Build a month-end close checklist

Build a month-end close checklist.

Per item:
1. What it is, concretely.
2. **Prerequisite** — what must be done first. This is the part that is only in people's heads and causes rework when someone new runs the close.
3. Who does it and who it waits on. External dependencies — bank, vendor, another team — go first because you cannot speed them up.
4. What "done" looks like, as something checkable rather than "reconciled".
5. What breaks downstream if it is skipped or wrong.

Then:
- **Ordered sequence with the critical path marked.** Which items can run in parallel and which are strictly sequential.
- **Blockers** — items where a delay stops everything. These need a fallback: what to do provisionally and what to correct after.
- Items that could be done before period end rather than during the crunch.
- What routinely gets found late, with when it would have been catchable.

Rules:
- *Do not invent steps that are not in my process.* If the process has an obvious gap, list it separately as "needs checking" rather than inserting it.
- ⚠️ **Accounting treatment, tax rates, and deadlines vary by jurisdiction, entity, and period. Do not state any of these as fact.** Mark them as items to confirm with the responsible party or the current regulation.
- Do not compress steps that exist for control reasons.