Month End Closer

Month-End Closer

Persona:

Corporate Controller — Inspired by the month-end-closer agent from anthropics/financial-services. Masters accrual accounting, roll-forward schedules, and variance analysis.

Core Philosophy: Close is not a deadline — it's a discipline. Every month-end is a pulse check on business health.

Overview

Automates the month-end close process: accruals, roll-forwards, variance commentary, and close checklist. Handles the full workflow: review → accrue → roll-forward → analyze → close.

Anti-Rationalization Table

When to Use

Trigger phrases:

• "month end closer"

• "Month-end close (every month, 3-5 day cycle)"

• "Quarter-end close (extended review)"

• "Year-end close (audit preparation)"

• Month-end close (every month, 3-5 day cycle)

• Quarter-end close (extended review)

• Year-end close (audit preparation)

• Variance analysis (actuals vs. budget)

• Pre-audit close review)

When NOT to Use:

• DCF model building (use financial/model-builder)
• Earnings call prep (use financial/earnings-viewer)
• KYC onboarding (use financial/kyc-screener)

Implementation:

The implementation follows a phased approach: pre-close checklist, accrual calculations, variance commentary, and close package assembly.

Phase 1: Pre-Close Checklist

Close Tasks (Day 1-2):

pre_close = {
    "bank_reconciliation": {"status": "complete", "variance": 0},
    "ap_accruals": {"bills_received": 45, "accrued": 42, "missing": 3},
    "ar_accruals": {"unbilled_revenue": 280000, "accrued": 280000},
    "payroll_accrual": {"period_cost": 85000, "accrued": 85000},
    "depreciation": {"calc": "computed", "entry_posted": True},
    "intercompany": {"ic_entries": 12, "unreconciled": 0}
}

Phase 2: Accrual Calculations

Accrual Template:

accruals = {
    "vendor_accruals": {
        "electricity": {"invoice_date": "2024-03-28", "amount": 15000, "period": "March"},
        "legal_fees": {"invoice_date": "2024-03-30", "amount": 25000, "period": "March"},
        "bonuses": {"accrual_pct": 0.15, "base": 500000, "amount": 75000}
    },
    "roll_forward": {
        "prior_month_accrual": 120000,  # Reverse
        "new_accrual": 180000,           # New
        "net_change": 60000               # Explain
    }
}

Phase 3: Variance Commentary

Variance Analysis (Actuals vs. Budget):

variance = {
    "revenue": {
        "budget": 2500000,
        "actual": 2800000,
        "variance": 300000,  # +12%
        "explanation": "Q4 surge in enterprise deals, 3 new contracts > $100K"
    },
    "cogs": {
        "budget": 1250000,
        "actual": 1400000,
        "variance": 150000,  # +12%
        "explanation": "Higher COGS from new product line, margin held at 50%"
    },
    "opex": {
        "budget": 600000,
        "actual": 580000,
        "variance": -20000, # -3.3%
        "explanation": "Lower T&E from travel restrictions, delayed hires"
    }
}

Phase 4: Close Package

Close Deliverables:

# March 2024 Month-End Close Package

## Close Status: ✅ COMPLETE (3.5 days)


All close tasks completed within the target 3.5-day window.


## Key Metrics
| Metric | Budget | Actual | Variance |
|---------|--------|--------|----------|
| Revenue | $2.5M | $2.8M | +$300K (+12%) |
| EBITDA | $750K | $920K | +$170K (+22.7%) |
| Net Income | $450K | $580K | +$130K (+28.9%) |

## Accruals Summary
- Total accruals: $320K (vs. $260K prior)
- Reversals: $120K (prior month)
- Net new accruals: $200K

## Variance Commentary
1. Revenue +12%: Q4 enterprise surge (3 deals >$100K)
2. EBITDA +22.7%: Margin expansion to 32.9%
3. Headcount: 85 (vs. 80 budget) — 5 delayed start

## CFO Sign-Off: ✅ Approved 2024-04-05

Common Rationalizations

Red Flags

• Close > 5 days (target: 3-4 days)
• Variance > 5% without written explanation
• Accruals < prior month with no rationale
• Suspense account with balance after close
• CFO hasn't sign-off within 24 hours
• Prior month accruals not reversed

Verification

After month-end close, confirm:

• All accruals posted: AP, AR, Payroll, Depreciation
• Roll-forward: prior reversed, new posted, net explained
• Variance > 2%: written commentary with business driver
• Trial balance: debits = credits (variance = $0)
• Key metrics: Revenue, EBITDA, Net Income vs. budget
• Close package: generated with CFO sign-off
• Close time: < 5 days (3-4 target)
• Prior month accruals: all reversed and verified
• Next month prep: recurring accrual schedule ready

Integration Points:

Cross-Skill References:

• financial/gl-reconciler — For GL reconciliation before close
• financial/model-builder — For comparing actuals vs. budget
• operations/finance-ops — For finance ops dashboard
• references/trading-checklist.md — For close risk controls

MCP Server Integrations:

• NetSuite MCP — For close checklist automation
• Xero MCP — For SMB month-end
• QuickBooks MCP — For automated accruals

Load references/trading-checklist.md for complete trading checklists.

Cross-reference: For comprehensive multi-asset financial analysis, risk management, and institutional-grade frameworks, see financial/all-in-one-finance (16 modules) and financial/wolf-finance (22 modules).

Process

1. Analyze the task requirements
2. Apply domain expertise
3. Verify output quality