20 accounting prompts that tie out to your numbers

01. Categorize a list of transactions with a confidence flag

A bank export to code and a chart of accounts you have to stick to.

Categorize these transactions using only the accounts in the chart below. Client names and account numbers are removed.

Business: [what the client does, in one line]
Chart of accounts: [paste the account names and codes]
Transactions: [paste date, description, amount, one per line]

Return a table: date, description, amount, the account you chose, and a confidence of HIGH, MEDIUM or LOW. Never use an account that is not in the chart, and never split a line unless I ask.

Then list every MEDIUM and LOW line separately with one sentence on what would settle it (a receipt, a question to the client, the vendor's invoice). Do not tell me whether anything is tax deductible. Flag lines where that question matters so I can take them to [the client's tax adviser].

02. Find a bank reconciliation difference from two pasted lists

The bank and the books are off and you cannot see where.

Bank statement balance at [date]: [amount]
Book balance at [date]: [amount]

Unmatched items on the bank side: [paste date, description, amount]
Unmatched items on the book side: [paste date, description, amount]

Find the items that explain the difference. Show each candidate combination with its sum so I can add it myself. Flag any amount that appears twice, any pair that matches within a few cents, any difference divisible by 9 (a likely transposition), and any timing item such as an uncleared check or a deposit in transit.

Say which side each fix belongs on and why. Do not post anything. If the items cannot explain the full difference, say so and give me the remaining amount to look for.

03. Build a month end close checklist with owners and dates

The close lives in someone's head and takes a week longer than it should.

Build a month end close checklist for [business type] with [number] people in finance: [who does what today].

What we close each month: [bank accounts, cards, payroll, inventory, accruals, intercompany, anything else]
Our deadline: [working day the books must be closed]
What usually runs late: [notes]

Lay it out as a table by working day: task, owner, what it depends on, the evidence it leaves (a reconciliation, a schedule, a sign off), and who reviews it. Put tasks that block others first.

Do not add tasks for things I did not list without marking them [SUGGESTED]. Then name the three steps most likely to slip and what I could move earlier to protect the deadline.

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4. Explain a variance from the numbers, not a story
5. Write the management report narrative from a pasted P&L
6. Write budget versus actual commentary a manager can act on
7. Explain a financial statement to an owner who is not in finance
8. Explain cash versus accrual to a client using their own month
9. List the accruals and prepayments questions before the close
10. Flag the unusual entries in a ledger extract
11. Review a vendor payment run for duplicates before release
12. Write the Excel formulas for an accounts receivable aging report
13. Map a new client's old chart of accounts to your standard one
14. Ask a client for missing documents in one email
15. Build an audit prep request list by area
16. Draft an accounting policy memo and list what to verify
17. Draft an expense policy staff will actually follow
18. Write a fee proposal for a new client with the scope priced
19. Draft a scope of engagement letter to check against your template
20. Have a second model review the first one's accounting work