User Guide — Financial Auditing

Ultimately, auditors want to confirm that

	  Accounts Receivable at time(0)
	+ New Charges between time(0) and time(T)
	- Payments deposited between time(0) and time(T)
	- Adjustments written off between time(0) and time(T)
	  ---------------------------------------------
	  Accounts Receivable at time(T)

The Activity Wizard and A/R Aging Wizard make it easy. To calculate the AR at the beginning of the month, run the advanced view of the A/R Aging Wizard report with the Last Day of Previous Month option selected from the Show aging as of (postdate) menu.

To calculate the AR at the end of the month, run the advanced view of the A/R Aging Wizard report with the last date of the month entered in the Show aging as of (postdate) field.

The equation is adjusted to say:

	  AR Wizard Total as of time(0)
	- AR Wizard "Total Unapplied Credit" as of time(0) -31,303
	+ Activity Wizard (transaction post) Charges between time(0) and time(T)
	- Activity Wizard (transaction post) Payments Posted between time(0) and time(T)
	- Activity Wizard (transaction post) Adjustments written off between time(0) and time(T)
	+ Activity Wizard (transaction post) "Change in Unapplied Credit" between time(0) and time(T)
	  -------------------------------------------
	  AR Wizard Total as of time(T)
	- AR Wizard "Total Unapplied Credit" as of time(T) -33,944

athenaOne support of real-time posting creates an inevitable discrepancy between the "post date," which underlies activity reporting, and the "deposit date" that a batch is deposited at the bank. Because of real-time posting, payments posted in one month could have been deposited in either the previous or the following month. athenaOne has functionality to help you avoid this inconvenience.

athenaOne has always allowed users to back-post payments. In some athenaCollector (No Posting) practices, users prefer to back-post payments to reduce the number of payments with post dates and deposit dates in different months.

The Default Post Date practice setting allows athenaCollector (No Posting) clients to set default options for the post date, so users can back-post payments easily. Posters can override the post date for individual transactions if appropriate.

athenaOne accommodates these options for back-dating post dates.

• Transaction Entry Date — Date that the payment is recorded in athenaOne.
• Deposit Batch Deposit Date — Date that the check was deposited at the bank. Using this option minimizes discrepancies between deposit dates and post dates. Note that if the deposit batch's deposit date is changed after posting begins, post dates will not be changed.
• Payment Batch Created Date — Date that the payment batch is created. Using this option may reduce discrepancies between deposit dates and post dates and may also reduce the possibility that a month is closed before a partially posted batch is completed.

After a period has been closed, it is not possible to post transactions to those dates. Any payments posted subsequently will be posted to the first day after the System Close Date. For example:

1. A deposit batch is created with a deposit date of March 30.
2. On April 3, the month of March is closed, advancing the System Close Date to March 31.
3. The batch is not posted until April 5, however. These payments can no longer have March 30 as their post date. They are instead given the post date April 1.

athenaOne accommodates these options for back-dating post dates.

• Transaction Entry Date — Date that the payment is recorded in athenaOne.
• Deposit Batch Deposit Date — Date that the check was deposited at the bank. Using this option minimizes discrepancies between deposit dates and post dates. Note that if the deposit batch's deposit date is changed after posting begins, post dates will not be changed.
• Payment Batch Created Date — Date that the payment batch is created. Using this option may reduce discrepancies between deposit dates and post dates and may also reduce the possibility that a month is closed before a partially posted batch is completed.

All payments posted by athenahealth staff are posted on the indicated date, unless the month is closed prior to completion of a batch. After a period has been closed, it is not possible to post transactions to those dates. Any payments posted subsequently will be posted to the first day after the System Close Date. For example:

1. A deposit batch is created with a deposit date of March 30.
2. On April 3, the month of March is closed, advancing the System Close Date to March 31.
3. The batch is not posted until April 5, however. These payments can no longer have March 30 as their post date. They are instead given the post date April 1.

You can use the Activity Wizard to help you reconstruct the exact unapplied balance at any given time. The Activity Wizard displays the amount by which the unapplied balance changed during the period of the report, and displays the unapplied balance as of the date selected for the report in the Show aging as of (postdate) field.