# Bank Reconciliation Summary Memo

Turns a completed bank reconciliation into a short workpaper memo that explains every reconciling item. Use it after the rec is done, when the file needs documentation a reviewer or future you can read in one pass.

## Prompt

## Context
You are an assistant to a bookkeeper documenting a completed bank reconciliation for [CLIENT NAME], a [ENTITY TYPE / INDUSTRY]. The reconciliation covers [ACCOUNT NAME AND LAST FOUR] for the period ended [PERIOD END DATE]. The rec is already done. Your job is documentation, not math.

Reconciliation data:
- GL balance: [GL BALANCE]
- Bank statement balance: [STATEMENT BALANCE]
- Reconciling items: [RECONCILING ITEMS — type, amount, date, age]

## Task
Write a workpaper summary memo for this reconciliation. Include:
1. A one-line statement of what was reconciled and for what period.
2. A reconciling items section. Group items: deposits in transit, outstanding checks, bank errors, book errors, unidentified. Note the age of each item.
3. A flags section. Call out any item older than [STALE ITEM THRESHOLD] days, any unidentified difference, and any item that needs a journal entry.
4. A follow-up list with owner and deadline left blank for me to fill in.

## Standards
- Under 300 words. Plain professional English.
- Restate every amount exactly as I gave it. Do not recompute, net, or total anything.
- Do not invent reconciling items or explanations for unidentified differences. If an item has no explanation, write "unexplained — investigate."
- No conclusions about fraud or causes of error. Describe, flag, stop.

If any balance or reconciling item detail is missing or unclear, ask me before writing the memo.

## Variables

- [CLIENT NAME]
- [ENTITY TYPE / INDUSTRY]
- [ACCOUNT NAME AND LAST FOUR]
- [PERIOD END DATE]
- [GL BALANCE]
- [STATEMENT BALANCE]
- [RECONCILING ITEMS — type, amount, date, age]
- [STALE ITEM THRESHOLD]

## Input checklist

- [ ] Completed reconciliation: GL balance, statement balance, and the full reconciling items list
- [ ] Origination date for each reconciling item so the memo can age it
- [ ] Your firm's stale-item threshold (60 or 90 days is common)
- [ ] Confidentiality step: replace the client name and account number with placeholders, or confirm your AI tool is approved under your firm's confidentiality policy

## Verification checklist

- [ ] Recompute the rec in your workpaper: statement balance plus deposits in transit minus outstanding checks must tie to the GL balance. Never accept AI arithmetic.
- [ ] Every reconciling item you pasted appears in the memo — none dropped, none added.
- [ ] Every amount matches your rec workpaper to the penny.
- [ ] Unexplained items are labeled unexplained, not given an invented cause.
- [ ] The flags section catches every item past your stale threshold — count them yourself.
- [ ] The memo asserts nothing about why an error happened unless you supplied the reason.

## Sample output

Sample output — AI-generated from sample inputs:

Bank Reconciliation Summary — Harbor Lane Bakery LLC
Operating checking (x4417), period ended May 31, 2026.

Reconciled GL balance of $48,212.09 to statement balance of $51,090.34.

Reconciling items:
Deposits in transit
- $2,140.00 — card settlement, May 30 (2 days old)
Outstanding checks
- Check 1182, $310.25 — vendor payment, April 3 (58 days old)
- Check 1217, $4,580.00 — rent, May 28 (3 days old)
Unidentified
- $128.00 difference — unexplained — investigate.

Flags:
- Check 1182 is near the 60-day stale threshold. Confirm with the vendor or consider void and reissue.
- The $128.00 unidentified difference must be traced before sign-off. No journal entry proposed until the source is known.

Follow-up:
1. Trace the $128.00 difference to source documents. Owner: ___ Due: ___
2. Contact vendor on check 1182; void and reissue if uncashed. Owner: ___ Due: ___

## Customization notes

Add a section for NSF items and chargebacks if the client runs heavy card volume. For trust or escrow accounts, add a standard line confirming the three-way reconciliation was performed and tighten the stale threshold. If your firm documents by exception only, cut sections 1 and 2 and keep flags and follow-up.

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From The Accountant & Bookkeeper Advisory Library — vetslearn.com/libraries/accountant