Tie AP to the General Ledger as of period end

The problem

At close, the Accounts Payable aging says one number and the General Ledger control account says another. Part of the gap is often the comparison itself: a current-date aging re-run for last month's end includes payments, adjustments and cancellations that happened after period end, so it isn't really "as of period end" at all.

The solution

Tie first, then age. Use a subledger report that runs as of a past date, compare it to the control account for the same date, and work through the usual causes in order.

1. Fix the date and scope. Pick one company, one Accounts Payable control account and one closed period. Write them down.
2. Run the subledger side as of period end. In CloudSuite Financials, run Infor's delivered Invoice Accrual Reconciliation as of the period-end date. Use it instead of a current-date aging.
3. Pull the control account balance for the same date. Same company, same account, same period end, for example from Account Analysis in the General Ledger.
4. Compare the totals and record the difference. If it's zero, you're done for that period. If not, keep going.
5. Look for manual journal entries to the control account. Review General Ledger activity on the Accounts Payable control account that didn't originate in Accounts Payable, such as accruals, reclasses and corrections.
6. Check for unposted or failed transactions. Anything entered in Accounts Payable that hasn't reached the ledger goes on the list.
7. Check cutoff. Look at activity dated near period end and confirm which period each side recorded it in.
8. Classify every remaining difference and give it an owner. Timing items clear on their own. Journal entries and posting failures need a correction.
9. Only then, age the subledger. Your aging now rests on a number you can defend.

To keep it tied, use the same company, account and as-of date logic every month, keep a short tie log (period, both totals, the difference and how each item was resolved), and agree who may post manual entries to the control account.

How it was checked

This is a working method rather than a one-off test result, so check it in your own environment before relying on it. You'll know it's working when, for one closed period, the subledger total and the control account balance agree, or every difference is listed with a category and an owner. A good second check: confirm both reports used the same company, control account and as-of date, by reading the parameters printed on each output rather than the screen where you set them.

Shared by

Shared by the ECS Reporting Solutions team. Adapted from our article Why your AP aging doesn't tie to the G/L in CloudSuite. Have a better way to do this, or a solution for a related problem? Share it with the community.