Summary

Learn what out of period entries are, and how they can affect your analysis.

Analysis period in MindBridge

An analysis period is a specific date range that reflects the period of time being analyzed within MindBridge. For more information on the types of analysis period, check our article What is an analysis period?

Analyses that have a specific date range will offer the chance to review the entries in your data that are within that range. Below is an example of the Analysis Period step when ingesting the general ledger file. It's important to note, any entries that fall outside of this range will not be included in the analysis.

Reviewing out of period entries

If you have out of period entries showing in the analysis period review step, it is important to review these entries. Out of period entries will not be included in the analysis. This can cause issues with the overall balance of the ledger and account level completeness.

If the result of the review is that the entries should not be included in the analysis, then no further action is necessary and you can continue with the data ingestion process. If however the entries do need to be included, there are a few points to consider:

1. Often this problem can be caused by mapping a date that isn't a true effective date. If your data has multiple date fields, try mapping each of them to see if they produce a better result.
2. If the data doesn't have another date field, your client may be able to provide an export that does. It's possible your current data doesn't have a true effective date and a new export could fix this.
3. If the above two options have been exhausted, it's a good idea to discuss the entries with your client. If their software hasn't recorded a true effective date, then another option would be to edit the out of period entries to have a date within the accounting period. This is best discussed with your client so they are fully aware of the changes.
4. If none of the options above are suitable, then as a last resort, the accounting period can be edited to include the out of period entries. We do not recommend this method if any follow-up analyses are likely to be performed, as this can cause issues with overlapping periods.

If any changes are made to the data, you will need to upload the revised file and begin the ingestion process again.

Anything else on your mind? Chat with us or submit a request for further assistance.