The closing process

Transcript

Introduction

Welcome to nunia. In this video we take the financial statements of Muster Bau AG through the closing process – with evidence, checklists, four-eyes review and approval.

The closing file

You open the closing process in the sidebar under “Closing”. nunia creates the closing file from the financial statements: one tile per area – from current assets to expenses, plus notes and cross-cutting check items. Each tile shows the amount, the completed evidence and the checklist status. At the top are the progress across the whole closing and the status steps: in progress, in review, approved, completed.

Evidence and questions per account

A click on a tile opens the area; with “Expand” you see each account with balance and prior year. You file the evidence directly with the account – via the paper clip or by dragging the file onto the row, here the bank statement at 31 December. With the pencil you record a note, and the status moves from “open” via “in progress” to “ok”.

If anything is unclear, pick “Question”: enter a title and the question, and the account stays marked red until the question is resolved. All questions are collected under “Questions” – there you enter the answer and tick the question off. The traffic light per item and area updates itself.

Checklists and workflow

Each area has a checklist, tailored to legal form, VAT and staff. Items that do not apply you mark “not applicable”; the pencil opens a field for your comment. Under “Cross-cutting check items” are the opening, VAT and the closing work – like reconciling the PDF to balance sheet accounts.

The “Workflow” view lists as remaining items all that still separates the closing from review – filterable by questions, evidence and checklist. With “ok” you complete an item right in the list. Once all evidence and checklist items are done, progress stands at 100 per cent.

Review and approval

By default, the four-eyes principle applies; for smaller engagements, switch off the review here and approve yourself – the default for all engagements is set in the settings. Under “Review by” you choose the reviewer – the default is the engagement lead; you cannot choose yourself. “Submit for review” sets the status to “in review” and creates a task for the reviewer. Now only Paula Partner can approve, because preparer and reviewer must be different people.

Paula Partner finds the review task on her workspace. In review she adds comments directly to the account; the preparer ticks them off once they are dealt with. With “Approve” she initials the closing; nunia records initials and date, logs the step and notifies the preparer of the approval.

Completing and handing over

Then you complete the closing – if needed, it can be reopened. “ZIP” delivers the file with leadsheets, checklist and all vouchers; via “Auditor” the auditor receives read-only access.

Summary

That was the closing process. Every account is evidenced, the checklists are done, and the closing is approved under the four-eyes principle. In the next video we prepare the general meeting – share register, meeting minutes and dividend. See you soon.