| Document Owner | Priya Mehta — Controller, North America |
| Department | Finance — General Accounting |
| Date | |
| Document Type | Standard Procedure |
| SOP ID | SOP-FIN-014 |
| Version | 3.2 |
| Effective Date | |
| Next Review Date | |
| Approver(s) | Dan Okafor — VP Finance |
| Classification | Internal · Finance Controlled |
| Related Documents | SOP-FIN-011; SOP-FIN-018; POL-FIN-002 |
| Version | Date | Author | Approver | Summary |
| 3.2 | 2026-04-01 | Priya Mehta | Dan Okafor | Added BlackLine 90% auto-match threshold to §7. Updated FX rate sources (BOC, ECB). |
| 3.1 | 2025-10-15 | Priya Mehta | Dan Okafor | Renamed entity ACME-CA to ACME-CA-01 to align with new CoA. |
| 3.0 | 2025-04-01 | Dan Okafor | Janet Liu | Switched intercompany elimination from manual JE to IC-ELIM saved search. |
| 2.4 | 2024-09-01 | Marcus Tan | Janet Liu | WD+5 sign-off (down from WD+7) following close-acceleration project. |
This procedure standardises the monthly close for the North America consolidated ledger in NetSuite. It ensures that all sub-ledgers (AP, AR, Inventory, Fixed Assets, Payroll) are reconciled to the GL, that recurring and adjusting entries are posted on the correct period, and that a signed trial balance is delivered to FP&A by Workday +5 (WD+5).
In Scope: All US and Canadian entities — ACME-US-01, ACME-US-02, ACME-CA-01. Sub-ledgers covered: Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Inventory, Fixed Assets, Payroll.
Out of Scope: Mexico entity ACME-MX-01 (see SOP-FIN-019). Tax provision and statutory filings (see SOP-FIN-021). Year-end close adjustments (see SOP-FIN-018).
The close window opens at 17:00 PT on the last business day of the month (WD0). The on-rotation Senior Accountant starts at WD0; the Controller signs off no later than WD+5 17:00 PT. Trigger is monthly and non-skippable — if a step fails, halt and route to §10 Exception Handling.
| Role | R | A | C | I | Responsibility |
| Senior Accountant | ● | ○ | ○ | ○ | Executes steps 1–8, drafts variance memo, distributes close package. |
| Controller, NA | ○ | ● | ○ | ○ | Reviews TB, approves adjustments > $25k, signs off the period close. |
| FP&A Lead | ○ | ○ | ● | ○ | Consulted on variance memo; receives close package by WD+5. |
| VP Finance | ○ | ○ | ○ | ● | Informed of close completion and any material exceptions. |
R = Responsible A = Accountable C = Consulted I = Informed
- NetSuite role FIN-CLOSE-EDIT granted (request via ServiceNow CAT-0042).
- Two-factor enabled and active VPN session to fin.acmecorporation.net.
- Sub-ledger owners (AP, AR, Inv, FA, Payroll) have confirmed cutoff in #fin-close-ops by WD0 16:00 PT.
- Prior period (e.g. 2026-02) is in Closed status in Period Manager.
- BlackLine reconciliation tasks for the period are assigned and live.
Bank statements (BMO, Chase, Stripe) for the closing month; FX closing rates (BOC noon rate for CAD, ECB reference rate for EUR, BoE for GBP); approved recurring-JE batch JE-REC-MONTHLY; intercompany activity report from US-01, US-02, CA-01.
Navigate to Setup → Accounting → Manage Accounting Periods. For the current period (e.g. Mar 2026), set every sub-ledger column to Locked except GL, which stays open. Confirm the lock icons turn solid before moving on.
| Period | AP | AR | INV | FA | Payroll | GL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked |
| Feb 2026 | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked |
| Mar 2026 | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | open |
| Apr 2026 | open | open | open | open | open | open |
From Reports → Financial → Trial Balance, set period to current month, currency USD, basis Accrual. Export to PDF and save to /finance/close/2026-03/01_pre_tb.pdf. This is your "before adjustments" reference.
