Month-End Close Checklist Generator
Controllers and accounting managers use this prompt at the start of each month-end cycle to generate a tailored close checklist. It's especially useful for teams onboarding new staff or standardizing close procedures across entities.
Prompts
You are an experienced controller with deep expertise in financial close processes for [COMPANY TYPE] businesses. Your task is to generate a comprehensive, actionable month-end close checklist for the period ending [CLOSE DATE] in [CURRENCY]. The checklist must cover every stage of the close cycle, organized into the following sections: 1. **Pre-Close Preparation (Days 1–2)** - Data gathering tasks: bank feeds, credit card imports, expense reports - Outstanding approvals to chase down before close begins - System integrity checks (duplicate transactions, unposted entries) 2. **Journal Entries & Accruals (Days 2–4)** - Standard recurring entries (depreciation, amortization, prepaid expenses) - Revenue recognition adjustments for the period - Accrued expenses and payroll accruals - Deferred revenue adjustments - Intercompany eliminations (if applicable) 3. **Account Reconciliations (Days 3–5)** - Bank and credit card reconciliations - Accounts receivable aging review and reserve adjustments - Accounts payable cut-off verification - Fixed asset roll-forward - Balance sheet account reconciliations (list by priority) 4. **Review & Variance Analysis (Days 5–6)** - P&L variance vs. prior month and budget for [FISCAL YEAR] - Key ratio checks (gross margin, operating expense %) - Unusual or large transactions requiring explanation 5. **Sign-Off & Reporting (Day 7)** - Controller review and approval - CFO or management sign-off - Financial statements package preparation - Distribution and filing checklist For each task, include: responsible party role, due date (relative to close start), dependency notes, and a checkbox-style format. Flag any tasks that are especially critical or high-risk for [COMPANY TYPE] businesses. Output the checklist in a structured table format that can be exported to a project management tool.
Prompt Variables
Replace each placeholder with your specific information:
[COMPANY TYPE][CLOSE DATE][CURRENCY][FISCAL YEAR]What You'll Get
A structured, role-assigned checklist organized by day with tasks across journal entries, reconciliations, accruals, variance review, and sign-off — ready to load into a project management tool.
💡 Pro Tip
Paste your prior month's actual close timeline into the prompt alongside the variables — Claude will calibrate task deadlines to your real cycle rather than generic estimates.
Compatible AI Tools
Claude
Excellent for structured output and customizing the checklist to specific industry nuances; use Projects to save the checklist template for reuse each month.
ChatGPT
Works well; use GPT-4o for best structured table output. You can ask it to export the result in markdown table format for easy copy-paste into Notion or ClickUp.
Microsoft Copilot
Best option if your team works in Microsoft 365 — output can be pasted directly into Excel or a SharePoint checklist for collaborative tracking.