Preparing extracts before an on-site walkthrough
A checklist for AR teams hosting a pre-close receivables walkthrough — files, access, and the one contact who must stay reachable.
A pre-close walkthrough is short on purpose. Poor preparation burns the entire window.
Files to stage the day before
- AR aging as of the latest available date
- Open-item detail with invoice numbers and customer codes
- Known exception list (even if informal)
- Remittance suspense if any material balance exists
- Folder path or portal login for invoice PDFs
Export CSVs beat screenshots. Screenshots force re-keying and invite transcription errors into the findings log.
Access realities in Hong Kong offices
Visitor Wi-Fi that blocks cloud drives will stall fieldwork. Confirm whether reviewers need a guest ERP read-only login or whether extracts alone will suffice. If extracts alone, regenerate them the morning of the visit — overnight postings change the picture.
The reachable contact
Nominate one person who can answer “what is this invoice?” within the same half-day. When that person is in back-to-back meetings, walkthroughs stall on the largest items first — exactly the ones you needed resolved.
Same-week delivery depends on this
We can compress analysis. We cannot invent missing invoice images. Ten minutes of extract hygiene the day before is worth more than an extra reviewer on site.