Improve the reliability of the preparatory file
How can you prepare a traceable financial close file with AI without automating accounting judgements?
3500 € per session, excl. VAT
In short
In two days, totalling 14 hours excluding breaks, design a prototype that gathers closing documents, flags missing items and prepares review comments. You build the checks, test exceptions and formalise a pilot, with human accounting validation before any operational use.
Why this training?
Preparing for the close involves reconciliations, searches for supporting documents and repeated follow-ups. A missing document or an unsourced comment can slow down the review and conceal an anomaly. Generative AI can assist with document classification and drafting summaries. Calculations remain deterministic, sources remain accessible and exceptions are referred to a qualified professional: the prototype organises preparation, not accounting decisions. Running case study: The fictitious company « Soreval Composants » is preparing its monthly close using a trial balance, a supplier journal and scattered supporting documents. Missing invoices and duplicates delay the review. The prototype must compile a preparatory file without posting any accounting entries. Application at work: Propose a pilot covering a limited supplier scope: compare manual and assisted preparation, record errors and review time, then submit the results to the accounting manager before any expansion.
Objectives of this training
- Map the preparation steps that can be automated
- Structure the data and document references
- Assemble a prototype for a preparatory file
- Test anomalies and measure quality
- Define the responsibilities and conditions for the pilot
Who is it for and what are the prerequisites?
Roles and tasks concerned
- Accounting managers and financial close managers
- Financial controllers and finance transformation leads
Prior skills
- Have a sound command of the closing process and accounting reconciliations.
- Be able to work with exports in a spreadsheet and use a generative AI assistant.
- Understand the principles of a sequence of processing steps and its controls.
What you will work on
Define the workflow boundaries
Objective: Separate preparation from accounting judgement. Collection, reconciliation, review, validation; automation boundaries.
Prepare the inputs
Objective: Make the exports usable. Formats, periods, identifiers, duplicates and confidentiality.
Define the checks
Objective: Formalise the expected exceptions. Missing documents, period inconsistencies, amount discrepancies.
Set boundaries for AI outputs
Objective: Obtain verifiable comments. Instructions, source references, uncertainty and abstention.
Assemble the prototype
Objective: Connect inputs, checks and the file. Sequence adapted to the available tools; explicit manual steps.
Produce the file
Objective: Organise the accounting review. Document index, check status, follow-up list.
Put exceptions to the test
Objective: Verify behaviour under degraded conditions. Missing file, changed format, contradictory source.
Measure quality
Objective: Establish the prototype’s limitations objectively. Missed anomalies, false alerts, faithfulness of comments.
Safeguard the review
Objective: Make corrections traceable. Access permissions, versions, validation by a qualified professional and manual fallback.
Prepare the pilot
Objective: Set the conditions for a business trial. Scope, responsibilities, thresholds and stopping criteria.
What you take away
- Workflow map and validation matrix
- Documented prototype and generated preparatory file
- Annotated test set and quality table
- Pilot plan with a manual fallback procedure
Method and assessment
- Short instructional inputs followed by immediate practice on the case study used throughout.
- Individual work followed by work in pairs, with peer review of the outputs.
- Guided group discussion: what works, what needs correcting and what remains a human decision.
- Preparation: Describe a workflow for preparing the financial close and its validation points. Arrange tools authorised by the organisation; the exercises use only fictitious or anonymised data.
Observable criteria: Each comment refers to an identifiable supporting document or flags its absence. ; Amounts are recalculated independently of text generation and reconciled with the exports. ; Detected and missed anomalies are compared against the reference dataset. ; No accounting entry or sensitive decision is validated automatically. ; The pilot specifies responsibilities, acceptance thresholds and stopping conditions..
Frequently asked questions
Does the prototype post accounting entries?
No, it prepares the items submitted for accounting validation.
Can real data be used?
During exercises, only if anonymised and used within authorised tools.
Who validates the results?
A qualified accounting professional checks the supporting documents, calculations and interpretations.
Will the solution be scaled up for production use?
No: the two days result in a tested prototype and a pilot plan.
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