Finance and accounting · 13 min
Closing the books
Every month, a company's finance team stops and asks: did we record everything, in the right month, and does it match the bank? That's closing the books. Here's who does it, how, and why the deadline is real.
Ticket 01 · The guess
How long did GameStop take?
Words to know
Sources and every number (6)
Sources
- EDGAR filing index for GameStop's fiscal 2025 Form 10-K (filing date and period of report) · U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 2026
- GameStop Corp. annual report (Form 10-K), fiscal 2025 (52 weeks ended January 31, 2026) · GameStop Corp., filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2025
- Financial Reporting Manual, Topic 1, section 1330.1: due dates for Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, by filer status · U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Corporation Finance, 2020
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks (jobs in 2025, pay in May 2025, projections 2025-35) · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025
- Publication 583 (12/2024), Starting a Business and Keeping Records · Internal Revenue Service, 2024
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Financial Managers (jobs in 2025, pay in May 2025, projections 2025-35) · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025
Every number
- 52 days
sec.gov ·2026 · Worked out from GameStop's filing index: its fiscal 2025 ended on the last day of January 2026, and its 10-K was filed on March twenty-fourth, 2026 (February 2026 had twenty-eight days). - 2,206 stores
sec.gov ·2025 · GameStop's stores across all its segments at the end of its fiscal 2025 (the last day of January 2026), by its 10-K. - 60 days
sec.gov ·2020 · Form 10-K is due this many days after the fiscal year ends, for large accelerated filers (the biggest public companies; GameStop's cover page says it is one). - 75 days
sec.gov ·2020 · Form 10-K due date for accelerated filers (smaller public companies). - 90 days
sec.gov ·2020 · Form 10-K due date for non-accelerated filers (the smallest public companies). - 40 days
sec.gov ·2020 · Form 10-Q, the quarterly report, is due this many days after each quarter ends, for large accelerated and accelerated filers. - 1.5 million jobs
bls.gov ·2025 · Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks: number of jobs in the US, 2025 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). - 6%
bls.gov ·2025 · BLS projects employment of bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks to decline by this much from 2025 to 2035, because software has automated many of their tasks. - $45,465
(example number: Our example sneaker shop: the bank balance on the first day of May.) · Our example sneaker shop: the bank balance on the first day of May. - $61,400
(example number: Our example sneaker shop: card sales the card company paid into the account in May.) · Our example sneaker shop: card sales the card company paid into the account in May. - $4,300
(example number: Our example sneaker shop: cash from the stores that was deposited and counted by the bank in May.) · Our example sneaker shop: cash from the stores that was deposited and counted by the bank in May. - −$38,600
(example number: Our example sneaker shop: a payment to the shoe supplier.) · Our example sneaker shop: a payment to the shoe supplier. - −$15,800
(example number: Our example sneaker shop: staff pay for May.) · Our example sneaker shop: staff pay for May. - −$8,400
(example number: Our example sneaker shop: rent for the three stores.) · Our example sneaker shop: rent for the three stores. - −$45
(example number: Our example sneaker shop: the bank's monthly fee.) · Our example sneaker shop: the bank's monthly fee. - $48,320
(example number: Our example sneaker shop: the bank statement's balance at the end of May.) · Our example sneaker shop: the bank statement's balance at the end of May. - $46,905
(example number: Our example sneaker shop: the cash balance in the shop's own records at the end of May.) · Our example sneaker shop: the cash balance in the shop's own records at the end of May. - $2,140
(example number: Our example sneaker shop: the last Saturday's cash, deposited at the end of the day, not yet counted by the bank.) · Our example sneaker shop: the last Saturday's cash, deposited at the end of the day, not yet counted by the bank. - $3,600
(example number: Our example sneaker shop: a payment to the shoe supplier sent at the end of May that the bank hasn't taken out yet.) · Our example sneaker shop: a payment to the shoe supplier sent at the end of May that the bank hasn't taken out yet. - $45
(example number: Our example sneaker shop: the bank's monthly fee, missing from the shop's records.) · Our example sneaker shop: the bank's monthly fee, missing from the shop's records. - $46,860
(example number: Our example sneaker shop: the true cash at the end of May, worked out: the bank's balance plus the deposit on its way minus the payment on its way; or the records' balance minus the fee.) · Our example sneaker shop: the true cash at the end of May, worked out: the bank's balance plus the deposit on its way minus the payment on its way; or the records' balance minus the fee. - $270
(example number: Our example sneaker shop: the difference the bank match can't explain on day three.) · Our example sneaker shop: the difference the bank match can't explain on day three. - $1,250
(example number: Our example sneaker shop: what a supplier payment really was.) · Our example sneaker shop: what a supplier payment really was. - $1,520
(example number: Our example sneaker shop: what someone typed into the records for it, with two digits swapped.) · Our example sneaker shop: what someone typed into the records for it, with two digits swapped.