Start with a preparation queue
Choose one recurring preparation task: collecting receipts, indexing statements, matching references or assembling a close checklist. Describe the finished output and the person who reviews it. The assistant should know what can be prepared under an existing instruction and what must remain unresolved until the reviewer decides.
Document the evidence for each item
A useful register includes the source reference, period, record owner, status, missing information and next action. Keep the original document in its approved location and link to it. Do not treat a spreadsheet entry as evidence that the underlying transaction was approved.
Use a draft-and-review boundary
Begin with draft work that a reviewer can inspect before it affects the official records. An assistant can flag a missing receipt or a conflicting reference; the designated accounting owner decides the treatment. Access should match the assigned preparation work, with separate authority for approvals or releases.
Example: an expense has no supporting receipt
The assistant records the item, retrieves the available source and requests the missing document through the agreed route. The item remains marked as missing support. The reviewer decides the next step under the business procedure. Closing a checklist task does not by itself resolve the underlying accounting question.
Review a sample and an exception
Check whether the reviewer can locate each source, understand the status and see why an item was held. Compare correction requests across review cycles. If the same ambiguity recurs, update the instructions or source requirements before increasing the queue.
Leave a recoverable handoff
Retain the reviewed register, unresolved-item list and owner instructions in the approved system. Another authorized team member should be able to continue the work without reconstructing a private message history.
Plan the handoff
Compare bookkeeping support and document management. Bring anonymized examples and your retained decisions to a scope discussion.