The short answer
State the conflicting duties, affected accounts and period, why normal separation is unavailable, who authorizes the temporary exception, and which compensating checks will be performed by someone outside the preparation path. Time-bound the exception and verify that ordinary assignment is restored.
Operational checklist
Mark your progress, then save a working copy. Selections reset when you leave this page. A checked box is not an approval or evidence of completion.
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Key takeaways
Describe the actual duty conflict
Map who initiated entries, imported data, resolved exceptions, prepared the reconciliation, approved adjustments, released payments, and reviewed the result. A job title alone does not show effective separation.
NIST describes separation of duties and least privilege as control concepts. This page adapts those concepts to an operating record; it does not claim a required accounting standard.
Choose a compensating review that reaches the risk
A second signature adds little if the person cannot inspect the relevant evidence.
| Conflict | Compensating check | Evidence | Stop condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preparer also posted corrections | External reviewer inspects correction population and support | Entry IDs and source packet | Unsupported or out-of-scope entry |
| Reviewer released related payment | Different approver verifies cash outcome and authority | Provider and bank evidence | Uncertain or duplicate outcome |
| Small team has one bookkeeper | Owner or qualified supervisor reviews defined high-risk fields | Signed exception checklist | Reviewer lacks access or competence |
| Emergency close | Retrospective review by fixed deadline | Open exception and calendar trigger | Deadline passes without review |
Time-bound the exception and restore the normal map
Record start, end, business reason, prohibited combinations that still may not occur, compensating reviewer, escalation, and the next ordinary assignment. Repeated exceptions should be treated as a design signal, not copied forward automatically.
Keep sensitive credentials out of the record; identify access paths by account or role reference.
Close with an exception, compensating review, and restored assignment
Name the reviewed population, cutoff, evidence version, decision owner, unresolved exceptions, next checkpoint, and downstream records updated. Preserve the superseded state; a clean current screen is not a substitute for the correction or exception history.
Reopen the record if the population, authority, source version, external outcome, or dependent report changes after sign-off.
Edge cases
Sources and references
Follow each source to check the underlying claim. Access checks and professional review are different steps.