When was the last time you checked your open account with your manufacturer? When was the last time you checked other accounts, such as a co-op advertising account?
The franchisor open accounts should be reconciled monthly. It should be a regular part of the controller’s month end duties.
Why? Very simply, there is a great deal of money credited to and debited from those accounts. Are you receiving all of the credits you should be getting? Are the debits to the account appropriate? Have they all been authorized? Are they in approved amounts? Mistakes and errors in the credits and debits to that account can add up to a great deal of money in very short order.