Opening balances after a mid-year system change

Mid-year migrations create innocent-looking differences. A budget head renamed in the new system can look like overspending when the old code still holds part of the year’s activity.

Before closing the year, export trial balances from both systems at the cutover date and map every education fund account. Document the mapping in a one-page note signed by the business manager. Auditors examining year-end packs will ask for that note; without it, every variance meeting becomes archaeology.

If you already closed without a mapping, a year-end accounts examination can reconstruct it — but expect longer fieldwork than a clean cutover.