AI-Readiness Assessment
A reliable finance base.
A senior reviewer examines ledgers, bank feeds, and close steps, while Aaron Ressel, Senior Controller, and Kevin Cahill, CFO, review findings weekly. The result: a scored assessment before AI rollout.
Best for: B2B leaders preparing for AI rollout.
Unchecked ledger history locks in 10 corrective priorities.
Stale rules and duplicate vendors become the model. It repeats those errors at machine speed through every close run.
The Continuous Close Method, applied to AI readiness.
A senior reviewer examines the accounting stack, while Aaron Ressel, Senior Controller, and Kevin Cahill, CFO, review findings weekly. The scored report remains yours.
01
Foundation: access intake
Grant read-only access to the ledger, bank feeds, and AP/AR tools. Complete the 20-question close intake in about 30 minutes.
02
Review: evidence and score
Review ledger history, feed rules, and close steps. Document findings by readiness area for scoring.
03
Guidance: findings and call
Score the records with red-amber-green ratings and rank priority fixes for the findings call.
Plan for about 2 client hours across the engagement.
Three assessment layers: evidence, findings, guidance.
Evidence layer: ledger and feeds
- Chart of accounts, class, and location structure
- Bank and card feed rules and coverage gaps
- Uncategorized QBO entries and reconciliation lag
- Balances tied to QBO bank statements
Process layer: AP, AR, and close
- Bill.com, Ramp, or Brex approval and sync errors
- QBO invoicing, payment application, and AR aging
- Vendor duplicates, names, and W-9 coverage
- Payroll and billing apps posting to proper accounts
Guidance layer: score and fixes
- Days to close and delay steps, when scoped
- Written SOPs versus undocumented QBO close steps
- Receipts and memos on 50 sampled entries
- Coding consistency in Puzzle training data
A fit when…
- Evaluating Puzzle, an AI close tool, or a QBO add-on.
- Month-end close extends beyond the expected window.
- Bank rules and vendor lists lack recent review.
- A lender review or controller hire is approaching.
Not a fit when…
- IT security or SOC 2 review is the actual need.
- Books are 6+ months behind; start with cleanup.
- Immediate fixes are needed before a scoped review.
- QuickBooks Desktop is the only ledger in use.
Need records repaired? See Catch-Up & Reconciliation →
Data security: encrypted data, role-based access, 7-day documented offboarding.
Comparing Debit & Co. to AI tool rollouts across 5 dimensions.
| Buyer evaluates | AI tool rollout | Debit & Co. |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Current ledger, untested | Ledger reviewed before rollout |
| Error risk | Prior errors repeated | Patterns flagged before rollout |
| Close impact | Problems surface at close | Bottlenecks ranked before rollout |
| Guidance | Software support queue | Senior reviewer and findings call |
| Decision path | Issues lack clear priority | Ranked fixes with clear owners |
Two senior reviewers oversee every readiness score.
Senior Controller
Aaron Ressel
Reviews the ledger, bank feeds, and close steps for accuracy. Applies 20 years of reporting leadership to GAAP checks.
CFO
Kevin Cahill
Connects ranked fixes to your ledger, Puzzle, or AI tool plan. Brings CFO experience in forecasting and FP&A.
50+ combined years of CFO/Controller experience.
Pricing set by scope, quoted up front.
Scope follows a brief call and reflects the stack, history, and entities. Eight drivers shape the quoted scope:
- Entity count: legal entities included in review
- Account count: connected bank and card accounts
- History: transaction volume and period under review
- Application coverage: AP, AR, payroll, and billing tools
- Ledger condition: coding consistency and reconciliation lag
- Process coverage: close steps and approval workflows
- Access setup: ledger permissions and data availability
- Tool stack: ledger, feeds, and connected applications
Related thinking from the Playbook.
Tech stack
Choose an accounting tech stack by stage
Compare ledger, bill pay, payroll, and expense tools.
Bank feeds
Automating bank reconciliation in QBO
Rules for QuickBooks and NetSuite bank feeds.
Code repair
Correcting miscoded ledger transactions
Correct old codes without breaking reconciliations.
Four questions before you book.
Which systems does the assessment cover?
Three systems are covered: QuickBooks Online, Puzzle, and NetSuite. QuickBooks Desktop is excluded; Bill.com, Ramp, and Gusto are also reviewed.
Do you need bank login access?
No. We review bank and card feeds through viewing access inside your ledger. Access ends after findings are delivered.
What happens to the report after the call?
You keep 1 scored report and a ranked fix list after the call. Address priorities in-house, or engage Debit & Co. for scoped follow-on work.
How does AI-Readiness Assessment differ from Catch-Up & Reconciliation?
Assessment finds and ranks gaps before AI rollout. Reconciliation corrects records. See Catch-Up & Reconciliation →
Readiness, clear before AI rollout.
Viewing access, senior review, ranked fixes. Patterns are clear before AI learns from them. Tool choices use evidence.