- Before
- Ties out a thousand numbers with a binder, then hunts every sentence a late journal touched.
- Now
- Opens one change set per cause, asks why, and approves ten numbers in four places with one signature.
One 10-Q, from a late reclass to a filing the CAO can approve
Kestrel & Vane Group — a diversified group with Manufacturing, Services and Distribution segments, and a large accelerated filer — is ten business days into its Q3 2026 10-Q, due Mon 9 Nov. Here is what happens next, screen by screen, in the working solution.
- 01Wed 14 Oct, 06:00
The agents re-tied the 10-Q overnight
Owen Brooks · SEC reporting managerOwen's day starts with what holds up the filing: 14 of 1,284 numbers do not tie, from 4 causes, and 7 things need him before the disclosure committee on Tue 27 Oct. Eight of 16 sections are approved, 23 of 26 sub-certifications are in, and there are 26 days to the SEC deadline, with a target of Fri 30 Oct. The first item is a late reclass that moves ten numbers.
Tie-out agent: “I re-tied all 1,284 numbers against the ledger as at 13 Oct 23:59. 14 do not tie. They come from four causes: a late reclass, a typo, an updated tax estimate and an updated debt schedule.”
- 02The draft
Every number underlined by its tie-out status
Owen Brooks · SEC reporting managerThe draft 10-Q is the work surface. Every number is underlined green (tied to the ledger or a schedule), amber (tied with a rounding note) or red (does not tie) — 1,254, 15 and 14 — with “14 untied” pinned in the corner. The outline shows each section's untied count; Note 3 · Revenue has four, and sentences rewritten since Q2 are marked in the margin.
Tie-out agent: “4 numbers in this section do not tie. Click a red number to see its trail, or ask me.”
- 03One click on 412.6
The trail from the draft to the journal
Tie-out agentServices revenue in the Americas reads 412.6; the source says 412.9. The trail shows the draft figure, written on 5 Oct from close package v1, the consolidation at 412.92, ledger accounts 4100 and 4150, then the cause: JE-Q3-1187, a $318,400 reclass from Distribution, entered 6 Oct and posted 13 Oct. Contract review RV-118, approved by Ravi Menon on 2 Oct, found the contract is a stand-alone maintenance service.
“Journal posted after the draft · confidence 99%.”
- 0406:02
One cause, ten numbers, four places
Consistency agentThe consistency agent finds every place the fact lives: four cells in the Note 3 table, two in Note 14, and two MD&A paragraphs. It recomputes the words as well — “grew 6.2% to $412.6 million” becomes 6.3% and $412.9 million, and the Services segment increase becomes $54.6 million to $902.3 million. The drafting agent's second reading agrees. Total revenue does not change.
“Approve to update every place at once, edit the proposed words, or reject with a reason.”
- 05Before he decides
He asks why it is a reclass, not new revenue
Owen Brooks · SEC reporting managerOwen asks in plain words. The tie-out agent answers with its sources: the journal debits Distribution product revenue and credits maintenance contracts by the same $318,400, the contract review puts the Halden Freight Systems contract in Services, and group revenue stays at 2,418.7. Each statement links to the journal, the review or the consolidation.
“Each change set fixes one cause everywhere it lands; nothing in the draft changes until a person approves.”
- 06Signed
Approved with a reason code — 14 untied becomes 4
Owen Brooks · SEC reporting managerOwen picks reason T1 — “Ledger or schedule is right” — and signs. All ten numbers update at once and the untied count drops from 14 to 4. It moves ten numbers but not total revenue, so it is below the $1.0M threshold at which the CAO is copied; Owen asks the agents to tell Margaret Lindqvist when it is done, linked to her comment on the MD&A paragraph.
“I approve CS-01: 10 numbers in 4 places as Owen Brooks, SEC Reporting Manager — e-signature.”
- 07Estimates go to their owner
The tax rate waits for the person who owns it
Ravi Menon · Technical accounting leadNote 11 still quotes a 23.8% effective rate; tax provision v3 of 13 Oct finalized the Pillar Two top-up tax at $3.1M, and the statements show $59.6M on $247.4M — 24.1%. An estimate change is approved by the technical accounting lead, so CS-03 is Ravi's, with reason T5; Lena Hoffmann, who owns Note 11, is copied. The capex typo, $486.3M for $468.3M, reopens the approved liquidity section for Marcus Bell.
- 08Review
Five sections ready to approve in one go
Review coordinatorWith the reclass fixed, five sections are ready: Note 1, Note 3, Note 14, MD&A results and Part II. Owen selects them and approves all five with one signature and a reason code. The review coordinator routes each section to its owner, who has two business days, reminds at 24 hours and escalates to Owen at 48.
“A fix to an approved section reopens it.”
- 09The checklist
A promise to the SEC, checked in this filing
Checklist agent214 checklist items against Regulation S-X, S-K and the ASC: 207 met, each with a citation, 5 not applicable with reasons, 2 open. In August 2025 the company told the SEC it would quantify each material factor in a change in segment revenue; the Services paragraph does not. The agent drafts the sentence from the flux commentary — volume $27.4 million, pricing $21.4 million, currency $5.8 million — for a person to approve.
The checklist agent never marks an item met without a citation, and never answers the SEC.
- 10Can we file?
Seven gates before she approves the filing
Margaret Lindqvist · Chief accounting officerMargaret sees the gates the review coordinator keeps current: every number tied, the same fact everywhere, every section approved, the checklist and SEC commitments, sub-certifications, the auditor's interim review and XBRL validation. “Approve the filing” stays disabled until all seven are met, and each gate opens the screen where it is cleared. When they are, she signs with reason F1 — before the disclosure committee and the CEO and CFO certifications.
“Margaret Lindqvist approves when all seven gates are met.”