Catapult Releases Native Financial Close and Audit Software for Dynamics 365 Business Central

Catapult’s Financial Close and Audit Module for Business Central is a native extension that manages month-end close inside Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. It replaces spreadsheet checklists and scattered evidence with reusable close templates, automatic account reconciliations with aging, segregation of duties, journal and variance review, and a permanent audit trail. Catapult, a Microsoft Dynamics 365 partner, has released it on Microsoft AppSource.

Key facts

• Product name: Catapult’s Financial Close and Audit Module for Business Central
• Developer: Catapult ERP Services Inc.
• Platform: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (native extension)
• Category: Month-end close management and audit controls
• Availability: Microsoft AppSource
• Built for: Growing organizations that have outgrown a spreadsheet-based close
• Primary users: Controllers, Finance Managers, CFOs, and Business Central administrators
• Built-in roles: Preparer, Reviewer, Manager, Auditor, and Admin

What is the Financial Close and Audit Module for Business Central?

The Financial Close and Audit Module is a Business Central extension built by Catapult ERP Services Inc. It adds a dedicated close workspace to Business Central. Finance teams build a reusable checklist, generate each month’s work from it, collect evidence, route work for approval, reconcile accounts, and lock the period. Every close follows the same three stages: prepare, work, and lock.

What problem does it solve in Business Central?

Business Central has no dedicated month-end close workspace out of the box. Finance teams usually fill that gap with spreadsheet checklists, email threads, and shared drive folders. The result is a close that depends on whoever remembers the steps, with no enforced segregation of duties, no complete audit trail, and no reliable way to see which reconciling items have aged past 90 days. The risk grows as an organization adds bank accounts, entities, or scrutiny from lenders, investors, or a board.

What features does the Financial Close and Audit Module include?

• Close task templates. A reusable checklist with owners, reviewers, evidence requirements, and due dates set relative to the close deadline.
• Period generation. One action creates a dated, assigned task list for the period and adds reconciliation, journal review, or variance rows wherever a template line calls for one.
• Task dependencies. A task can’t be completed until the task it depends on is finished.
• Evidence attachments. Required evidence is an attached file, logged with the uploader and a timestamp.
• Account reconciliations. G/L balances and subledger open items are pulled in, the difference is checked against a tolerance, and open items are grouped into aging buckets of 0 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90, and over 90 days.
• Reconciliation recertification. An approved reconciliation is flagged automatically if its G/L balance later changes.
• Journal reviews. Journal batches go through a submit and approve cycle, and the debit and credit totals update as entries change.
• Variance analyses. Variances are calculated against the prior period, a budget, or a manual figure. Any variance above the materiality threshold requires a written explanation.
• Segregation of duties. The person who completed or prepared an item can’t approve it. An optional stricter setting limits approval to the assigned reviewer.
• Close History. An append-only record of every status change, with the user, timestamp, and reason.

How does a month-end close run in the module?

1. An administrator or manager sets up Financial Close Setup once, including review rules and the aging and variance thresholds.
2. A template is built with tasks, owners, reviewers, due date offsets, and evidence requirements.
3. At the start of the month, a close period is created and Generate Period Work produces the dated task list.
4. Preparers complete tasks, attach evidence, and submit them for review.
5. Reviewers approve each item or return it with a reason.
6. Accounts are reconciled, journal batches are reviewed, and material variances are explained.
7. A manager locks the period once the required work is done. A locked period can be reopened only with a documented reason.
8. Close History holds the complete record for audit.

Who is the module designed for?

It targets growing organizations that run Business Central, have moved beyond a single bookkeeper, and have outgrown a spreadsheet-based close without needing an enterprise-scale platform. These organizations typically add close complexity through more bank accounts, currencies, or entities, and answer to outside stakeholders who expect a documented process. Three roles usually shape the decision.

• Controllers and Finance Managers run the close day to day and feel the pain of the manual process.
• CFOs, in-house or outsourced, care about audit readiness, control maturity, and cost compared with a larger platform.
• Business Central administrators and consultants care about setup effort and fit with the existing environment.

How does it compare with a spreadsheet close or a standalone close platform?

• Spreadsheets and manual checklists are flexible but have no enforced dependencies, no required evidence, and no permanent approval history. The module adds that structure without adding headcount.
• Standalone close management suites can deliver strong controls, but they are separate systems that have to be bought, hosted, and integrated with the ERP.
• A native Business Central module delivers close controls inside the ERP the organization already runs, so there is no separate platform and no second place for finance data to live.

Where can you get the Financial Close and Audit Module?

The module is available on Microsoft AppSource. Catapult also offers a pricing guide and a full product demonstration, and its consultants can advise on how the module fits an existing Business Central setup. More detail is on the Financial Close and Audit Module page.

Frequently asked questions

What does the audit trail record?

Close History logs eight kinds of action across the module: completing, submitting, approving, returning, rejecting, reconciling, locking, and reopening. Each entry carries the user, the timestamp, the old and new status, and any reason or comment. The log is append-only, so entries can’t be edited or deleted.

How are aging buckets calculated?

Open reconciling items are grouped as 0 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90, or over 90 days. Age is measured from the item’s basis date (due date, posting date, or document date, depending on setup) to the end date of the period.

What happens if a G/L balance changes after a reconciliation is approved?

The reconciliation is flagged as Needs Recertification. The preparer recalculates and the reviewer approves it again, so an approval can’t go stale without anyone noticing.

Can a locked period be reopened?

Yes. Reopening requires a documented reason, and both the original lock entry and the reopen entry stay in Close History.

What access does an external auditor get?

The Auditor role has read-only access to every table, including the full Close History. It can’t execute any workflow action.

Does the module work with Power BI?

The module publishes periods, tasks, reconciliations, journal reviews, variances, and the audit trail as read-only data feeds intended for Power BI. A Business Central partner or internal analytics team connects Power BI to the Business Central data source to build the dashboard.

About Catapult

Catapult is a certified Microsoft Dynamics 365 partner with over a decade of experience, serving organizations primarily in Canada. Learn more about the Financial Close and Audit Module for Business Central on the Catapult website.