Building a month-end RACI that survives turnover
A RACI that lists “Controller” and “SSC” as if they were permanent furniture fails the first resignation. Month-end documentation needs names, backups, and a rewrite trigger — not a laminated org chart.
Prefer people over boxes
Write the accountable person’s name beside each close step. Add a named backup who has run the step at least once in the last two quarters. If the backup has never touched the file, the RACI is fiction.
Schedule the rewrite
When HR confirms a departure or transfer, put a documentation rewrite on the close calendar for that month — not “after things settle.” Module 5 in our studio practices this with a simulated mid-quarter role change so teams feel the awkwardness before it is real.
Escalation without theater
Escalation paths should name the decision that gets escalated (for example, material unmatched items above a threshold), not merely a hierarchy. Auditors care whether someone can decide; they already know who sits where on the org chart.