17 Nov Review All Balances For reasonableness
Review all Balances for Reasonableness
It is amazing how many businesses enter information into QuickBooks and never use the real power of the software, reports. At a minimum, the Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss reports should be reviewed for reasonableness prior to sending information to the accountant for the year end work. Look at each account and determine if the balance is accurate. For example, has the bank reconciliation been done, has an actual inventory count been reconciled with the QuickBooks data, do all aging reports look correct (especially check for old balances that may not be collectible, off sets between A/R and A/P, incorrect entries, etc), are all fixed assets purchases recorded properly, have payroll and sales tax returns been reconciled with the appropriate account balances, etc.? Any unusual transactions or questionable coding should be noted and forwarded with the QuickBooks data to make the work of the accountant more efficient. Usually reports that compare current with prior information make the review easiest. A significant change, or amounts that “just don’t seem right,” should be investigated.