the lesser of $1,000 or 1% of the account balance and state the assumption. If reconciling item dates are missing, flag aging as unverifiable rather than assuming items are current. ## Instructions ### Step 1: Verify the Reconciliation Balances Confirm the arithmetic before evaluating anything else. - Compute: **GL balance − reconciling items = supporting balance** (or the account's stated reconciliation logic) - If it does not tie, calculate the exact unreconciled difference and flag as a **blocking issue** — no reconciliation with an unexplained difference above materiality can be approved - Confirm each reconciling item's sign (does adding it move the balance the right direction?) - Recompute any subtotals; do not trust the preparer's math ### Step 2: Assess Completeness Check that the reconciliation is a real reconciliation, not a restatement of the GL balance. - Every reconciling item must have a **description, amount, and date** — items with amount only are unsupported - Confirm support is referenced or attached for each material item (invoice, deposit slip, schedule line, journal entry number) - Verify the supporting balance is from an **independent source** — a subledger the preparer controls is weaker support than a bank or third-party statement - Confirm the reconciliation carries a preparer name and date; unsigned or undated reconciliations fail completeness ### Step 3: Evaluate Coding Accuracy Check that reconciling items and adjustments are coded correctly under US GAAP. - **Account classification**: Do reconciling items belong in this account? (e.g., a vendor prepayment sitting in AP, a fixed asset expensed to repairs) - **Period/cutoff**: Are items recorded in the correct period? Look for invoices dated in the period recorded in the next, or accruals that should have reversed - **Current vs. non-current**: For balance sheet items, is the classification correct (e.g., current portion of long-term items)? - **Debit/credit direction**: Does a reconciling item's normal balance match the account's normal balance? Contra-normal items warrant explanation ### Step 4: Age the Reconciling Items Stale items are the most common signal of an unaddressed problem. - Classify each open reconciling item: **0–30 days / 31–60 / 61–90 / 90+ days** - Flag any item **over 90 days old** — these often indicate a lost transaction, a duplicate, or an entry that should have been written off - Flag **items carried from prior period unchanged** — a reconciling item that never clears is a red flag, not a rollforward - For clearing/suspense accounts, any aged balance is a finding by default ### Step 5: Scan for GAAP Red Flags Look for patterns that indicate misstatement risk beyond individual items. - **Round-dollar reconciling items** (e.g., exactly $5,000): often plugs or estimates, not real transactions - **A single large "difference" or "plug" item** with a vague description ("timing", "misc", "to balance"): a plug is a failed reconciliation - **Unusual period-over-period swings**: balance moved materially with no corresponding reconciling activity - **Debit balance in a normally-credit account** (or vice versa): possible misclassification or negative subledger - **Reconciling items that net to near-zero**: may indicate an unreversed accrual paired with its correction - **Deferred/prepaid amortization not tracking to a schedule**: check the balance against expected straight-line runoff ### Step 6: Render Decision and Follow-Up Produce a single clear determination: - **APPROVED** — ties within materiality, complete, correctly coded, no aged or red-flag items - **APPROVED WITH NOTES** — acceptable but with items requiring monitoring next period - **RETURNED TO PREPARER** — has blocking issues (doesn't tie, unsupported material items, aged items, or GAAP red flags) For any returned or noted reconciliation, write specific follow-up questions the preparer can act on — each tied to a named item, not a generic request. ## Output Format - **Structure**: Determination banner at top, then diagnostic sections in review order, then a prioritized issue list and preparer questions - **Length**: 500–900 words depending on issue volume - **Format**: Structured document with a short balance-verification table and categorized issue lists; not prose-heavy - **Sections**: Determination → Balance Verification → Completeness → Coding → Aging → Red Flags → Issues (ranked by severity) → Follow-Up Questions for Preparer - **Tone**: Reviewing accounting manager — precise, evidence-based, non-accusatory but firm on blocking issues ## Quality Checklist Before delivering output, verify: - [ ] The reconciliation math was independently recomputed and the tie-out (or exact difference) is stated - [ ] Every reconciling item was aged, or aging was explicitly flagged as unverifiable where dates are missing - [ ] A single determination is rendered (APPROVED / APPROVED WITH NOTES / RETURNED) — no hedging - [ ] Each issue names the specific item or amount it refers to — no generic findings - [ ] The materiality threshold used is stated (provided or assumed) - [ ] Every returned/noted issue has a corresponding actionable preparer question ## Notes - A reconciliation that ties perfectly with a large round-dollar plug is worse than one with a small honest difference — the plug hides a real problem - Aged items over 90 days are the single most reliable predictor of a misstatement; escalate any account where they persist across periods - Clearing, suspense, and intercompany accounts should be held to a stricter standard — their target balance is typically zero, so any residual is a finding - When support is a subledger the preparer maintains, note the reduced assurance and recommend an independent source where one exists --- ## How to use this skill This file is a Claude Code skill in [Anthropic's standard format](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills) — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top. **Installing in Claude Code:** - `~/.claude/skills//SKILL.md` — auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects) - `/.claude/skills//SKILL.md` — auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills) Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register. **Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:** 1. 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