Manage Accounting Periods

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Last updated: Aug 02, 2024 by Nancy Cohn (Deactivated)
5 min read

Accounting periods store transactions and events within client defined time periods for reporting purposes. They are required to post activity against a particular date. If an accounting period does not exist, the transaction fails. The system automatically calculates an accounting period for an entity based on the date range you specify in the Start Date and Fiscal End Date fields on the Create/Edit Entity panel or Create Master Fund panel. However, you must manually add an accounting period when you add an additional accounting basis for an entity.

About Accounting Periods

Accounting periods are maintained to determine when transactions should be effective as of. Each portfolio maintains its own accounting periods. This gives you the flexibility of having different accounting periods for different portfolios. It also gives you the ability to manage the status of accounting periods at the portfolio level. Accounting periods on transaction panels default to the most recent open accounting period based on the trade date.

Eagle recommends closing accounting periods on a monthly basis (after the month end is reconciled) to prevent as of activity from impacting a prior period. That means that all accounting periods remain open for an entire month. And once the accounting periods are closed for the month, all back dated transactions are recorded with a current period accounting date. The system uses the earliest open accounting date (1st of the month) for the back dated transactions. From a reporting perspective, the back dated activity is reflected in the current accounting period, rather than the closed accounting period.

Note that future accounting periods are added automatically when existing accounting periods are closed. You do not need to set up accounting periods for each account on an annual basis.

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Add Accounting Periods

In the Add Accounting Periods panel, you can manually add an accounting period.

To manually add an accounting period:

  1. In Accounting Center, in the left navigation pane, click Transactions > Ledger > Accounting Periods > Add Accounting Periods.
    You see the Add Accounting Periods panel.

  2. Enter the entity and accounting basis for which you want to add an accounting period.
    The lower portion of the panel displays a row for the entity you identified in the Entity Information section. If you entered a master fund entity, it additionally displays a row for each sector associated with the master fund to identify the accounting periods for each sector.

  3. In the Start Date field, enter the start date of the accounting period you are adding.
    The default value is the first day of the current year.

  4. In the End Date field, enter the end date of the accounting period you are adding, and click Submit.
    The default value is the last day of the current year.

Close Accounting Periods

In the Close Accounting Periods panel, you can close an accounting period. Eagle recommends closing accounting periods after month end reconciliation. This prevents transactions from modifying a previously reconciled period for accounting and performance purposes. You can close an accounting period for all accounts or individual accounts. The system adds future accounting periods automatically when existing accounting periods are closed. You do not need to set up accounting periods for each account on an annual basis.

To close an accounting period:

  1. In Accounting Center, in the left navigation pane, click Transactions > Ledger > Accounting Periods > Close Accounting Periods.
    You see the Close Accounting Periods panel.

  2. Select a query option to identify entities and accounting bases.

  3. In the Current Accounting Period Start Date field, enter the current accounting period start date.

  4. In the Current Accounting Period End Date, enter the current accounting period end date.
    The Current Accounting Period End Date closes the accounting periods through the date entered.
    The Type of Close field should default to Valuation.

  5. Click Submit.
    The system closes the accounting periods and automatically creates accounting periods for the same period in the following year.

Reopen Accounting Periods

In the Reopen Accounting Periods panel, you can reopen an accounting period. For example, suppose your accounting periods were closed through the end of March. However, the trade processing group missed a trade that occurred on March 28th, which must be processed. Since the March accounting periods are closed, the back dated transaction will be processed with an April 1st accounting date. An alternative way to handle a transaction that needs to be booked to a closed accounting period is to reopen the accounting period before booking the transaction. For example, you can reopen the accounting period to March 28th and query the accounting period to confirm that the correct period is open. When you book the transaction, the March 28th accounting date is recorded and the position is reflected in reports beginning on March 28th.

Reopening an accounting period should not be a regular process. If this occurs on a frequent basis, you should review the process of closing accounting periods. For example, if a trade was booked in a previous accounting period and canceled with a more recent accounting date, reopening the periods to rebook the original trade will result in the trade being reflected twice between the original accounting date and the cancel accounting date. This is because the cancel transaction is not effective until the cancel accounting date.

To reopen an accounting period:

  1. In Accounting Center, in the left navigation pane, click Transactions > Ledger > Accounting Periods > Reopen Accounting Periods.
    You see the Reopen Accounting Periods panel.

  2. Select a query option to identify entities and accounting bases.

  3. In the Accounting Period Start Date field, enter the earliest date that needs to be opened.

  4. In the Type of Close field, select Both Valuation and Transaction, and click Submit.
    The accounting periods are reopened up through and including the requested date.

List Accounting Periods

In the List Accounting Periods panel, you can review the current status of accounting periods, provide an audit trail of dates and users who closed or reopened an accounting period, and identity whether the date is a fiscal year end. You can query the accounting periods for multiple portfolios, entity lists, process center, and composites. Additionally, you can query the accounting periods by any combination of open or close, and transaction or valuation status. You can also list accounting periods either for a single or multiple days.

To list accounting periods:

  1. In Accounting Center, in the left navigation pane, click Transactions > Ledger > Accounting Periods > List Accounting Periods.
    You see the List Accounting Periods panel.

  2. Select a query option to identify entities and accounting bases.

  3. In the Query Based On field, select an additional query option.

  4. In the Close Status field, select Transaction or Valuation.

  5. In the Ledger Period Start Date field, enter the start date of the accounting periods your are listing,
    and click Submit.

Entities with multiple accounting bases can have different accounting periods.

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