The short answer
Record a late adjustment’s period, entity, source, amount, reason, preparer, and approver. Have your Controller or designated accounting approver confirm whether it belongs in the period. Then follow the approved change through calculations, data refreshes, and linked reports, and ask reviewers to recheck every affected output before sign-off.
A late change affects more than one number
Your package is in review when a source owner sends a correction. Entering the amount may take only minutes. You also need to check every calculation, table, and narrative that depends on it and arrange another review of the affected output.
Most reporting teams can answer “did the number change?” Fewer can answer, on the spot, which reports use that account, whether the adjustment is a change to the source or a reporting-only entry, who approved it, and which outputs still need a second look. When those answers live in email threads, the package can look right while the trail behind it quietly degrades.
A consistent adjustment process helps your team see which reports are current and which still need attention.
Record it before you change anything
Before editing a file, capture a small adjustment record. It can be a controlled row in whatever log the team already uses. It does not need a new system.
| Field | What to make explicit |
|---|---|
| Period and entity | Which reporting period and entity the item belongs to |
| Source and reason | Where the amount came from and why it is arriving now |
| Amount and account | The amount, the account or reporting line, and any mapping it depends on |
| Preparer and approver | Who prepared it and who has authority to approve it |
| Timing and status | When it arrived, whether cut-off has passed, and whether it is pending or approved |
| Affected outputs | Calculations, schedules, linked tables, narratives, and reports that depend on it |
| Review evidence | What must be rechecked, and by whom, before the package is complete |
Keep missing approvals, mappings, or sources marked as pending and assign someone to resolve them. Your reporting administrator can propose a mapping; your Controller or designated accounting approver decides the period and classification.
Trace the approved change stage by stage
Once the decision is recorded, follow the change through each stage separately. Completing one stage does not prove the next.
- Source or adjustment record. The approved amount appears once, in the right period and entity, with its source and approval attached.
- Calculations and reconciliations. The formulas and mappings you expect actually pick it up. If a check does not tie, keep the difference visible. Do not force it to zero.
- Data refresh. If the process pulls data through Wdata or another connection, run only the intended refresh and confirm the result against the source and period.
- Linked destinations. In Workiva, a changed source cell is flagged as unpublished, and linked tables in documents keep the old value until someone publishes the source links. Treat publishing, and confirming the destinations changed, as its own check.
- Report and review. Recheck affected totals, period labels, and narrative text that cites the number. Record any destination still outstanding and who owns it.
The exact steps depend on your workspace configuration, permissions, and close policy. Check the current state before repeating an operation if you are unsure whether it has already run.
- Overview
- Adjustment record
- Calculations and tie-out
- Data refresh
- Linked outputs
- Review
A worked example
Illustrative figures.
A reporting team is reviewing a monthly management package when an operations lead submits a cost correction. The preparer logs the period, entity, source file, amount, reason, and requested account. The Controller’s designated approver confirms it belongs in the month and approves the classification.
The reporting owner then confirms the correction appears once in the calculation layer, reconciles the affected subtotal, refreshes the one input that depends on it, updates the linked tables in the management report, and asks the reviewer to revisit the three affected lines and the paragraph that explains the cost variance. The package stays marked incomplete until each of those checks is closed.
Coordinate approval and review
Before updating the report, confirm the period and classification with your accounting approver. Give them the source, amount, reason, and preparer, then agree which outputs need another review. Keep a record of completed checks and anything still pending so the team can see what remains before sign-off.
When this points to a bigger fix
If every late adjustment turns into an afternoon of hunting for dependent tables, the issue is usually structural: amounts entered in more than one place, presentation sheets doing calculation work, or links that nobody can list. Those are fixable without rebuilding the package. If a value changed but a report did not, start with the safe checks for a Workiva report that has not updated.
Common questions
Should a late adjustment be typed straight into the Workiva report?
No. Entering it on a presentation sheet may make the number look right while breaking the trail behind it. Record the adjustment where your process keeps source and approval, then let it flow through the same calculations and links as every other amount.
Does refreshing a Workiva connection update the linked document?
Not necessarily. A data refresh, a spreadsheet change, and an update to linked destinations in a document can be separate steps depending on how the workspace is configured. Check each stage on its own before calling the package current.
Who decides whether a late adjustment belongs in the period?
The Controller or another designated accounting authority. A reporting administrator can document the item and propose a mapping, but should not turn that proposal into an accounting decision.
Tell us what needs to work better
Describe the report, control process, or data flow that is not working the way it should. Every engagement starts with a fixed-fee Workiva diagnostic.