01
Normalize your open items
You convert scattered notes into distinct issues and expose missing facts before follow-up begins.
Made for CPAs
Build a Close Issues and Decisions Log
Also useful for: people in Finance
30 min
Intermediate
Financial Organization
Get Organized Financially
Create a consistent close log that shows what is blocked, who owns the next move, what was decided, and how each item affects reporting.
We'll use them to write your prompt.
Completed ✓
Make Your Play
Give us the situation. We’ll build the prompt.
Stop close issues from disappearing across emails, chat threads, and working papers.
Your answers save as you type.
What you'll do
This is the plan inside your prompt. Add your details first. Then follow these steps with ChatGPT or Claude.
02
Document decisions and evidence
You distinguish open questions, proposed treatments, final decisions, and approved conclusions so your log doesn't overstate resolution.
03
Run your close follow-up view
You turn the completed log into a prioritized queue for owners, approvers, and close reporting.
Make Your Play
Build a Close Issues and Decisions Log
Tell us what the prompt needs to know
Start with the questions below. Each answer personalizes the playbook and builds the prompt you’ll use at the end.
Your situation
Specify the month, quarter, or year-end period covered by your log.
Provide your entity, close deadline, materiality guidance, escalation rules, and any required control references.
0/10000
Paste your open items, missing support, unreconciled balances, owner questions, review notes, and pending decisions.
0/10000
Choose whether to use the standard status set or provide your approved internal labels in your notes.
This playbook was updated. Review your inputs before copying.
What you'll do
Check a step when you finish it.
01
Normalize your open items
You convert scattered notes into distinct issues and expose missing facts before follow-up begins.
02
Document decisions and evidence
You distinguish open questions, proposed treatments, final decisions, and approved conclusions so your log doesn't overstate resolution.
03
Run your close follow-up view
You turn the completed log into a prioritized queue for owners, approvers, and close reporting.
Fill in the fields above to generate your prompt preview.
Assembled prompt
Beginner instructions
You can paste rough notes even if some details are missing. Replace the bracketed sections in the primary prompt, run it, and move the resulting table into your approved spreadsheet. Confirm every amount, owner, deadline, decision, and approval before relying on the log.
Advanced instructions
You can add your entity codes, materiality thresholds, aging rules, control references, and escalation deadlines to the close context. After generation, reconcile the log to your close checklist and supporting workpapers, then filter unresolved items by reporting impact and approver.
Use this when
You are managing several close issues, chasing missing support, documenting judgment calls, or preparing a clean status view for your controller, manager, or approver.
You'll need
- Reporting period
- Close context
- Raw issue notes
- Allowed status set
You'll get
- One row for every known close issue
- A named owner and next action for each open item, or a clear missing-information flag
- Each recorded decision traceable to its evidence and approver
- All reporting impacts reviewed
- Confirmation that no proposed decision is shown as approved.
By the end of this playbook
You will have:
- One row for every known close issue
- A named owner and next action for each open item, or a clear missing-information flag
- Each recorded decision traceable to its evidence and approver
- All reporting impacts reviewed
- Confirmation that no proposed decision is shown as approved.
Examples
Progress 1 of 3