Account reconciliation is the process of comparing an organization’s internal account records, such as ledger entries and balances, with external transaction histories from banks, payment processors, exchanges, or other services. The goal is to identify and resolve differences so records accurately reflect what happened.
In cyber security and financial operations, reconciliation can reveal unauthorized transfers, missing or duplicated transactions, corrupted records, or errors caused by a disrupted third-party service. Defenders should reconcile regularly, preserve source data, investigate discrepancies, and restrict who can approve adjustments. It is a detection and verification control-not proof by itself that funds are safe or that a particular account was compromised.