Bank Reconciliation Best Practices for 2025

Bank reconciliation is the cornerstone of financial accuracy. When done correctly, it catches errors before they cascade into larger problems, detects fraud before significant losses occur, and ensures your financial statements reflect reality. When done poorly, or not at all, businesses face audit failures, tax penalties, and undetected embezzlement that can threaten their very survival.

Yet despite its importance, many businesses still approach reconciliation as an afterthought, rushing through it monthly or delegating it without proper oversight. The consequences are predictable: a typical business loses 5% of revenue to fraud and error, much of which proper reconciliation would prevent.

This guide presents 8 proven best practices that transform bank reconciliation from a tedious chore into an efficient, fraud-resistant process. Whether you are reconciling one account or dozens, these practices will help you catch errors faster, document properly for audits, and leverage automation to reduce manual effort by 80% or more.