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Module 3 For Accounting intermediate 50 min

Client Documents & Reconciliation

AI sorts and summarizes. The numbers and the judgment stay yours.

Turn a Reconciliation into a Client Summary

You finished the monthly close and the numbers are right. Now the client needs a plain-language summary they will actually read: what moved, what changed, what to watch. AI writes the words fast and in your voice. Every figure comes from your workpapers, verified, and AI never invents a number.

Recommended tool

claude

Strong at turning verified figures into a clear, in-your-voice narrative and matching a past example. It writes the story; you supply and own every number.

Bring to the exercise

  • Your finished reconciliation figures (the numbers you already verified)
  • The period and the client context (industry, what they care about)
  • One past summary the client responded well to (redacted) as a style example
  • Your Practice Context Document
Step 1

Set the No-Invented-Numbers Rule

Make it summarize only the figures you give it, nothing more.

Confidentiality Guardrail: Read Before Pasting
  • Use role labels, not real names (for example: the client, a partner, the team).
  • Strip identifying details, signed dollar values, account numbers, and anything that re-identifies a person or organization.
  • Confirm the AI tool you are pasting into is approved for this kind of information.
  • You, not the AI, own the final product. AI cannot invent facts.

Use the PII Redactor tool to scrub before pasting.

I am drafting a client-facing summary of a finished reconciliation. Confirm these rules before I paste anything:
- Use ONLY the figures I provide. Calculate nothing. Invent no totals, percentages, or trends.
- If a number a clear summary would normally include is missing, ask me for it. Do not estimate it.
- Write the narrative only. Every dollar figure is mine, already verified.
- Keep client identifiers out. I will describe the client in general terms.

Confirm in your own words.
What good output looks like
  • Accepts that it will calculate nothing.
  • Agrees to ask for a missing number rather than estimate it.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 2

Give It Your Voice and an Example

Teach it the tone of a summary this client already liked.

What to substitute before pasting

  • [PASTE ONE REDACTED, APPROVED SUMMARY] A past summary the client responded well to, with names and account numbers removed.
Here is my Practice Context Document:
[PASTE YOUR PRACTICE CONTEXT DOCUMENT]

Here is one past client summary that landed well, with identifiers redacted:
[PASTE ONE REDACTED, APPROVED SUMMARY]

Learn the voice and structure. Do not draft anything yet. Tell me in a few lines what pattern you see in how this reads.
What good output looks like
  • Picks up your voice, not a generic template.
  • Names the actual pattern in how your summary reads.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 3

Hand It the Verified Figures

Give it the numbers and let it organize, not compute.

Confidentiality Guardrail: Read Before Pasting
  • Use role labels, not real names (for example: the client, a partner, the team).
  • Strip identifying details, signed dollar values, account numbers, and anything that re-identifies a person or organization.
  • Confirm the AI tool you are pasting into is approved for this kind of information.
  • You, not the AI, own the final product. AI cannot invent facts.

Use the PII Redactor tool to scrub before pasting.

What to substitute before pasting

  • [PERIOD] The month, quarter, or period the summary covers.
  • [PASTE YOUR VERIFIED FIGURES] The reconciliation figures you already verified, stated the way you want them to appear.
Here are the verified figures for [PERIOD], exactly as I want them stated:
[PASTE YOUR VERIFIED FIGURES]

Organize them into the bones of a client summary:
1. The headline (how the period went, in one line)
2. What moved and why (only where I told you the why)
3. What to watch next period

Use only the figures and reasons I gave you. If a "why" is missing, leave it out instead of inventing one.
What good output looks like
  • Every figure matches what you pasted.
  • It explains a change only where you gave the reason.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 4

Draft the Summary

Produce a clean, send-ready narrative in plain language.

Write the client summary in my voice: plain, warm, and clear.

Flow: headline, what moved and why, what to watch.

Rules:
- Plain language a non-accountant understands.
- No markdown, ready to drop into an email.
- Do not add any figure or trend I did not give you.
What good output looks like
  • Reads clean and send-ready.
  • Explains the period without jargon.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 5

Pressure-Test as a Confused Client

Find the lines a non-accountant would stumble on.

Read this summary as the client: a smart business owner who is not an accountant.

Where would you get confused, need a definition, or have to re-read a line? What would make you call the office?

Suggest plainer wording without changing any figure.
What good output looks like
  • Flags specific confusing lines.
  • Suggests plainer wording, figures untouched.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 6

Verify Every Figure Yourself (manual)

Tie every number back to your workpapers before it goes out.

Confidentiality Guardrail: Read Before Pasting
  • Use role labels, not real names (for example: the client, a partner, the team).
  • Strip identifying details, signed dollar values, account numbers, and anything that re-identifies a person or organization.
  • Confirm the AI tool you are pasting into is approved for this kind of information.
  • You, not the AI, own the final product. AI cannot invent facts.

Use the PII Redactor tool to scrub before pasting.

List every figure and claim in this summary as a checklist I can verify against my workpapers.

Flag anything that reads like a number or trend I never actually gave you.
What good output looks like
  • Produces a line-by-line verification checklist.
  • Flags any unsourced figure.

Verify before using AI's output

Triage an Inbound Client Document Set

Client documents arrive late, incomplete, and in every format imaginable. Before anyone can prepare a return, someone has to sort what is here, name what is missing, and chase the gaps. AI can read a redacted document list, tell you what is present versus missing against the entity type, and draft the request email. You keep every judgment call and every signature.

