What the work produces
We diagnose affected periods and balances, rank gaps by significance and prepare a correction trail. Proposed entries and unresolved assumptions are separated so management can approve changes with context.
The project starts from an agreed baseline: the entity, periods, accounting system and version of the ledger being examined. We preserve that starting record before corrections and document the affected balances, available evidence and gaps needing investigation.
The handover can include reconciled schedules, a proposed or approved adjustment register, a missing-records list and unresolved issues with next actions. Completion criteria are agreed for the actual backlog; an unexplained difference is not treated as resolved solely because an entry removes it from the ledger.
Inputs to organise
- Accounting exports and backups
- source invoices
- bank records
- old reconciliations
- tax filings
- opening balance evidence
- known discrepancies.
Identify the people who can explain historic entries and retrieve supporting documents. Include migration records, prior accounting-system exports and any spreadsheet workings used outside the ledger. Where several versions exist, tell us which version supported management reports or filed information.
Agree how current transactions will continue while historical work is underway. A separate correction log helps prevent a cleanup project from overwriting later entries or leaving the live bookkeeping team unaware of changed opening balances.
What good records help you see
A long-standing suspense balance should be traced to its origin. Clearing it to an expense merely to make the balance sheet look tidy can conceal the underlying issue.
- Trace the balance to the earliest available supporting entry and source record.
- Compare bank movements, invoices and counterpart balances to identify duplication, missing allocation or an incorrect opening figure.
- Document the explanation and any unresolved evidence gap.
- Present the proposed correction with its effect on relevant schedules for management approval.
- After posting an approved correction, reconcile the revised balance and retain the connection to the original record.
Example: a payment appears in both an imported bank feed and a manual journal. Confirm the two entries refer to the same payment before proposing a correction, then check the supplier balance and bank reconciliation together. Similar amounts alone are not enough to identify a duplicate.
Agree the boundaries
The proposal sets the periods, records available and completion criteria. Reopening filed returns or audited statements requires separate assessment.
Confirm the covered entities, periods, systems, deliverables and fees before work starts.
Specify whether the assignment includes obtaining third-party confirmations, reconstructing inventory, correcting system configuration or posting approved entries. Management supplies records and approves changes; missing evidence and disputed balances remain visible in the final issues list.
Agree the handover into monthly bookkeeping and close so the same errors do not recur. If the revised records are needed for an audit, coordinate the supporting schedules through the separately scoped audit-readiness workstream. Historical correction does not itself constitute an audit opinion or amendment of a submitted return.
Kosha.Services · Updated 2 October 2026