Review packs

The August packs at a glance

August close, state on Sep 28, 2026 4 of 5 packs approved Copper Kettle changes requested

The August close review for the five Pennock entities, one pack each: the reconciliations behind it, the open exceptions, and the one pack that was sent back over an unexplained cash difference at Copper Kettle. Prepared by Celeste Deverell, managing partner at Tallgrove Accounting Partners, for Desmond Vandermolen, owner of Pennock Hospitality Group, and the Pennock controller. Each pack is approved or sent back with a named change. Issued Thursday, October 1, 2026.

Five packs, four approved

Each entity has one close review pack. A pack holds the evidence accepted for the month, the reconciliations, the variance explanations and the exceptions raised. Four packs were approved first pass on Sep 22. The Copper Kettle pack came back with changes requested and stays open.

The close checklist

The table below is the Pennock close checklist, 14 records in all. Read the Status column first: the record to watch is Copper Kettle adjusting entry, the only one in Exceptions, owned by Celeste Deverell and due Oct 6.

Reconciliations by entity

All 23 reconciliations in the August close sit in the five packs. Twenty-one are reconciled. Two are open at Copper Kettle because deposits are in transit and could not be matched.

The chart shows the same split by entity. Copper Kettle is the only bar with an open segment.

The three open exceptions are not all alike. The Copper Kettle exception and the Saltmarsh Grill exception are assigned, and each waits for a response from Pennock. The Fig and Fennel exception is a sales tax liability mismatch of $1,340 that circulated for 6 days without an owner. Tobias Rennert assigned it to Celeste Deverell as reviewer, and she decided the treatment and the correcting entry the same day. The Fig and Fennel sales tax entry was in Review on Sep 28, its due date, and Celeste Deverell approves it at the next review.

What first pass means

A pack is approved first pass when the reviewer signs it off on the first review, with no change requested. The pack does not need to be free of open items. Every open item must show an owner and a next date.

Reconciliations

Every account is reconciled, or the difference is named with its cause and an owner.

Evidence

Items are accepted for close, or listed as outstanding with the sender and the date they are needed.

Variances

Each variance the reviewer asked about has a written explanation.

Exceptions

Each is resolved, or assigned to a named reviewer with a response date.

Decision

Celeste Deverell approves the pack or requests a named change. The Pennock owner and controller read the pack and may send it back.

This month

Four of five packs met these tests on Sep 22. Copper Kettle did not, because of the cash difference.

Copper Kettle: the cash difference

The three packs with open items

Three approved or returned packs still carry something open. Choose the entity to see the item, the owner and the next step.

Copper Kettle

Changes requested Reviewer: Celeste Deverell

Open. Two reconciliations with deposits in transit, one rejected evidence item, one outstanding evidence item and one exception waiting for a client response.

Next step. Tobias Rennert obtains the deposit-level report for the week of Aug 24 and matches each deposit. Celeste Deverell then decides the adjusting entry. Pack due for approval Oct 6.

Fig and Fennel

Approved Sep 22 Sales tax entry in review

Open. One outstanding evidence item and the correcting entry for the sales tax liability mismatch of $1,340.

Next step. Celeste Deverell reviews the Fig and Fennel sales tax entry. The mismatch had no owner for 6 days before it was assigned, so the pack now names a reviewer for every exception.

Saltmarsh Grill

Approved Sep 22 2 items owed

Open. Two outstanding evidence items and one exception waiting for a client response. The oldest item is the payroll register, which has waited 20 days.

Next step. Tobias Rennert sends the payroll request to the general manager directly. Desmond Vandermolen named his office manager as the single sender for all five entities.

What else the checklist holds

The same view carries the work around the packs. These records are in the view with their status and owner.

The catering entity setup is priced as a change at $2,900, and work has stopped until Desmond Vandermolen accepts or declines it.

Approval steps

A pack moves through four states: pack assembling, reviewer assigned, changes requested and approved. This is where each pack is today.

1. Packs assembled for five entities
2. Reviewer assigned, Celeste Deverell
3. Four packs approved, Sep 22
4. Deposit report and adjusting entry
5. Copper Kettle pack approved, Oct 6
6. September close starts

Sign-off

• CD
  Celeste DeverellManaging partner, Tallgrove Accounting Partners, reviews and approves each pack

• TR
  Tobias RennertClient accounting manager, Tallgrove Accounting Partners, prepares the packs and owns the queue

• DV
  Desmond VandermolenOwner, Pennock Hospitality Group, reads each pack and may send it back with a named change