General Ledger Roll-Forward
Connects an account’s opening balance, period activity, and closing balance.
The skill requires each activity line to be supported by an internal GL MCP query and cited, and requires unexplained gaps to be surfaced rather than plugged; it shows no automatic posting or destructive action. However, least privilege, user confirmation, sensitive-financial-data flow, rollback, and dependency-security controls are unspecified, so points were deducted.
The formula, inputs, period, and output structure are clear, and the skill requires a foot check with an unexplained delta. It provides no input validation, missing-data handling, diagnostic error messages, query-failure strategy, or skill-specific key-path tests; the static cap therefore applies.
The intended use for balance-sheet accounts, month-end close, and audit support is clear, with broadly defined inputs and outputs. Non-fit boundaries, trigger precision, treatment of account groups and complex adjustments, Chinese-language support, and mainland-China reachability are not evidenced, so points were deducted.
The documentation is concise and layered, with clear naming; repository evidence provides an Apache-2.0 license, a pinned revision, and plugin-validation CI. The skill lacks install notes, examples, FAQs, known limitations, a changelog, and explicit maintenance ownership or update path, so points were deducted.
It can produce a directly usable roll-forward structure with line-level support and a tie check, and the core task is well defined. Actual completion depends on an internal GL MCP not specified by this skill, and no representative output or static evidence of completeness is provided; human review remains necessary.
The skill specifies citations for every line and requires an auditable foot check; repository CI also validates plugins and scans for secrets. There are no skill-specific tests, third-party execution records, or corroborating sources, so the assessment rests mainly on documented instructions and is capped.
- The skill depends on an internal GL MCP without documenting its identity, installation, permissions, availability, or fallback behavior.
- Sensitive-data handling, cross-system data flow, user confirmation, and approval responsibility are unspecified; the generated schedule should not be treated as an approved accounting record.
- No Chinese terminology guidance, field mappings, exception cases, or sample output is provided; validate account, period, journal-source, FX, and reclassification rules in the target environment.
What it does & when to use it
This skill builds a roll-forward schedule for an account or account group, entity, and reporting period. It connects the prior-period balance to the period-end GL balance through additions, accruals, reversals, payments, adjustments, reclasses, and FX translation. Each activity line is expected to cite an internal GL MCP query. If the schedule does not foot, it surfaces the unexplained delta instead of plugging it.
Accepts an account or account group, entity, and period; lays out opening balance, activity, and ending balance; requires an internal GL MCP query for each activity line using an account, date range, and journal-source filter; adds a “ties to” citation for every line; and reports whether X + A + B − C − D + E + F = Y passes, including any unexplained delta.
- A fund administration team needs a balance-sheet roll-forward for a month-end close package.
- A finance operations user must connect a prior-period close balance to the period-end GL balance.
- An audit-support user needs GL-query or document support for every roll-forward line.
- An accounting user finds a break in the schedule and needs the unexplained item exposed rather than plugged.
Pros & cons
- Provides a defined bridge from opening to ending balance.
- Requires support for each activity line through a GL query and citation.
- Surfaces unexplained gaps instead of hiding them with a plug.
- Designed for month-end close packages and audit support.
- Depends on the internal GL MCP; the source does not document its setup, permissions, or availability.
- No test suite or sample output is provided in the skill source.
- It does not determine root causes or approve accounting treatment for discrepancies.
How to install
In Cowork, open Settings → Plugins → Add plugin, paste https://github.com/anthropics/financial-services, and select the required vertical from the marketplace list. The README does not provide a separate installation command for the roll-forward skill.
How to use
Provide the account or account group, entity, and period, then request a roll-forward schedule. Example: "Build a roll-forward for account group X, entity Y, and period Z; cite the internal GL query for each line and report the foot check and any unexplained delta." The source does not document internal GL MCP configuration or permissions.