GL Period / Timing Error: Charges in the Wrong CAM Year
A $12,600 invoice from the prior year can be billed again if it lands in the wrong reconciliation period. Timing errors are easy to miss when tenants receive only annual summaries.
Definition
A GL period or timing error occurs when the general ledger includes charges in a CAM reconciliation period even though the service date, invoice date, accrual period, or posting context belongs to a different year. Commercial real estate clients are normally billed for operating expenses incurred during the reconciliation year. Timing mistakes can shift prior-year costs into the current year, accelerate future-year work, duplicate accrual reversals, or include late-posted invoices without a matching exclusion from the earlier period. These errors are common when landlords close books manually, move invoices across periods, or reconcile CAM from spreadsheets rather than a controlled recovery module. This rule looks beyond the summary statement and reads ledger dates, descriptions, and period references to identify charges that may not belong in the billed year. The finding helps tenants ask whether the item was accrued, reversed, billed previously, or intentionally included under the lease.
CAM is period-specific. Charges from the wrong service year can inflate the reconciliation even when the expense category itself is allowed.
How we detect
- 1
CAMAudit reviews GL posting dates, invoice dates, service-period descriptions, month labels, and accrual or reversal language for each entry tied to the reconciliation.
- 2
CAMAudit flags entries whose date signals fall outside the audit year or whose descriptions reference prior-year or future-year service periods.
- 3
CAMAudit reports the amount, date evidence, source description, and statement category so the tenant can request accrual support and confirm the charge was not billed in another year.
Real-world example
A 2023 CAM reconciliation included a $17,900 snow removal invoice. The GL memo said "December 2022 storm services" and the invoice date was January 2023. CAMAudit flagged the timing issue because the service period appeared to belong to the prior reconciliation year and required accrual support before acceptance.