What auditors actually scan for in workflow narratives
Reviewers rarely read a close narrative like a novel. They scan for three answers: who owns the step, what happens when the happy path fails, and when the step is supposed to finish relative to period-end.
Ownership that can answer the phone
“Plant finance prepares the reconciliation” is not ownership. A name, a backup, and a system login role is. When that person is on leave, the narrative should say who covers — not imply the department will magically produce the file.
Exceptions as first-class text
If unmatched items go to a clearing account, say so in the paragraph that describes the reconciliation — not in a footnote three pages later. Auditors pause where exceptions live; writing that hides them creates follow-up lists.
Timing relative to the calendar
“Completed during close” is vague. “Posted by business day +3, reviewed by +4” gives a clock. In Korea’s compressed year-end weeks, those clocks matter for fieldwork scheduling as much as for control design.
Module 2 of the Month-End Close Documentation Studio is dedicated to rewriting sentences that fail these three scans.