Course Description

Most accountants know what a balance sheet is—but how many can say with confidence that every line on it is accurate, supported, and audit-ready at any given moment? Shana Cooper, CPA and founder of The AccountAbility Team, LLC, uses a comprehensive case study to walk participants through the process of diagnosing balance sheet weaknesses and building the ownership, controls, and procedures needed to fix them.

Through a realistic scenario involving a mid-size organization, participants will see how to assess balance sheet health using 13 key characteristics, prioritize remediation through a risk-based methodology, and construct an action plan that creates meaningful activities, assigns clear ownership, and establishes proper documentation. The course emphasizes foundational practices that drive a trustworthy balance sheet regardless of the technology in use.

 Key topics covered include:

• Diagnosing balance sheet weaknesses through a structured characteristic-based assessment
• Prioritizing remediation using a risk-based methodology
• Assigning process area ownership and establishing SME (Subject Matter Expert) roles
• Building tasks, standards, and workflows aligned to risk levels
• Designing metrics and continuous improvement loops that sustain balance sheet integrity over time

Learning Objectives

• Identify common balance sheet weaknesses and prioritize remediation efforts using a risk-based methodology
• Construct an action plan that assigns process area ownership, outlines standards, and designs workflows
• Evaluate the effectiveness of balance sheet governance techniques through before-and-after case study comparison

Prerequisites

• None

Who Should Attend

CPAs, accounting/finance professionals who work with the financial reporting and the balance sheet.