The setting

Maple and Vine Coffee roasts specialty beans and sells wholesale to about 40 cafes across the Pacific Northwest. You are the staff accountant, working alongside controller Tom Bell and AP clerk Dana Ruiz, and you own the monthly close.

Every mission on this path happens at the same company, so context carries over the way it does in a real job: the data you cleaned in mission two is the data the finance lead questions in mission four.

The missions

1. reconciliationstarter

Reconcile Maple and Vine's June operating account

The June bank statement is in and the cash ledger does not match it. Before Tom will sign off on the close, the operating account has to reconcile to the penny.

You deliver: A bank reconciliation that brings the bank balance and the book balance to the same adjusted figure with every reconciling item listed.

Scored on: Balances tie exactly, Bank side items, Book side items, Clear labeling.

Working from: bank_statement.csv, cash_ledger.csv.

2. close checkliststarter

Report where the June close actually stands

Tom expects to review a finished draft P&L on July 4, but the close is not on track and he does not know it yet. You need to tell him where things really stand before the review, not during it.

You deliver: A close status memo listing incomplete tasks by owner and explaining which ones block a reliable draft P&L.

Scored on: Finds the incomplete items, Explains what blocks the P&L, Owners named, Sequenced next steps.

Working from: close_checklist.csv, close_notes.md.

3. statement reviewcore

Review the draft June P&L before Tom signs it

Nadia finished the draft June income statement and Tom asked you to review it before it goes out. Something in the operating expenses does not look right, and the numbers have to be defensible.

You deliver: A statement review memo naming each error with its dollar effect and the corrected operating income.

Scored on: Catches the footing error, Catches the misclassification, Corrected operating income, Verifies gross profit.

Working from: draft_pnl.md.

4. control checkcore

Review the AP payment controls at Maple and Vine

A vendor emailed about being paid twice, and Tom wants a real look at how payments are controlled before it happens again. You have June's payment log and the written process for accounts payable.

You deliver: A controls review memo listing each finding by invoice, ranked by risk, with a specific control fix for each.

Scored on: Catches the duplicate, Catches the SoD breaks, Catches the over-limit approval, Specific control fixes.

Working from: payments_log.csv, process_notes.md.

5. audit notestretch

Justify the bad debt allowance for the year-end auditors

The external auditors arrive next week and the allowance for doubtful accounts is a judgment area they always probe. Tom wants a memo that defends the number before they ask.

You deliver: An audit memo showing the allowance methodology, the reserve by bucket, the total, and the customer driving the largest share.

Scored on: Correct bucket totals, Correct allowance, Identifies the risk customer, Account recommendation.

Working from: ar_aging.csv, allowance_policy.md.

How the scoring works

Each deliverable is graded against the rubric written for that mission. Separately, every mission on every path is graded on how you used AI, against the same four criteria:

  • Understood the task. The learner framed the goal for the assistant clearly instead of pasting the brief and hoping.
  • Grounded in the material. The learner directed the assistant into the provided files and based the work on them, not on invented facts.
  • Verified the output. The learner checked claims, numbers, or coverage against the source material before submitting.
  • Iterated with judgment. The learner refined weak parts of the draft with specific follow-ups rather than accepting the first answer.

Both scores, with the work behind them, go on your proof profile. That is what makes a claim like "I can use AI for accounting and reporting" something an employer can check.