How Can a Family Reconcile Financial Information From Several Institutions?

Compare each institution's source documents with one central record. Use consistent dates, ownership details, and valuation conventions. This process helps identify differences, explain them, and show how the office reached its reported figures.

Prepare Comparable Records

Agree on the entities and accounts included in the reporting set, then list the assets covered. For each item, record the institution, account identifier, legal owner, currency, statement date, and source document. Set a common reporting date and decide how to handle statements issued on other dates. Label each figure as a bank balance, market value, manager estimate, or another type. Clear labels show which numbers can be compared.

Collect statements and adviser reports through a repeatable request process. If an institution sends a revised statement, retain both versions and note which one is used. For private investments, compare capital account records and transaction notices with manager valuations. Note when a value has not been independently confirmed. Talk with your CPA or attorney if accounting, ownership, or tax treatment is unclear.

Investigate Differences

Compare each figure with the central record and group discrepancies by likely cause. Causes may include timing, currency conversion, valuation date, transaction processing, fees, or ownership. Check for duplicate reporting. Trace cash differences to deposits, distributions, transfers, or expenses. See whether an asset appears once under a holding entity and again as an underlying investment. For liabilities, compare balances and payment activity with lender or counterparty records.

Keep the original values when a number changes. Record the explanation, who confirmed it, and the resolution date. If the available evidence does not settle the issue, mark it unresolved and state the needed follow-up. This gives the family a clear view of the record's limits and points to open items.

Make Review Part of Reporting

Assign a preparer to gather and enter information, and a reviewer to check significant balances and changes. Include exceptions in the review. Set deadlines that leave time to resolve questions before the family report goes out. Keep a log of missing documents, unresolved differences, and provider follow-ups. Review procedures when accounts move or new entities form. Update them when reporting needs change.

Use the same process each reporting period so trends are clear and method changes do not confuse comparisons. Related pages on creating a reliable asset and liability record, collecting information from banks, custodians, and advisers, and assigning reporting responsibilities can help define the workflow. Keep source statements with the record so reported totals can be traced.

They do not want their time wasted but at the same time they like to take their time with big decisions.

Sources: The Family Office Book. Informational only, not financial, legal or tax advice.