Question 20
A finance governance committee considers: A financial close team cannot determine which month-end tasks remain for each subsidiary because spreadsheets are circulated separately. Which repeatable safeguard is most targeted?
Explanation
Correct Answer
Review task ownership and dependencies before every month-end. This prevents recurrence of the identified mechanism: A financial close workspace coordinates period close tasks independently of posting the underlying ledger entries. Validate the control by checking: The closing workspace displays outstanding and completed tasks with owners by company.
Incorrect Answers
Add voucher/batch proof as an attachment requirement for high-risk close tasks. That safeguard is aimed at a different risk: Financial close tasks are marked Complete even though the underlying journal batches have failures. It does not most directly prevent recurrence of: A financial close workspace coordinates period close tasks independently of posting the underlying ledger entries.
Use a source-ledger completion gate for every consolidation cycle. That safeguard is aimed at a different risk: Group consolidation is run before a subsidiary posts its final bank revaluation and the consolidated cash figure is stale. It does not most directly prevent recurrence of: A financial close workspace coordinates period close tasks independently of posting the underlying ledger entries.
Review task assignments after acquisitions and new legal entities. That safeguard is aimed at a different risk: A new subsidiary has a fiscal-year closing template but no local task owners or due dates. It does not most directly prevent recurrence of: A financial close workspace coordinates period close tasks independently of posting the underlying ledger entries.