Purpose
Turn a messy month-end close into a single tracked status document — showing exactly what's open, which reconciliations aren't tied out, where accruals are incomplete, and which blockers are putting the close date at risk. Gives the controller a defensible, at-a-glance view to run daily close standups and report status upward.
When to Use
Invoke this skill when the user asks to:
- Track status of a monthly, quarterly, or year-end close
- Build or update a close checklist / close calendar
- See what's still open before books can be locked
- Check reconciliation status across balance sheet accounts
- Verify accrual completeness before the accrual cutoff
- Diagnose why the close is running behind target close day
Inputs Required
Before starting, collect:
- Period: The close period being tracked (e.g., "November 2024 monthly close")
- Target close day: Business day the books must be locked (e.g., "BD5")
- Current day / status: What business day it is now and what's already done
- Workstreams in scope: Cash, AR, AP, payroll, revenue, fixed assets, prepaids/accruals, intercompany, equity, etc.
- Reconciliation status: Which balance sheet accounts are reconciled, in progress, or not started
- Known open items / blockers: Anything currently holding up the close
- Team / owners: Who owns which workstreams
If reconciliation status or owners are not provided, mark those cells "Not provided" rather than guessing — an inaccurate tracker is worse than a flagged gap.
Instructions
Step 1: Establish the Close Timeline
Anchor the entire tracker to the close calendar.
- State current business day vs. target close day (e.g., "BD3 of BD5 — 2 days remaining")
- Compute days remaining and flag if already behind pace
- List the standard close-day milestones and mark each Done / In Progress / Not Started:
- BD1–2: Cash reconciled, sub-ledgers closed (AP, AR, payroll), bank feeds imported
- BD3: Accruals and prepaid amortization booked, intercompany matched
- BD4: Balance sheet recs complete, flux/variance review, revenue recognition finalized
- BD5: Management review, adjustments posted, books locked
Step 2: Open Items Register (by Workstream)
For every workstream in scope, list open items in a table with columns:
- Workstream | Open Item | Owner | Due (BD) | Status | Blocker (if any)
- Status values: Not Started / In Progress / Blocked / Done
- Sort within each workstream so Blocked items surface first
- Never mark an item Done unless the input explicitly confirms completion
Step 3: Reconciliation Status Board
For each balance sheet account in scope, report:
- Account | Owner | GL Balance | Reconciled? (Yes/In Progress/No) | Unexplained Variance | Aging of Open Recs
- Flag any account with an unexplained variance or a reconciling item older than one period
- Apply a materiality lens: call out variances above the stated threshold; if no threshold given, flag anything that looks anomalous and note the assumption
Step 4: Accrual Completeness Check
Verify the accrual population is complete before cutoff. Walk the standard recurring accrual categories and mark each Booked / Pending / Missing:
- Payroll & bonus accrual
- Vendor/expense accruals (goods received not invoiced)
- Revenue accruals / unbilled
- Interest and tax accruals
- Prepaid amortization and deferred revenue release
- Recurring reversing entries from prior period For each Pending or Missing item, note what's needed to book it and who owns it.
Step 5: KPI Scorecard
Report the close health metrics as a compact scorecard:
- Days to close: current BD vs. target
- Open items: total, and count Blocked
- Recs complete: X of Y accounts (%)
- Accruals complete: X of Y categories (%)
- Aged reconciling items: count carried over from prior periods
- Adjustments posted after BD1: count (proxy for close quality) Where a metric can't be computed from inputs, show "Not provided" — do not fabricate.
Step 6: Ranked Blockers & Next Actions
Produce the top blockers ordered by risk to hitting the target close day. For each:
- The blocker, the workstream it's holding up, the owner, and the single next action to clear it
- End with a one-line status verdict: On track / At risk / Behind with the reason.
Output Format
- Structure: Timeline header, then Open Items table, Reconciliation Status board, Accrual Completeness list, KPI Scorecard, and Ranked Blockers
- Length: 700–1,000 words plus tables
- Format: Tables for open items and reconciliations; checklists for accruals and milestones; a compact scorecard; a numbered blocker list
- Sections: Close Timeline → Open Items Register → Reconciliation Status → Accrual Completeness → KPI Scorecard → Ranked Blockers & Verdict
- Tone: Controller running a daily close standup — factual, terse, status-first, no filler
Quality Checklist
Before delivering output, verify:
- [ ] Every workstream in scope appears in the Open Items Register
- [ ] No item is marked Done unless inputs explicitly confirm it
- [ ] Reconciliation board shows a status for each account and flags aged or unexplained variances
- [ ] All standard accrual categories are marked Booked / Pending / Missing — none omitted silently
- [ ] KPI scorecard uses real counts from inputs; gaps read "Not provided" rather than invented numbers
- [ ] Blockers are ranked by risk to close date, each with an owner and one next action
- [ ] A final On track / At risk / Behind verdict is stated with a reason
Notes
- The single most common cause of a late close is aged reconciling items carried forward — surface these prominently, not buried in a table.
- Accrual completeness is where audit findings originate; a "Missing" accrual is a higher-priority flag than an in-progress reconciliation.
- Run this each close period and diff against the prior period's tracker to spot recurring bottlenecks in the same workstreams — that pattern is the real target for process improvement.
How to use this skill
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Installing in Claude Code:
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Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:
- Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
- Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits
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