Who it's for: finance teams of two to six people in SaaS or tech, and anyone who's ever asked "I thought you were doing that?" on Day 3.
What you'll get: a role chart for the close, a RACI table for the main tasks, how to keep segregation of duties in a small team, a worked example for a four-person team, and a key risks and controls box.
Reading time: about 10 minutes. Fill in the chart with your team's names as you go.
Why clear roles matter in a small team
In a small team, everyone does a bit of everything. That's fine until two people both reconcile the bank and nobody books the payroll journal. Clear roles stop tasks falling through the gaps, give each person a cover, and keep the basic control that nobody approves their own work.
A role chart also makes the case for the next hire. When every task has a name against it, it's easy to see who is overloaded.
Key terms
- RACI: a simple way to show who is Responsible (does the task), Accountable (owns the outcome and signs off), Consulted (gives input) and Informed (is told when it's done).
- Segregation of duties: splitting tasks so the same person doesn't prepare, approve and record the same transaction. It reduces the risk of errors and fraud.
- Preparer and reviewer: the preparer does the work (a journal or reconciliation); the reviewer checks it and signs it off.
- Cover (or backup): the named person who does the task when the owner is away.
The roles, in plain words
Job titles vary. What matters is the type of work each role covers. In a very small team, one person may hold two of these.
| Role | Main close responsibilities | Typically signs off | Where AI helps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance assistant / accounts assistant | Bank feeds, supplier invoices, expense claims, card receipts, chasing missing documents | Nothing final; prepares for review | Reading invoices and receipts; suggesting bank matches |
| Accountant / management accountant | Accruals, prepayments, payroll journal, fixed assets, most balance sheet reconciliations | Assistant's reconciliations (low-risk accounts) | First-pass accrual lists; comparing schedules to the ledger |
| Revenue or billing accountant (often part of the accountant role) | Billing close, billing-to-ledger reconciliation, deferred revenue, accrued income, debtors | Billing reconciliations prepared by others | Listing billing vs ledger differences by customer |
| Financial controller | Journal review, high-risk reconciliations, flux analysis, period lock, audit and tax liaison | Journals, reconciliations, period lock | Flagging unusual journals and large movements |
| Finance lead / head of finance / CFO | Close timetable, reporting pack, commentary, KPIs, board reporting | Management accounts and the pack | Drafting variance commentary |
| People outside finance | Contract changes (sales ops), starters and leavers (HR), accrual estimates (budget holders) | Their own inputs | Turning messy inputs into tidy lists |
AI shortcut: AI doesn't get a role in the chart; it gets tasks within roles. Next to each task, note where AI drafts or matches and who reviews the output. That makes it clear that a named person owns every AI-assisted step. Only use AI tools your company has approved for financial, customer or payroll data.
How to build your role chart, step by step
Step 1: list the close tasks
| Task | What "done" looks like | |
|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Copy the tasks from your close checklist into a spreadsheet | One row per task, grouped by close day |
| ☐ | Add tasks done outside finance | Sales ops, HR and budget holder inputs are listed |
| ☐ | Mark tasks as high or low risk | Bank, revenue, payroll, VAT and manual journals marked high |
Step 2: assign R and A for every task
Every task needs exactly one Responsible person and one Accountable person. For anything high-risk, R and A should be different people.
| Task | What "done" looks like | |
|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Put one name in R and one in A for each task | No blanks; no task with two Rs |
| ☐ | Check high-risk tasks have different R and A | Nobody approves their own high-risk work |
| ☐ | Add C and I only where they're genuinely needed | The chart stays readable |
Step 3: name a cover for every task
| Task | What "done" looks like | |
|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Add a cover column | Every task has a named backup |
| ☐ | Check the cover can actually do it | Cover has system access and has done the task at least once |
| ☐ | Write short notes for tasks only one person knows | Step-by-step notes saved with the close file |
Step 4: check the load
Add the hours each task takes, by day. If one person has 12 hours of work on Day 2, the chart isn't finished.
| Task | What "done" looks like | |
|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Add estimated hours per task | Hours per person per close day are visible |
| ☐ | Move work where someone is over capacity | Nobody is planned over their working day |
| ☐ | Share and agree the chart | Each person has confirmed their tasks |
AI shortcut: give an approved AI tool your task list with R, A, cover and hours. Ask it to list (1) any task where R and A are the same person, (2) any task with no cover, and (3) hours per person per day, flagging anyone over 7.5. Check its totals against your spreadsheet.
RACI for the main close tasks
Here's a starting RACI for a team with an assistant, an accountant, a controller and a finance lead. Swap in your own roles.
| Task | Assistant | Accountant | Controller | Finance lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank reconciliations | R | A | I | |
| Payment processor payout reconciliation | R | A | ||
| Supplier invoices and expense claims | R | A | ||
| Payroll journal | R | A | I | |
| Accruals and prepayments | C | R | A | |
| Billing-to-ledger and deferred revenue | R | A | I | |
| Balance sheet reconciliations | R (low risk) | R (high risk) | A | |
| Manual journal approval | R | A | ||
| VAT and PAYE control accounts | R | A | ||
| Flux analysis | C | R | A | |
| Period lock | R | A | ||
| Management accounts and commentary | C | C | R/A |
One rule worth spelling out: the controller's own journals are approved by the finance lead, not by the controller. And the finance lead's journals (if any) are approved by someone else, often the CEO or an external accountant for anything above a set amount.
