1. Set the period and owners
Agree a close date and deadlines for invoices, bank statements and payroll. Assign who prepares and reviews each schedule. In a small business, the same person may do both, but a separate second-pass review still helps.
2. Reconcile cash and banks
Start from each bank statement balance and reconcile to the ledger. Identify outstanding items and retain supporting evidence for every difference. Do not post an unexplained entry merely to force balances to agree.
3. Review customers and suppliers
Reconcile subsidiary ledgers to the general ledger. Examine unpaid invoices, unapplied payments and credit notes, and prepare ageing schedules. Separate disputed balances from expected collections or payments.
4. Review accruals and assets
Consider expenses incurred but not invoiced, revenue from work performed, prepayments, asset additions and depreciation. Entries depend on facts and the applicable accounting policy; avoid unsupported estimates.
5. Explain results and close the list
Compare revenue, margins, expenses and liquidity with the prior month and budget where available. Record material differences, reasons, owners and due dates. Retain reconciliations and reports, and carry open items to the next period's action list.
Practical output: adjusted trial balance, reconciliations, receivable/payable ageing, open-differences log and a short management summary. This is guidance, not an audit procedure or case-specific opinion.