Recommended tool

claude

Strong at sorting a messy list against a checklist and drafting a warm, plain client email. If the client sent actual PDFs you need read, load them in NotebookLM first with identifiers stripped, then bring the summary back to Claude.

Bring to the exercise

  • The entity type and tax year you are preparing (1040, 1120S, 1065, 990, etc.)
  • A redacted list of what the client has sent so far (no names, SSNs, EINs, or account numbers)
  • Your standard document checklist for that entity type
  • Your Practice Context Document
Step 1

Set the Rules Before You Paste

Lock the no-invention and confidentiality rules before any client facts go in.

Confidentiality Guardrail: Read Before Pasting
  • Use role labels, not real names (for example: the client, a partner, the team).
  • Strip identifying details, signed dollar values, account numbers, and anything that re-identifies a person or organization.
  • Confirm the AI tool you are pasting into is approved for this kind of information.
  • You, not the AI, own the final product. AI cannot invent facts.

Use the PII Redactor tool to scrub before pasting.

I am a staff accountant triaging a client document set. I will provide a redacted list only.

Hard rules, confirm you understand before I paste anything:
- Use ONLY the items I list. Invent no documents, figures, or dates.
- If something a clean file would normally include is missing, list it under MISSING. Do not assume it arrived.
- Write no tax positions and calculate no numbers. This is document triage only.
- I have stripped client names, SSNs, EINs, and account numbers. Do not ask me to add them.

Confirm these rules in your own words.
What good output looks like
  • Restates the rules in its own words.
  • Commits to listing missing items instead of assuming them.
  • Acknowledges it will not produce figures or tax positions.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 2

Give It Your Checklist and the Entity Type

Teach it what a complete file looks like for this return.

What to substitute before pasting

  • [PASTE YOUR PRACTICE CONTEXT DOCUMENT] The nine-field Practice Context Document you built in Module 2.
  • [ENTITY TYPE] The return type, e.g. 1040, 1120S, 1065, 990.
  • [PASTE YOUR CHECKLIST] Your firm standard list of documents a complete file needs for this entity type.
Here is my Practice Context Document:
[PASTE YOUR PRACTICE CONTEXT DOCUMENT]

I am preparing a [ENTITY TYPE] for tax year [YEAR].

Here is my standard document checklist for this entity type:
[PASTE YOUR CHECKLIST]

Do not triage anything yet. Just confirm you understand the checklist and ask me one clarifying question if the entity type changes what a complete file should include.
What good output looks like
  • Confirms the checklist back accurately.
  • Asks a real clarifying question tied to the entity type.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 3

Triage Present, Missing, and Unclear

Sort the redacted list into a file you can act on, gaps named.

Confidentiality Guardrail: Read Before Pasting
  • Use role labels, not real names (for example: the client, a partner, the team).
  • Strip identifying details, signed dollar values, account numbers, and anything that re-identifies a person or organization.
  • Confirm the AI tool you are pasting into is approved for this kind of information.
  • You, not the AI, own the final product. AI cannot invent facts.

Use the PII Redactor tool to scrub before pasting.

What to substitute before pasting

  • [PASTE REDACTED DOCUMENT LIST] What the client has sent, with names, SSNs, EINs, and account numbers removed.
Here is the redacted list of what the client has sent:
[PASTE REDACTED DOCUMENT LIST]

Sort it against my checklist into three groups:
- PRESENT (received and matches the checklist)
- MISSING (on the checklist, not yet received)
- UNCLEAR (received but you cannot tell what it is, or it does not match a checklist item)

Use only what I gave you. Do not assume a document arrived because it usually does.
What good output looks like
  • Every item traces back to your list.
  • Missing items are named, not silently dropped.
  • Ambiguous items are parked under UNCLEAR, not guessed.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 4

Draft the Missing-Items Email

Turn the MISSING list into one warm, clear client request.

Draft a short, friendly email to the client requesting the MISSING items.

Rules:
- Plain language, no tax jargon, under 200 words.
- One numbered list of exactly what you need.
- A single clear deadline and one easy way to send it.
- Warm and low-pressure. The client is busy, not difficult.

Do not reference any specific taxpayer data.
What good output looks like
  • Lists only the missing items, in plain language.
  • Has one deadline and one clear way to respond.
  • Reads warm, not bureaucratic.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 5

Verify Before You Send (manual)

Walk the manual gate before anything leaves your desk.

Confidentiality Guardrail: Read Before Pasting
  • Use role labels, not real names (for example: the client, a partner, the team).
  • Strip identifying details, signed dollar values, account numbers, and anything that re-identifies a person or organization.
  • Confirm the AI tool you are pasting into is approved for this kind of information.
  • You, not the AI, own the final product. AI cannot invent facts.

Use the PII Redactor tool to scrub before pasting.

Walk this checklist by hand before you send:

[ ] Every "present" item really is in the file.
[ ] Every "missing" item really is still outstanding.
[ ] No client name, SSN, EIN, or account number went into AI.
[ ] The email asks only for what is missing, nothing extra.
[ ] A human is reviewing this file for accuracy, not AI.

If any box is unchecked, do not send.
What good output looks like
  • You can check every box honestly.
  • The file status matches reality, not the AI summary.

Verify before using AI's output