Open Transactions → Financial → Make Journal Entries → Recurring. Filter by template MONTHLY-RECUR. Review the 14 templated entries (rent allocations, prepaid amortisation, depreciation accruals, lease ROU step-down). Click Post All. Confirm 14 confirmation toasts appear before proceeding.
| JE# | Template | Debit | Credit | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JE-7841 | RENT-ALLOC-DC | 6210-DC03 | 2105-PRE | 38,400.00 | Ready |
| JE-7842 | SAAS-PREPAID | 6320-IT | 1410-PRE | 12,150.00 | Ready |
| JE-7843 | LEASE-ROU-FB | 6240-FAC | 2210-ROU | 91,200.00 | Ready |
| JE-7844 | DEPR-OFFICE | 6410-DEP | 1510-ACC | 8,775.00 | Ready |
| + 10 more recurring entries… | |||||
Pull statements from BMO, Chase, and Stripe into BlackLine. Auto-match should clear > 95% of items; remaining exceptions need a journal-entry classification or a follow-up ticket to AP. The clearing accounts (1020-CLR, 1025-CLR) must end at $0.00 before sign-off.
Run the IC-ELIM saved search. Counter-balanced pairs auto-eliminate; any orphan (a Due From with no matching Due To) triggers an entry the receiving entity must accept. Push to the intercompany clearing queue and notify the CA-01 controller (Mei Chen) by email.
Use the WD+2 closing rate (BOC noon rate for CAD, ECB reference rate for EUR, BoE for GBP). From Transactions → Financial → Currency Revaluation, select the period and click Calculate & Post. NetSuite generates a JE per FX-denominated account; review the total realised/unrealised gain in 4910-FX.
| Entity | Currency | Rate (WD+2) | Exposure (FCY) | USD equiv. | Gain/(Loss) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACME-CA-01 | CAD | 0.7314 | 1,820,400.00 | 1,331,442.00 | + 8,210.40 |
| ACME-US-02 | EUR | 1.0842 | 410,000.00 | 444,522.00 | – 2,148.00 |
| ACME-US-01 | GBP | 1.2671 | 92,500.00 | 117,206.75 | + 412.10 |
Navigate Reports → Financial → Consolidate Subsidiaries. Select ACME-NA-CONS. The script will roll up balances, apply elimination entries (from step 5), and translate CA-01 to USD using the WD+2 rate. Wait for the "Completed — 0 errors" banner; capture a screenshot for the close package.
Save as TB-FINAL-2026-03.pdf. Open the variance review (a side-by-side of TB-PRE vs TB-FINAL) and walk the Controller through any account that moved > $10k or > 5%.
In Setup → Period Manager, set the GL column from open to Locked. NetSuite will refuse the lock if any unposted JE remains; clear them or roll them to the next period.
Bundle the TB, variance memo, FX summary, and IC elimination report into /finance/close/2026-03/PACKAGE.zip. Email the package to [email protected] with the subject "Mar 2026 close — final".
Signed final trial balance (TB-FINAL-YYYYMM.pdf); consolidated balance sheet and P&L; variance memo with commentary on accounts moving > 5% or > $10k; intercompany elimination report; FX revaluation summary. All artefacts archived to /finance/close/YYYY-MM/ and retained for 7 years per POL-FIN-002.
- All four sub-ledgers locked; GL column shows Locked in Period Manager.
- Trial balance debits equal credits to the penny across all three entities.
- Clearing accounts 1020-CLR and 1025-CLR end at $0.00.
- Intercompany Due From / Due To net to $0 after elimination.
- FX gain/loss posted to 4910-FX and reconciled to the FX rate sheet.
- Close package delivered to FP&A by WD+5 17:00 PT.
| If… | Then… |
| A sub-ledger owner has not confirmed cutoff by WD0 16:00 PT | Ping in #fin-close-ops; escalate to the Controller after 30 min. Do not start step 1 until confirmed. |
| BlackLine auto-match clears < 90% of bank items | Pause the close. Open a P2 ticket to [email protected] and reschedule step 4 by one business day. |
| IC elimination leaves an orphan > $5,000 | Notify the originating entity's controller; book a manual elimination JE only with VP Finance approval. |
| FX revaluation rate sheet not yet published | Use the prior day's closing rate and flag the variance memo for FP&A review. |
| GL refuses to lock | Run Reports → Audit → Open Transactions for Period; clear or roll each one. If > 5 orphan entries, escalate. |
- SOP-FIN-011 — Sub-ledger cutoff for AP / AR / Inventory
- SOP-FIN-018 — Quarter-end & year-end consolidation overlay
- POL-FIN-002 — Journal-entry approval thresholds & retention policy
- RUNBOOK-FIN-004 — NetSuite Period Manager — recovery procedure