Reconcile the trial balance with the bank and source documents

Accountant · Time: 30 min · Finance

Tools that fit this task

Prompt

Role: you are an experienced accountant reconciling account {{account}} with the bank.
Context: the first table is the trial balance for {{period}} by counterparty (codes C1, C2...), the second is the register of bank payments for the same period. Currency {{currency}}.
Task: compare turnover for each counterparty between the trial balance and the bank, find all discrepancies and for each suggest one likely cause from the list: double payment, payment without a document, document without payment, wrong amount, different period.
Format: a table with columns counterparty | turnover in trial balance | turnover at bank | difference | likely cause | what to check. At the end, the total difference and the three largest discrepancies as a separate list. Take numbers only from the tables and round nothing.

Steps

Export the trial balance for the account and period into a spreadsheet: columns counterparty, opening balance, debit turnover, credit turnover, closing balance
Next to it, export the register of bank payments for the same period: date, counterparty, amount, payment reference
Replace counterparty names with codes C1, C2 and keep the mapping table separately, outside the service
Format both ranges as tables with headers and give the assistant a prompt to compare amounts by counterparty
Get a list of discrepancies with the difference and a likely cause: double payment, payment without a document, document without payment
Check the three largest discrepancies by hand against the source documents and refine the request if needed
Record the confirmed discrepancies in the reconciliation working file with an owner and a deadline

How to check the result

The list of discrepancies matches a manual check on the three largest amounts, and together the discrepancies explain the gap between the trial balance and the bank to the cent

Pitfalls

The model rounds amounts and loses cents, so calculate the total difference with a spreadsheet formula
A trial balance with real counterparty names and tax numbers is a banking and trade secret: only an anonymized version goes into a public service

Data that stays out of public AI tools

Employee names, tax IDs, dates of birth and salaries: into a public service only as [Employee 1] and [amount]
Account numbers, tax numbers and counterparty names from bank statements and the trial balance: banking and trade secrets, replace them with codes C1, C2
Digital signature keys and passwords to online banking or the taxpayer portal: never, anywhere

Other tasks for accountants

AI tools for accountants · Prompt: Reconcile the trial balance with the bank and source documents