Worked example: MonthEndClub Co Ltd's four-person team
MonthEndClub Co Ltd is a fictional UK SaaS company. Its finance team is a finance assistant, an accountant, a financial controller and a head of finance.
The problem
Before the chart, the controller prepared and approved the bonus accrual each month, because "nobody else knows the bonus scheme". From July to September, it was posted at £15,000 a month. Nobody else had looked at it.
What the chart changed
The accountant became Responsible for the bonus accrual and the controller became Accountable. The accountant rebuilt it from the scheme rules: eight eligible staff, an expected bonus pool of £216,000 for the year, accrued evenly over 12 months.
£216,000 ÷ 12 = £18,000 a month. Employer National Insurance is also accrued at the rate in force for the year, but it's left out of this example to keep the numbers simple.
The old accrual was understated by £18,000 − £15,000 = £3,000 a month. After three months on the old basis, the shortfall was 3 × £3,000 = £9,000. The controller reviewed the workings and approved a catch-up journal in October.
October bonus accrual (normal monthly charge):
| Account | Dr | Cr |
|---|---|---|
| Staff bonuses | £18,000 | |
| Bonus accrual | £18,000 |
October catch-up for July to September:
| Account | Dr | Cr |
|---|---|---|
| Staff bonuses | £9,000 | |
| Bonus accrual | £9,000 |
Total October charge: £18,000 + £9,000 = £27,000. The head of finance noted the £9,000 catch-up in the variance commentary so leadership understood the October spike.
The load check
The chart also showed the controller had 11 hours of work planned on Day 4. The team moved low-risk reconciliation reviews (prepayments and fixed assets) to the accountant, who had capacity. The controller's Day 4 fell to 7.5 hours.
Common mistakes and audit watch-outs
- Two Rs on one task. When two people are responsible, often neither does it.
- Same person as R and A on high-risk tasks. Auditors look for evidence that someone independent reviewed revenue, payroll, bank and manual journals.
- Cover in name only. A cover who has never done the task, or has no system access, isn't cover.
- Leaving out people outside finance. Many close delays start with sales ops or HR. Put them on the chart.
- Treating AI as an owner. "The AI does the bank matching" isn't a control. A named person reviews and signs off the reconciliation.
- Using unapproved AI tools for payroll or customer data. Stick to tools your company has approved for that data.
- Never updating the chart. Review it when someone joins, leaves or changes role.
Tools that can help
Most small teams keep the role chart in Excel or Google Sheets alongside the close checklist. Accounting software such as Xero, QuickBooks and Sage lets you set user permissions so that, for example, the person who adds suppliers can't also approve payments. ERP systems such as NetSuite add approval workflows for journals. Spend tools such as Pleo let you set approval rules for card spend. Tools enforce the roles; they don't decide them.
Key risks and controls
A short list to check your chart against. Use it in your next close review.
| Risk | Control | How to evidence it |
|---|---|---|
| Someone approves their own journal | Journals approved by someone other than the preparer; the system blocks self-approval where possible | Journal report showing preparer and approver for each entry |
| Payments made to a fake or changed supplier | The person who sets up or changes supplier bank details doesn't approve payments; changes confirmed by phone on a known number | Supplier change log and payment approval log |
| Payroll errors or fake employees | Payroll prepared by one person and approved by another; starters and leavers confirmed by HR | Signed payroll approval and HR change list |
| Tasks missed when someone is away | Named cover with system access and written notes | Role chart with cover column; notes saved with the close file |
| AI output used without review | Every AI-assisted step has a named reviewer; approved tools only | Reviewer sign-off on the reconciliation or schedule |
Key takeaways
- Every close task needs one person Responsible and one Accountable.
- For high-risk tasks, the preparer and the approver are different people.
- Name a cover for every task, and make sure they can actually do it.
- Check the hours per person per day; the chart shows where the bottleneck is.
- AI does tasks inside roles. A named person always reviews and signs off.
FAQs
What if we're too small for full segregation of duties?
Many small teams can't fully separate every task. A common approach is to separate the highest-risk ones (payments, payroll, manual journals) and add compensating controls for the rest, such as a monthly review by someone senior outside finance.
Who should approve the finance lead's journals?
Typically someone outside the preparer chain, such as the CEO for journals above a set amount, or an external accountant reviewing a sample each month.
Can AI be "Responsible" in a RACI?
Not on its own. AI can carry out part of a task, such as matching or drafting, but a person is Responsible for the output and another is Accountable for signing it off.
How often should the role chart be updated?
Whenever someone joins, leaves or changes role, and at least once a year. Many teams review it as part of the year-end close.
Related guides
- Month-End Close When You're a Finance Team of One
- Journal Review and Approval: Simple Controls That Work
- How to Build a Month-End Close Calendar (Day -3 to Day +5)
- Payroll Journals and Bonus Accruals at Month-End
More in Month-End Close guides.
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This guide is general information about common practice. It isn't tailored to any business, and standards, tax rules and figures change. Check your own circumstances, the latest rules and, where needed, a qualified professional before acting.
Last reviewed: October 2026.