Account reconcilement within financial institutions is a key regulatory and compliance function, and it is a primary focus for outside regulators in their routine audits of the firm. Customers of these firms should also keep an accurate record and report discrepancies promptly.
With the advent of computer systems to record transactions and client positions, reconciling often amounts to fixing small discrepancies of a few dollars, or even pennies, between one source and another. The longer an error goes uncovered, the more difficult it will be to reconcile the two records.