Field notes · 27 March 2026

Building a consolidation close calendar that people actually follow

Assign owners to FX rates, elimination entries, and component packs — then protect two buffer days before the board pack lock.

Wall calendar with marked dates

A consolidation close calendar fails when it lists tasks without owners, or when every task ends on the same Friday. For Taiwan parents with several subsidiaries, the calendar is a staffing plan as much as a date list.

Minimum columns

Date, deliverable, owner (name, not department), dependency, and status. “Finance” is not an owner. “Hsin-Yi — elimination schedule v2” is.

Sequence that usually works

  1. Entity trial balances locked
  2. Intercompany confirmations circulated
  3. FX rates frozen and documented
  4. Elimination worksheet drafted
  5. Equity and NCI roll-forwards
  6. Component packs received
  7. Group review and adjustments
  8. Board pack lock

Buffer days

Protect two business days between group review and board lock. That is where late component findings land. Without the buffer, adjustments become oral promises that never hit the worksheet.