Preparation got cheaper and review did not. Offshore teams, juniors and AI agents can produce a file faster than a manager can reconstruct it, so managers spend their review time finding the missing tie-out, the open item still sitting in email and the same error as last period.
Point the CLI at a pack directory. It checks that the required artefacts are present, that the preparer has certified the pack, that blocking open items are cleared and that the trial balance balances. For a BAS pack, it also checks that 1A less 1B ties to the GST control movement. A READY pack may enter manager review. The tool still does not decide that the work is correct.
What this tool does
- Gates BAS, month-end and year-end packs before they reach a reviewer.
- Writes a cover sheet, a findings CSV and a hashed JSON pack a manager can archive.
- Flags findings that were still OPEN on the prior pack as repeats.
Limits
Local files only. No Xero connection, no lodgement, no LLM, no period lock. A READY result is not sign-off.
MIT-licensed utility code, no warranty. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the ATO or Xero. Not tax advice.
Get it
Run the two fictional BAS packs and compare the expected findings. The fixed-release evaluation shows the failures to correct before READY, with no client files or Xero connection.
Needs Python 3.10 or later. A command-line tool for whoever runs Python at your firm.
git clone https://github.com/ryanduguid/accounting-review-pipeline.git
git -C accounting-review-pipeline checkout review-ready-gate/v0.1.3
cd accounting-review-pipeline/packages/review-ready-gate
python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"
review-ready gate --profile bas --pack examples/bas-ready --output ../../../review-ready-demo/bas-readyThe output goes outside the clone on purpose. A readiness pack names a client’s file and its open findings, so it belongs outside version control rather than behind an ignore entry the next commit can waive. Releases v0.1.7 to v0.1.9 refuse an output inside a version control checkout. The path above leaves the clone, which is what you want when you run these commands from an ordinary directory. If you are already inside another checkout, point --output at a directory outside that one instead.
Software issue using fictional data? Open an issue or email with the tool named in the subject. If the email link does not open, the contact page spells the address out.
Common questions
Is READY the same as approved?
No. READY means no configured gate tripped on the files that were present. A human still decides whether the file can be signed or lodged.
Does this replace monthly close review?
No. Monthly Close Controls still produces the exception pack once a trial balance is allowed onto the desk. This tool sits upstream of that.
Can it change a client’s ledger?
No. It reads local files and writes a readiness pack. It cannot post, pay, lodge or lock a period.