Free download
AI month-end close kit: checklist, delegation matrix and prompts
For controllers, accountants and finance leads who already use an AI assistant or agent in the close, or want to start without losing control: what the AI does each day, what stays with people and who approves what.
Direct download, no email
ZIP in English with the workbook, the 19 prompts in Markdown and the AGENTS.md. Version 1.0, October 31, 2026.
Download the free kit (ZIP · 37 KB · Excel, prompts and AGENTS.md)ai-month-end-close-kit.xlsxclose-prompts.mdAGENTS.mdREADME.md
What is inside
The workbook
Six sheets with formulas and drop-down lists; you only fill in the yellow cells. Works in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice.
- Read me: what each sheet is for and what the kit does not do.
- Settings: period end, holidays, currency and second-approval threshold.
- Close checklist: 27 tasks from WD-5 to WD6 with a calculated due date, AI role, human control, evidence and related prompt; late tasks turn red.
- Delegation matrix: 14 tasks with their permission level (0 to 4), what the agent may and may not do, and the six questions for moving up a level.
- Bank reconciliation: adjusted balances, unexplained difference, status and the age of every item.
- Approval log: approvals needed by threshold, with a warning if the preparer approves or the same approver signs twice.
Checklist preview
| Day | Area | Task | AI role | Human control |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WD-5 | Planning | Roll the checklist forward, confirm owners and holidays | Draft | Controller confirms dates and owners |
| WD-3 | Payables | Chase missing supplier invoices and receipts | Draft | AP lead sends the reminders |
| WD-2 | Revenue | Confirm cut-off for shipments and services delivered | None | Sales operations signs the cut-off list |
| WD-1 | Payroll | Receive the payroll summary and social security | None | HR or payroll provider confirms totals |
| WD1 | Cash | Download bank statements for every account | None | Treasury confirms the list of accounts is complete |
| WD1 | Cash | Bank reconciliations | Draft | Accountant reviews; controller signs |
| WD1 | Accruals | Check last month's accruals were reversed | Draft | Accountant confirms each reversal |
| WD1 | Accruals | Propose expense accruals from contracts and open POs | Draft | Accountant reviews and posts; approver per threshold |
| WD1 | Accruals | Prepaid expenses and deferred revenue roll-forward | Draft | Accountant ties schedule to GL |
| WD2 | Payables | Review goods received not invoiced | Draft | AP lead decides what to clear |
… and 17 more tasks in the workbook.
The 19 prompts
10 were first published in entries of this directory (with their script tested on fictitious data) and 9 are new for this kit. None has been run on a real company's close yet: try them on a closed month first.
Plan and track the close
- 1. Close status digest (WD1–WD6, daily)
- 2. Roll the checklist forward to next month (WD-5)new
Reconciliations
- 3. Draft reconciliation, without posting (WD1–WD3)
- 4. Review a finished reconciliation and age the open items (WD2–WD4)
- 5. Subledger to general ledger tie-out (WD2)new
- 6. Intercompany balances that do not match (WD2–WD3)new
Accruals and journal entries
- 7. Accrual proposals as fixed-format JSON (WD1–WD2)
- 8. Journal entry proposals as a CSV for review (WD1–WD3)
- 9. Prepaid and deferred items roll-forward (WD1–WD2)new
- 10. Goods received not invoiced (GRNI) review (WD2)new
- 11. Check that last month's accruals reversed (WD1)new
Analysis and review
- 12. Explain trial balance outliers before management sees them (WD3)
- 13. Review the close one block at a time against prior year and budget (WD4)
- 14. Variance commentary above a threshold, with the evidence cited (WD4)
- 15. Price, volume, mix and unit-cost margin bridge (WD4, monthly or quarterly)
- 16. Make the assistant's figures tie to the ERP's own report (any day)new
Reporting and after the close
- 17. Management summary from final figures (WD5)new
- 18. Audit request list and journal entry explanations (year end)
- 19. Close retrospective: what to change next month (WD6)new
One complete prompt, exactly as it comes in the kit: 11. Check that last month's accruals reversed (WD1)
Last month's accrual entries are in {{LAST_ACCRUALS}} (entry id, account, amount, reversal date).
This month's journal lines for the same accounts are in {{THIS_MONTH_LINES}}.
1. For each accrual, find its reversal: same account, opposite sign, same amount, dated on or after
the reversal date. Show "reversed", "partly reversed", "not reversed" or "reversed twice".
2. For each accrual that was reversed, check whether the real invoice was booked this month and
show the difference between accrual and invoice, if both are in the files.
3. List what a person must confirm. Do not propose entries.The AGENTS.md (or CLAUDE.md) with limits
Example instructions for an agent that helps with the close: scope per task, data sources, untrusted content, approvals and when to stop. This is its list of what it may never do:
- Make or prepare payments or payment files; change supplier, customer or employee bank details.
- Create or change master data that affects payments or tax.
- Open or close periods, or propose any entry in a closed period. Open periods: {{OPEN_PERIODS}}.
- Change users, roles or permissions, including your own.
- Prepare or submit tax returns or filings.
- Send emails or messages outside the team, or share files outside {{ALLOWED_FOLDERS}}.
- Mark a reconciliation, entry or workpaper as approved.
Instructions guide the agent but do not enforce anything: enforce the limits with the permissions of its user in your ERP and bank.
How to use it in your next close
- Fill in "Settings" with the period end and holidays: the checklist calculates the due dates.
- Adapt the checklist and the matrix to your company: delete what you do not do and assign owners.
- Copy AGENTS.md into the agent's working folder and replace everything in braces.
- Try the prompts on a closed, anonymised month and compare the output with what your team did.
- In the live close, record every proposal in the approval log and review the matrix afterwards.
Where it comes from
The tasks, controls and published prompts come from these entries in the directory, which explain what has and has not been tested:
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to give my email to download it?
No. The download is direct. The newsletter is optional.
Does it work with my ERP?
Yes: the kit does not connect to any ERP. The checklist, matrix and prompts are generic and work for NetSuite, SAP, Business Central, Sage Intacct, Xero, QuickBooks or Odoo. Prompt 16 explains how to make the assistant's figures tie to the ERP's report by period.
Which AI assistant does it work with?
The prompts are plain text and work with any assistant (Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini). AGENTS.md is read by Codex, OpenCode and other agents; Claude Code and Cowork read the same text if you save it as CLAUDE.md.
Are the prompts tested?
The 10 that come from published entries ship with a script we did test on fictitious data; the prompts themselves have not been run on a real company's close. Each prompt states its source and status.
Can I use it in my company or with my clients?
Yes, under the MIT-0 licence: use and adapt it freely. We only ask that you do not resell it as is.
If you are putting an agent into the close or the AP inbox, the paid pack (€29) adds a 30-day implementation guide, a policy you can sign, 8 control scripts and an AP controls register. See the controls pack
All free and paid downloads: scripts, templates and kits
MIT-0 licence. Agents Finance is an independent directory; nothing here is accounting, tax, audit or legal advice.