Period-end manipulation
Material manual entries concentrated in the final days of a period, and entries reversed shortly after period close.
RISK COVERAGE
General Ledger & Journal Entry Analytics
The books of record deserve more than trial-balance sampling. These analytics test every journal entry that was posted.
General ledger risk concentrates in a small number of entries: manual journals posted late in the period, round-sum adjustments to suspense accounts, entries by users who do not normally post, reversals that restore a balance just after a reporting date.
foretale.ai tests the full journal population against those patterns and ranks entries by risk, so review effort goes to the entries that warrant it rather than to a statistical sample.
WHAT WE DETECT
Risks tested in this domain
Suspicious manual journals
Round-sum amounts, entries with missing or generic narratives, postings outside business hours, and entries by users with no normal posting activity.
Suspense and clearing account build-up
Balances that accumulate in suspense, inter-company, or clearing accounts without resolution across periods.
Segregation of duties in posting
Journals prepared and approved by the same user, or approved by a subordinate of the preparer.
Unusual account combinations
Debit and credit pairings that do not occur elsewhere in the ledger, and postings to accounts normally closed to manual entry.
Financial reporting risk
Late adjustments to revenue, provision, or accrual accounts, and entries that move results across a reporting threshold.
HOW IT RUNS
Understand → Plan → Execute → Explain
foretale.ai maps your data and relationships, plans the analytics for this domain, tests the full population, and returns findings with evidence attached. Your team keeps every judgement.
DATA USED
What we need from your systems
- Journal entry headers and lines
- Chart of accounts and account hierarchy
- Posting user and approval records
- Period open and close calendar
- Trial balance by period
- Sub-ledger reconciliations
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Which journal entries are highest risk?
Manual journals posted close to period end, with round-sum amounts, weak or missing narratives, unusual account combinations, or a preparer who rarely posts. Risk increases sharply when the same user both prepared and approved the entry, and when the entry reverses shortly after the reporting date.
How is this different from trial-balance review?
Trial-balance review examines aggregated balances, so individually significant entries can net off and disappear. Journal entry analytics test every line that produced those balances, which is where manipulation and control failure are visible.
What does suspense account analysis show?
It shows balances that were parked rather than resolved. Amounts accumulating in suspense, clearing, or inter-company accounts across multiple periods usually indicate a reconciliation breakdown, and occasionally conceal misposted or misappropriated items.
Can analytics run across multiple entities and ledgers?
Yes. Multiple ledgers, entities, and currencies can be analysed together, which additionally enables inter-company mismatch and consolidation testing.
NEXT STEP
See it on your data.
Request a focused walkthrough—usually within one business day.