SYSCOHADA Context

The OHADA Zone

The Organisation for the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) covers 17 francophone African states. The SYSCOHADA chart of accounts (most recently revised in 2018, effective 2019) is the mandatory accounting framework across the zone.

For bank reconciliation, the relevant SYSCOHADA accounts are:

| Code | Name | Used for | |---|---|---| | 411 | Clients | NSF customer checks | | 472 | Comptes d'attente | Suspense pending reclassification | | 521 | Banque | The bank account being reconciled | | 627 | Services bancaires et assimilés | Bank service charges | | 771 | Intérêts reçus | Interest income |

The Two Systems: Normal & Minimal

SYSCOHADA defines two reporting systems:

Système Normal — used by entities above turnover thresholds. Requires a complete set of statements including the Tableau des Flux de Trésorerie (cash-flow statement).
Système Minimal de Trésorerie (SMT) — for very small entities. Cash-basis accounting only, with simplified records.

Bank reconciliation is required under both systems. Under SMT it is the primary control on cash; under Système Normal it feeds the cash-flow statement and supports the audit opinion.

Internal Control Expectation

OHADA's audit guidance considers monthly bank reconciliation a baseline control. Auditors will:

Verify reconciliations are performed monthly within an acceptable lag.
Examine reconciling items older than 60 days for evidence of follow-up.
Re-perform a sample of reconciliations independently.

Stale outstanding checks (older than the validity period — typically 1 year) and persistent unidentified items are red flags that escalate audit risk.