Close publication and audit

Confirm the pack is ready

The publication decision checks the selected complete run, accepted entity submissions, resolved required exceptions, reviewed statements and approved disclosures. Signing an individual statement is preparation for the publication decision. It does not automatically distribute that statement to the board or expose draft results.

The Group Controller confirms the exact current revision and records the decision. If the data or a disclosure changes after review, the affected signature is invalidated and the pack returns for review. Publication commits the artifact set and locks the financial revision together so there is no window in which published numbers can still be changed.

Distribute the published version

The board pack collects the published statements and approved notes from the same period and revision. Its recipient list uses authorised Executive Reader identities. Distribution records distinguish generation, delivery attempts, successful delivery and access revocation. An email accepted by a provider is not evidence that an executive has read the pack.

A signed but unpublished statement must remain unavailable to executive readers, including through direct file links. The document store enforces the same identity and publication checks as the portal. Revoking access closes subsequent reads while preserving the audit record of the earlier distribution and its contents.

Support an evidence-based audit

An External Auditor receives a defined engagement scope and expiry. Within that scope, the consolidated line can be followed to its calculation component, translated source line, accepted subsidiary submission and authorised source-ledger reference. The cross-system link still requires permission in the source ledger.

Exports and document reads preserve the configured audit evidence. Permission checks apply equally to APIs and downloaded artifacts. The existence of a record in an audit report does not permit an auditor to edit it or execute a workflow. Expiry and revocation need to be tested against saved URLs as well as the visible navigation.

Correct a published close without rewriting it

The Group Controller may authorise a restatement with a reason. That decision opens a new financial revision linked to the earlier publication. It preserves the original statements, signatures, accepted source set and distribution history. Corrected source submissions and workpapers belong to the new run.

Admin cannot edit locked financial records through a technical override. An emergency access change still cannot serve as a financial restatement approval. The new result repeats the required reconciliation and independent reviews, then publishes its own immutable artifact set. Readers can identify which version superseded the earlier pack.

Keep close status meaningful

The calendar shows work in preparation, calculation, review, publication and lock. A failed export remains a delivery exception while the already committed financial publication stays identifiable. Retried export or distribution commands reuse the original artifact and recipient identities. They must not regenerate a different financial pack under the same publication label. The final receipt ties together the close revision, reviewed calculation, published files and observed delivery outcomes.