What You Will End Up With
A trace schedule showing where an already approved worksheet and ledger differ, plus an evidence-based correction request. This task checks posting; it does not select an allocation driver, revise the cost pool or post a journal.
Before You Start
Obtain the approved worksheet/version, source invoice references, ledger extract/cutoff and applicable review delegation. Use permitted records and keep personal details out of shared summaries. The investigator prepares findings; the authorized finance owner confirms corrections.
Steps
- List each approved worksheet row by invoice, center and amount.
- Match each to a posted line using its reference and amount, retaining the ledger identifier.
- Mark worksheet rows without a posting and postings without a worksheet match.
- Test each unmatched item as an omission, duplicate or miscode. Multiple legitimate split lines are not automatically duplicates.
- Calculate posted-minus-approved differences by center and overall.
- Preserve the original worksheet, extract and trace. Do not overwrite the evidence.
- Request specific corrections with references, reasons, unresolved questions and the actual approval route.
Fictional Worked Trace
All amounts are invented USD. Approved worksheet WS-B1 assigns INV-201 software, 800, as X320/Y280/U200; INV-202 room hire, 500, as X200/Y175/U125. Take these approved amounts as given.
| Ledger line | Posted | Trace |
|---|---|---|
| GL7001 | INV-201 X320 | Matches |
| GL7002 | INV-201 Y280 | Matches |
| GL7003 | INV-201 U200 | Matches |
| GL7004 | INV-202 X200 | Matches |
| GL7005 | INV-202 X125 | Worksheet specifies U125 |
| GL7006 | INV-201 U200 | Duplicate of GL7003 |
| No line | INV-202 Y175 | Omitted |
| Center | Approved | Posted | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| X | 520 | 645 | +125 |
| Y | 455 | 280 | -175 |
| U | 325 | 400 | +75 |
| Total | 1,300 | 1,325 | +25 |
The U difference is +200 duplicate minus 125 miscode = +75. Overall, +200 duplicate minus 175 omission = +25; the miscode changes centers but not the total. Proposed repairs remove GL7006's duplicate 200, move GL7005's 125 from X to U and supply the omitted Y175 through the approved process. The resulting comparison would be X520/Y455/U325, total 1,300. These are requested corrections, not completed entries.
When the Trace Does Not Explain the Difference
Record the unexplained amount and request missing posting/version evidence. Keep unknowns visible. Do not change the approved worksheet simply to match the ledger, invent a balancing line or start choosing a new allocation basis. The allocation how-to handles that different task.
Human Decision and Boundaries
An authorized finance owner confirms the evidence and correction route. Record approval, posting identifiers and subsequent verification separately. A mismatch alone establishes neither fraud nor who caused it.
Sources and Scope
NCVO's full-cost-recovery guidance (reviewed December 1, 2022, UK) supports retaining allocation workings. HMRC's July 27, 2026 UK VAT controls support recording invoices once and adjustment reasons/trails. CC8 (November 27, 2024, England and Wales), undated ACNC and Australian fraud-prevention guidance, and OSCR (July 23, 2026, Scotland) inform controlled roles. GWSCPA's Bank Reconciliations (September 1, 2022, US) is explicitly a bank-context review analogy, adapted here editorially. None prescribes this posting trace. Checked November 1, 2026.