Full data reconciliation

Advanced

Reconciliation is a core accounting task: comparing records from two systems to identify mismatches. In month-end close, you might reconcile bank statements against ERP transactions, flagging differences for investigation.

You have transaction data from two sources:

  • System A (Bank): Columns A-C contain the bank's transaction records
  • System B (ERP): Columns E-G contain the ERP system's records

Each transaction has a Reference ID, Date, and Amount. Your job is to compare each System A transaction against System B and categorize the result in column I.

Discrepancy types to identify:

  • Match: Reference found in System B, and both date and amount match
  • Amount diff: Reference found, but the amount differs
  • Date diff: Reference found, amount matches, but date differs
  • Not found: Reference ID doesn't exist in System B

Your task:

Write a formula in I3 that looks up the System A reference (A3) in System B and returns the appropriate status. The formula should:

  1. First check if the reference exists in System B
  2. If found, check if the amount matches
  3. If amount matches, check if the date matches
  4. Return the appropriate status text

Copy the formula down through I10 for all transactions. Use absolute references for the lookup range.

Need some help?

Hint 1

Use VLOOKUP to search for A3 in the System B data (E3:G10). Wrap it with ISNA to check if the reference exists.

Hint 2

Build nested IF statements: first check ISNA for "Not found", then compare amounts, then compare dates.

Hint 3

The lookup range should be $E$3:$G$10 with absolute references. Column 3 returns the amount, column 2 returns the date.

Related function(s)

Exercise