Find the last month you can actually trust

The last month you can trust is the latest period supported by records and a documented reconciliation—not necessarily the latest month with a report attached to an email. Finding that point helps define where investigation begins.

Start with one account

Locate the bank or card statement and the corresponding reconciliation report. Check the account identifier, statement ending date, ending balance, and listed reconciling items. Confirm that the report relates to the same statement you are holding.

A green status in software is useful context, but the supporting records matter. If entries were edited after reconciliation, the earlier report may no longer describe the current books.

Check the items carried forward

Look at old outstanding payments, deposits in transit, and unexplained differences. Ask whether each item has evidence and a next action. A reconciliation can appear to balance while an unsupported adjustment is carrying the unresolved problem.

This is a review of the record trail. It is not permission to delete old entries, reopen filed periods, or replace an opening balance without coordination.

Example: two accounts, two starting points

In an illustrative business, checking has supported reconciliations through March. The credit card has statements through March, but its last supported reconciliation is December. Do not assume the whole business has one clean March starting point.

Track the starting point by account. The overall recovery plan can then explain why some work begins earlier than other work.

Preserve what existed before changes

Save the reports and exports used to make the assessment. Maintain a decision log for proposed corrections, source references, approval status, and the resulting changes. If a previous accountant relied on a report, coordinate the implications before altering that period.

When an opening balance is uncertain, record the uncertainty and locate the supporting prior records. Replacing it with a convenient number can move the problem rather than solve it.

Turn the finding into a milestone

Define a first achievable outcome: for example, completing one account’s January reconciliation with all open items documented. The milestone should identify the evidence and review needed, not just a calendar date.

The Sahamo cleanup process begins with this kind of inventory so the next step follows the condition of the records.