Send bank statements to an accountant with a complete, controlled handoff

Confirm the legal entities, account suffixes, statement periods and purpose of the request. Ask whether the accountant needs full statements, transaction exports, check images or particular payment advices. A precise request reduces repeated uploads and avoids sharing unrelated accounts or customer documents.

Use a simple manifest with one row for each account and period. Include closed accounts and accounts with no activity if they fall within the agreed scope. Mark missing statements openly. A folder containing several files is not evidence that every required period is present. Record the page count when partial statements have been a recurring problem.

Download records from the bank's established portal or another approved source. Keep the original file unchanged in the company's controlled records. Name the shared copy with the entity, account suffix and statement end date, avoiding a full account number in a filename that may appear in notifications.

Check that all pages are present and readable. A screenshot of the first page or an activity list without opening and closing balances may not support the requested reconciliation. If the bank issued a corrected statement, preserve the earlier version and identify which one supersedes it.

Agree any redaction with the recipient before editing a copy. The accountant may need transaction detail that another requester would not. Label a redacted copy clearly and retain the original; never alter amounts or remove inconvenient transactions while presenting the result as a complete bank statement.

Confirm the recipient and upload location through an established channel, particularly when a new email asks for financial records. Use the firm's approved portal or another appropriately secured transfer method. The FTC recommends protecting sensitive financial information in transit and warns against sending it through unencrypted email.

Grant access to the intended people and review whether a link is restricted or broadly accessible. Use available controls appropriate to the engagement, such as named access and an expiration date. Keep login credentials and recovery codes out of the document package; a statement request does not authorize sharing the owner's bank password.

If a staff member uploads on the owner's behalf, record who sent the files and who received access. Avoid leaving duplicate copies in personal download folders or unrelated collaboration spaces. Follow the company's records policy for temporary files once delivery is confirmed.

Send the manifest through the agreed channel and ask the accountant to confirm that the files open and cover the requested periods. Record missing pages, inaccessible files and outstanding advices separately. A successful upload indicator confirms transfer activity, but the receiving team still needs usable records.

Link later additions to the same request instead of starting an unexplained new folder. Identify replacements explicitly so the accountant does not import both an original export and a corrected version. Keep questions about individual transactions tied to the account and source reference.

At the end of the engagement or access period, review sharing permissions and the agreed retention arrangements. Preserve the company's own complete record and the final handoff manifest. If a file was sent to the wrong recipient, notify the appropriate internal owner promptly and follow the established incident process, rather than assuming deletion of the original link resolved every copy.