Business preparation guide · 29 October 2026
How can a business organise a monthly accounting close?
Use this guide to prepare a focused business enquiry and agree a useful professional engagement. It covers information gathering and project planning. Entity-specific tax, legal and accounting conclusions require qualified review of the facts and current requirements.
What should a monthly close checklist cover?
Include transaction completeness, bank and balance reconciliations, supporting schedules, management review and reporting delivery. Tailor the checklist to the business and accounting system. Assign an owner and a target date to each task instead of relying on a single reporting deadline.
How should outstanding reconciling items be tracked?
Use a schedule with the account, amount, date, explanation, evidence and responsible person. Distinguish timing items from questions needing investigation. Keep earlier versions so changes can be followed and reviewed at the next close.
What management reports should I request from an accountant?
Start with the decisions management needs to make and the information available. Discuss profit and loss, balance sheet, cash movements and relevant operational measures. Agree definitions, comparison periods and delivery dates so recurring reports remain useful.
How can bookkeeping and year-end reporting work together?
Agree the year-end supporting schedules and accounting policies early, then build them into the monthly routine where practical. Keep reconciliations current and document judgments. Ask DSB which recurring tasks would reduce year-end information gaps for your business.
Turn the discussion into an agreed scope
Write down the objective, the entity and period involved, the information already available and the decisions still needed. Ask the proposed engagement team to identify the next information request and the person responsible for each response. Keep technical assumptions separate from verified facts.
Before work starts, confirm the deliverables, review process, fees and exclusions in writing. Ask how additional work will be approved and how confidential documents will be exchanged. This preparation supports an informed proposal; it does not determine the business’s legal or tax position.
Authoritative reference
Consult the relevant authority or reporting-standard source for current requirements. This guide provides preparation steps and does not reproduce the authority’s full rules.
Prepared by DSB Chartered Accountants. Technical positions, calculations, thresholds and filing decisions should be reviewed by the appointed professional for the relevant period.
Discuss the scope with our Accounting and bookkeeping team.