Adjust

Record adjusting entries for "$ARGUMENTS". Ensure revenue and expenses are recognized in the correct period by recording accruals, deferrals, depreciation, and estimates.

Arguments. $ARGUMENTS may contain the project name and optional flags. Take the first token as <project> and treat --skip-checks as a flag; never include flags in file paths. All paths below use <project>. If --skip-checks is present, skip the prerequisite check and, before writing any artifact, append one line to .singularskills/log.jsonl: {"ts":"<ISO timestamp>","skill":"accounting-adjust","workflow":"accounting","phase":5,"project":"<project>","event":"skipped","artifact":"05-adjust.md","note":"<reason or \"none given\">"}.

Compute with code. Perform every calculation (totals, balances, ratios, variances, projections) with a script — Bash, Python or a spreadsheet formula written to a file — and include the computation alongside the result. Never do arithmetic mentally.

Prerequisites

Part of a workflow. This skill is phase 5 (Adjust) of the Accounting Cycle workflow (accounting); cross-domain workflows run it too. First check .singularskills/log.jsonl for an open run for this project: a run-started line with "project":"<project>" and no later run-finished line for the same workflow and project. If one exists, the conductor is running you: continue here. Otherwise, if the user asked to start, run, continue or resume a process or workflow rather than this one step, do not continue here: invoke the workflow skill with the workflow the user asked for, or accounting when they named none, followed by <project>; it runs this phase in order, asks before it writes and records the run. Otherwise continue here: a later phase runs on its own, behind its gate.

Run this skill's gate before writing: sh <this skill's folder>/scripts/gate.sh <project> <project root>, where <project root> is the folder that contains .singularskills/ (use . when you are already there). If it exits non-zero, stop and tell the user what it printed, unless --skip-checks was given (see Arguments). On a refusal, before you stop, append this line to .singularskills/log.jsonl (create the folder and file if missing): {"ts":"<ISO timestamp>","skill":"accounting-adjust","workflow":"accounting","phase":5,"project":"<project>","event":"refused","artifact":"05-adjust.md","note":"<what the gate printed>"}. Once the gate has passed, or under --skip-checks once you have appended the skipped line, append this line before you start work: {"ts":"<ISO timestamp>","skill":"accounting-adjust","workflow":"accounting","phase":5,"project":"<project>","event":"started","artifact":"05-adjust.md","note":""}.

Read .singularskills/accounting/<project>/04-trial-balance.md for the unadjusted trial balance.

Process

1. Identify required adjustments:

   • Accrued revenues — revenue earned but not yet billed or received
   • Accrued expenses — expenses incurred but not yet paid (wages, interest, taxes)
   • Prepaid expenses — payments made in advance that need to be expensed over time
   • Unearned revenue — cash received in advance that needs to be recognized as earned
   • Depreciation — allocate the cost of long-lived assets over their useful lives
   • Allowances & estimates — bad debt allowance, warranty reserves, inventory write-downs

2. Create adjusting journal entries:

   • For each adjustment, record:
     • Type — accrual, deferral, depreciation, or estimate
     • Accounts — debit and credit accounts
     • Amount — calculated adjustment amount with supporting calculation
     • Rationale — why this adjustment is necessary
   • Number entries sequentially (AJE-001, AJE-002, etc.)

3. Validate adjustments:

   • Each adjusting entry must have equal debits and credits
   • Verify that no operating transactions are included (those belong in Phase 2)
   • Confirm depreciation methods and useful lives are consistent with policy

4. Write the artifact to .singularskills/accounting/<project>/05-adjust.md with sections:

   • Adjusting Journal Entries — all entries with type, accounts, amounts, and rationale
   • Adjustment Summary — total adjustments by type
   • Impact Analysis — how adjustments affect net income and key account balances

Output

The adjustments written to .singularskills/accounting/<project>/05-adjust.md. Present a summary highlighting:

• Number of adjusting entries by type
• Net impact on net income
• Largest adjustments by dollar amount

Record the run. After you have written the artifact, append this line to .singularskills/log.jsonl (the started line of Prerequisites, with "event":"finished"): {"ts":"<ISO timestamp>","skill":"accounting-adjust","workflow":"accounting","phase":5,"project":"<project>","event":"finished","artifact":"05-adjust.md","note":""}.

Open the artifact with this frontmatter (agent is the agent you run in, or unknown; gate is passed when the gate ran clean and skipped under --skip-checks):

---
skill: accounting-adjust
workflow: accounting
phase: 5
project: <project>
started: <ISO timestamp>
finished: <ISO timestamp>
agent: <the agent you run in, or "unknown">
gate: <passed|skipped>
---

End the artifact with ## Decisions and ## Open questions, in this shape:

## Decisions
- <what was chosen> — <why> — <what was rejected>

## Open questions
- <what the next phase or a reviewer must settle>

End the artifact with this paragraph, verbatim:

Not financial or tax advice. This artifact is generated analysis for review by a qualified accountant or financial professional before any filing, reporting or decision relies on it.