An accounting handover that preserves control: cut-off, balances, access and the first close

Agree the cut-off and scope

Identify the outgoing provider’s last period and the incoming provider’s first. Assign unfinished filings, questions on earlier periods and documents arriving after transfer. A provider change date is not necessarily a transaction’s accounting date.

Article 9 of the accounting law permits contracted accounting arrangements while assigning responsibility for organising accounting to management. The company therefore needs to own the transition plan.

List entities, branches, databases and systems. Distinguish current accounting from reconstruction, migration and reconsideration of earlier filings. These have different scope and should not be silently treated as one task.

Use a transfer register with separate review status

Record each dataset’s period, format, location, export date and sending and receiving owners. Test that backups open and represent the agreed version. A database without software access, an archive password or restoration instructions may not support continuing work.

“Received” and “reviewed” are different statuses. Keeping both allows work to begin without implying that every historical figure has been validated.

Reconcile balances to independent records

A balanced trial balance does not establish the quality of each asset and liability. Start with cash, receivables, payables, inventory, fixed assets, payroll and tax balances. Review depth depends on materiality, data quality and agreed scope.

Match bank balances and recent movements to statements. Break customer and supplier balances down by contract and document: a net total may conceal an overdue debt and an unmatched advance. Review inventory quantities, values and available count records. Identify assets and supporting documents behind fixed-asset balances.

Do not force an adjustment simply to make two reports agree. Document its basis and effects on other figures. Keep unsupported amounts visible as unresolved items.

Example: a receivable is more than its total

Illustration: receivables total TJS 120,000. TJS 90,000 is linked to current-period documents, TJS 20,000 concerns disputed acceptance and TJS 10,000 lacks a complete evidence file. The total alone hides these differences.

Check payment dates and documentation for the first group, contract terms and correspondence for the dispute, and the possibility of obtaining missing evidence for the final group. Assess any accounting consequences under the applicable rules.

Do not automatically write off disputed amounts or treat the whole balance as reliable. Preserve the opening figure, established facts and outstanding decisions so later adjustments can be explained.

Transfer access while retaining company control

List accounting, taxpayer, document-exchange, banking and storage systems. Identify the account owner, user role, recovery method and internal person responsible.

Use individual accounts and proportionate permissions where supported. Preparing a document, signing it and releasing a payment are distinct powers. A shared password obscures who performed each action.

Follow the relevant service rules and authority requirements for electronic signatures. Do not place private keys or passwords in general correspondence. Once incoming access is confirmed, arrange removal of obsolete permissions without losing archives or filing evidence.

Scope reconstruction and unfinished work separately

Missing records require a defined task: period, accounting areas, available evidence and output. Possible outputs include reconstructed entries, missing-record registers, reconciliations or proposed corrections. Avoid promising an outcome that depends on unavailable documentation.

Put outstanding notices, disputes and queries into a calendar with the next action and owner. “The old accountant has it” is not a deadline control.

Agree who authorises historical changes, which reports are affected and how prior versions are retained. This makes the distinction between continuing service and resolving inherited problems visible to management.

Use the first close to assess the transition

After the first agreed reporting period, review the complete chain: opening figures, transactions, reconciliations, calculations, filings and the management output. Compare actual completion with the transition plan.

• Reconcile banks and cash; identify unexplained movements.
• Show disputed debts separately.
• Receive documents or log them as missing.
• Confirm filing status rather than simply recording “sent”.
• Assign every unresolved matter an owner and next step.

This close is not an audit of historical statements and does not establish that every old error has been found. It tests whether the new process functions and whether management understands its limitations. Begin a handover discussion with BMS using the system description, period boundaries and open-issue list.