Management Accounts & AI Commentary
The Management Accounts module enables accountants to prepare quarterly management accounts narratives for clients using AI-assisted commentary generation, grounded in the client’s actual bookkeeping variance data.
All AI-generated management accounts commentaries are draft documents requiring accountant review. They must not be shared with a client until reviewed and approved by an Admin or Partner-role user.
Only users with the Admin or Accountant role can access this module. Client Contacts are restricted.
Module Overview
The Management Accounts page provides:
- KPI Dashboard — Counts of ready reports, active variance flags, blocked clients, and completed commentaries.
- Client & Period Selector — Choose the client and reporting quarter.
- Draft Commentary Editor — A rich Markdown editor displaying the AI-generated or manually authored commentary.
- Variance Console — Live variance flags sourced from the client’s bookkeeping integration, with fields for the accountant’s explanations.
- Approval Controls — Approve or revise the commentary draft.
KPI Dashboard
| KPI | Description |
|---|---|
| Reports Ready | Management accounts commentaries prepared and awaiting final client delivery. |
| Variance Flags | Significant month-on-month or year-on-year variance items requiring narrative explanation. |
| Missing Data | Clients whose bookkeeping data is incomplete for the selected period, preventing commentary generation. |
| Completed | Fully signed-off management accounts packages for the current reporting cycle. |
Step-by-Step: Generating a Management Accounts Commentary
Select Client and Period
- Use the Client selector to choose the client you are preparing accounts for.
- Use the Period selector to choose the reporting quarter: Q1–Q4 2026.
If the selected client does not have an active bookkeeping integration (Xero or QuickBooks), the Variance Console will display an error message and the Ask AI Draft button will be disabled. You must connect the client’s bookkeeping software before generating AI commentary.
Review the Variance Console
On the right-hand side of the workspace, the Variance Console automatically loads significant financial variances for the selected client and period. These are calculated from the client’s bookkeeping ledger data (sourced via the Xero or QuickBooks integration).
Each variance flag shows:
- Trend icon: 📉 (decline) or 📈 (increase)
- Title: The account or line item with the variance (e.g., “Revenue — Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025”).
- Subtitle: Percentage change and absolute variance amounts.
- Status:
Risk(significant negative deviation) orWarning(material but not critical). - Accountant’s Explanation: A freetext input field where the preparer can record the business reason for the variance (e.g., “Client attended annual industry conference in January — one-off cost”).
Adding Variance Explanations Type the explanation into the input field and press Enter or click away from the field. The explanation is automatically saved. These explanations are fed into the AI commentary generation as additional context.
Generate the AI Draft Commentary
Once you have reviewed the variance flags and added explanations where known, click ✨ Ask AI Draft.
The AI engine will:
- Pull the variance flag data and your added explanations as context.
- Apply FRS 102 accounting principles to frame the narrative.
- Generate a complete management accounts commentary covering:
- Executive summary of the period’s financial performance.
- Analysis of significant variances with narrative explanations.
- Key ratio commentary (where data is available).
- Forward-looking observations, if material.
The generated commentary appears in the Draft Commentary Preview editor.
Review and Edit the Commentary
The commentary is displayed in a full-height rich Markdown editor. You may:
- Edit directly in the editor — amend phrasing, add firm-specific insights, or correct any inaccuracies.
- Request AI revision using the revision instruction field below the editor (e.g., “Make it sound more optimistic”, “Add a section on cost control measures”, “Shorten the revenue section”). Click Revise Draft to regenerate the amended section.
The draft banner “Draft only — accountant review required before sending to client” is displayed at all times until the commentary is approved. This is a mandatory compliance reminder.
Approve the Commentary (Admin / Partner Only)
Once the accountant is satisfied with the draft:
- Click Approve Commentary.
- This action is restricted to users with the Admin or Partner role.
- Once approved, the status badge changes from “Awaiting Approval” to “Approved”.
Accountant-role users cannot approve management accounts commentaries. Only Admin and Partner roles have approval authority. The Approve Commentary button is disabled for non-authorised roles.
Compliance Notes
- The commentary AI is aligned with FRS 102 — The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland. All ratio narratives and performance statements are framed accordingly.
- Variance flags are sourced in real time from the connected bookkeeping integration. If no integration is present, commentary cannot be generated.
- All approved commentaries are logged in the Audit Log with the approving user’s identity and timestamp.
- Commentaries that have been approved appear in the Review Queue as “Approved” items, accessible to the Admin for final check before delivery.
- The system tracks commentary status per client per period. Previously approved commentaries for a period can be viewed from the Review Queue history.