Keep the weekly financial review working when the bookkeeper leaves

The weekly numbers depend on the person leaving

Your bookkeeper is finishing up just as the business is rebuilding its weekly financial review. They know the last reconciled bank balance, which customer dates are uncertain and which supplier statements still need checking. You have a login, but not a reliable replacement for Monday’s figures.

Plan the handover around the decisions those figures support. Access matters, but so do the dates checked, unresolved balances and the person who will explain changes after the departure.

Confirm the business can access its own records

Check authorised business access to the accounting system, invoice attachments and backups. Identify who controls the subscription and account recovery details. Resolve this through the proper administrator or provider process, not through someone else’s personal login.

ASIC says company financial records may be electronic but must be capable of being produced when required. A file that no authorised person can retrieve is a practical problem worth resolving now.

Source: ASIC: Company record keeping

Identify the last checked position for each number

Ask for the last bank reconciliation, debtor ageing review and reconciled supplier balances. Identify who updates the cash forecast and who supplies current job-cost information. A bookkeeper may not own every number in the review.

Record when each area was last checked and what remains unresolved. Assign the next action for unmatched receipts, disputed invoices, supplier credits and incomplete job costs. This prevents the replacement from mistaking a tidy dashboard for a fully checked position.

Protect access during the changeover

business.gov.au says digital business records need to remain accessible, backed up and under your control. Before changing access, have the authorised administrator confirm that the replacement can retrieve the records and that account recovery details belong to the business.

Agree any continuing access for unfinished work and record who is responsible for reviewing it. Use the provider’s proper access controls rather than sharing a departing person’s private credentials.

Source: business.gov.au: Record keeping

Run one weekly review together

Use the actual bank position, one overdue customer account and one supplier balance to test the handover. Can the replacement retrieve the records and explain the difference from the previous week? Ask the project owner to explain any job-cost assumption outside the bookkeeper’s knowledge.

Record the answers and remaining gaps. A short review while the outgoing person is available can reveal a missing file or an unsupported forecast date before management relies on it.

Keep responsibility clear after the handover

Name the person responsible for preparing the next review and the people responsible for its inputs. Confirm the accountant has what they need for approaching lodgements or advice. Keep unresolved items on the agenda until someone checks them.

If the handover uncovers debts the business cannot manage, bring the reconciled records to CRP. First make sure the figures describe the business’s position, rather than unfinished bookkeeping.