Finance guide
Event financial close: what should actually block the close?
A close should not depend on whether somebody remembered every spreadsheet. It should make unfinished financial work visible and require documented resolution or authorized action.
Common close blockers
- Missing required source reports or incomplete reporting windows.
- Unresolved material reconciliation exceptions.
- Unmapped ticket categories or accounting rules.
- Draft, unapproved, or unposted journals.
- Incomplete deferred-revenue recognition for performed events.
- Missing controller review or sign-off.
Close is different from reconciliation
Reconciliation asks whether compared financial evidence agrees. Close asks whether the team has completed all required financial work for the event or accounting period and can defend the result.
Evidence should survive the close
Source controls, reconciliation results, exception resolutions, journals, approvals, and audit history should stay connected to the closed period rather than being reconstructed during an audit.