fpa-monthly-close

name	fpa-monthly-close
description	Use when running a month-end close, refreshing a forecast with the latest actuals, computing plan-vs-actual variance, or producing a "how did the month go" analysis in openfpa.

Monthly Close (Operate)

Overview

Fold the latest actuals into the model, refresh the forward forecast from the last closed position, and explain the variance. The output is a narrative, not just a variance table - what changed, why, and what it means forward.

Core principle: A close that only reports numbers isn't done. The value is the explanation.

When to use

• Month-end actuals are available
• "How did we do vs plan?" / reforecast requests

Workflow

1. Discover the company command. Run openfpa entrypoint-list <company-root> --kind close. Use a registered close command when one exists; otherwise build the workflow from the approved company architecture.
2. Ingest the closed month's actuals (see fpa-configure-actuals).
3. Establish the freeze line: closed months use actuals; the forecast resumes from the last closed balance. Never let a not-yet-closed month drive conclusions (see fpa-cfo-judgment).
4. Recompute the forecast: pyfpa.cashflow_from_config(cfg) after updating config with the new closed position.
5. Variance: compare actual vs plan for revenue, gross margin, EBITDA, and ending cash. For each material variance, state the driver (volume, price, cost ratio, timing).
6. Pick a reforecast posture and say which you used:
   • Plan - frozen forecast unchanged
   • Latest estimate - actuals for closed months, plan forward from the last closed balance
   • Run-rate - project the YTD actual pace forward
7. Write the narrative: the 3 things that moved, the 3 risks forward.

Judgment checks (always)

• Is the "closed" month actually closed, or are accruals/COGS still posting?
• Did any account move because of a one-time/timing item? Separate it from run-rate.
• Multi-entity: is intercompany eliminated before you total?

Next

Close done → fpa-cash-runway (near-term liquidity), fpa-board-briefing (the writeup), and fpa-backtest-learn (score the prior forecast). Persistent or material misses feed fpa-research-loop for bounded challenger epochs.