Executive Summary
To transform the financial close from a manual "pressure test" into a streamlined, repeatable cycle of excellence. This guide provides a structured framework to reduce rework, ensure data integrity, and compress reporting timelines.
The 4-Stage Close Framework:
- Pre-Close Preparation: Establishing data integrity, aligning calendars, and addressing complex accounting policies before the period ends.
- Core Transactional Processing: Finalizing sub-ledgers, resolving intercompany eliminations, and posting accurate accruals.
- Review & Certification: Validating results through automated balance sheet reconciliations, FX translations, and trial balance anomaly detection.
- Reporting & Analysis: Executing final consolidations and distributing governed management insights with a full audit trail.
For most finance teams, the financial close is a recurring pressure test. Tight deadlines, fragmented data, manual reconciliations, and late adjustments create stress month after month. Even experienced teams struggle with delays and rework, not because they lack expertise, but because the process itself is overly manual and poorly connected.
This article provides a structured framework for close excellence. The checklist outlines what needs to happen at each stage of the close, and we’ll explain how those activities can be executed faster, with greater accuracy and control through automation and unification.
Pre-close preparation
The quality of the close is largely determined before the period even ends. Strong pre-close preparation reduces surprises, compresses timelines, and minimizes downstream corrections.
Here are our essential pre-close preparation checklists:
Data integrity & setup: Ensure all financial systems are ready and aligned for close execution
- Confirm the general ledger is open for the close period
- Verify sub-ledgers (AR, AP, fixed assets, inventory, payroll) are open and complete
- Validate account mappings between source systems and the GL
- Confirm data extraction or integration schedules
- Test data loads to ensure completeness and accuracy
Calendar & communication: Establish accountability, visibility, and deadlines across the close process
- Finalize the close calendar and milestone dates
- Assign owners to every financial close task
- Confirm internal and external reporting deadlines
- Communicate expectations across teams and regions
- Ensure escalation paths are defined for delays
Policy review: Address complex accounting topics before execution begins
- Review revenue recognition requirements for the period
- Identify intercompany transactions requiring special treatment
- Assess changes in accounting standards or regulatory guidance
- Flag judgment-based estimates requiring review
- Document any expected manual adjustments
OneStream enhances pre-close preparation by consolidating data integration, workflow management, and governance into a unified platform. Instead of relying on emails, spreadsheets, and manual coordination, finance teams gain early visibility, automated data readiness, and structured accountability.
Core transactional processing
This phase captures and validates all financial activity. Accuracy and consistency here prevent downstream rework.
Here are our essential transactional processing checklists:
Sub-ledger close & tie-out: Finalize operational systems and ensure balances agree with the GL
- Close accounts receivable and post all invoices and cash receipts
- Close accounts payable and post all vendor invoices and payments
- Finalize fixed assets activity (additions, disposals, depreciation)
- Complete inventory close and valuation
- Reconcile each sub-ledger to its GL control account
- Lock sub-ledgers once tie-outs are complete
Intercompany eliminations: Ensure intercompany balances are matched, reconciled, and eliminated
- Record all intercompany transactions for the period
- Match intercompany balances between trading partners
- Investigate and resolve mismatches
- Eliminate intercompany revenues, expenses, and balances
- Confirm zero residual intercompany differences
Accruals & provision: Accurately reflect economic activity for the period
- Calculate payroll and benefit accruals
- Record interest and financing accruals
- Accrue utilities, professional fees, and other expenses
- Update bad debt and credit loss provisions
- Record tax provisions and estimates
- Review and approve all accrual entries
During transactional processing, OneStream replaces manual tie-outs, intercompany tracking, and ad hoc journal entry workflows with automated, rule-driven execution. By standardising how transactions, eliminations, and accruals are processed, the platform reduces rework and ensures consistency across entities.
The review and certification
This phase validates the integrity of the financial results before reporting.
Here are our essential review and certification checklists:
Balance sheet reconciliations: Certify that all material balances are supported and accurate
- Reconcile cash accounts to bank statements
- Reconcile receivables and payables
- Reconcile inventory and prepaid expenses
- Review accrued liabilities and reserves
- Attach supporting documentation
- Obtain preparer and reviewer sign-off
Foreign currency translation: Accurately translate foreign entity results into reporting currency
- Load approved FX rates
- Apply appropriate translation methodologies
- Translate income statement and balance sheet accounts
- Calculate cumulative translation adjustments (CTA)
- Review translation impacts for reasonableness
Trial balance review: Identify anomalies before results are finalized
- Review period-over-period variances
- Compare actuals to budget and forecast
- Identify unusual account activity
- Investigate and resolve outliers
- Confirm all validations pass
OneStream embeds control and validation directly into the review phase. Automated reconciliations, currency translation, and built-in validations allow finance teams to certify results with confidence, while complete audit trails ensure every balance is explainable, reviewable, and defensible.
Reporting and analysis
With validated data, finance can focus on insight and decision support.
Here are our essential reporting and analysis checklists:
Consolidation & final adjustments: Establish the final, consolidated version of the truth
- Run final consolidation
- Review eliminations and ownership calculations
- Post approved top-side adjustments
- Re-run consolidation after adjustments
- Confirm final balances
Management reporting: Deliver timely, accurate financial insights
- Generate Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow
- Prepare management variance analysis
- Validate report consistency
- Distribute reports to stakeholders
Sign-off & audit trail lock
- Obtain controller sign-off
- Obtain CFO approval
- Lock the financial period
- Archive supporting documentation
- Confirm audit trail completeness
By unifying consolidation, reporting, and sign-off in one governed environment, OneStream enables finance teams to move seamlessly from close execution to insight delivery. Reports are generated directly from validated data, approvals are documented, and periods are securely locked.
From checklist to continuous close excellence
This checklist isn’t a one-off exercise, it’s a repeatable operating cycle. Each close reinforces standardization, accountability, and control.
OneStream’s unified CPM platform converts this multi-step checklist from a series of manual hand-offs into a single, automated, and auditable flow, helping finance teams move faster without sacrificing accuracy or governance.
Ready to move from checking boxes to driving strategic value? Learn how OneStream eliminates financial close chaos, or request a demo today.
