A Source-File Inventory Checklist for 37 Act Reporting

A 37 Act reporting cycle usually starts to wobble before the final report is assembled. The risk begins when source files arrive through different channels, owners track status in different places, and evidence is rebuilt from memory at the end of the year.

A source-file inventory is the simplest way to make the cycle visible before a full software pilot. It does not certify anything by itself. It gives the team a shared map of what must arrive, who owns it, how it will be reviewed, and which output depends on it.

What to include

For each recurring source file, capture:

• Fiscal year or reporting period.
• Source system or external partner.
• File owner and reviewer.
• Expected format, naming convention, and delivery method.
• Due date and actual received date.
• Related output: actuarial package, GASB support, audit evidence, board packet, contribution reconciliation, financial statement support, or employer reporting.
• Required validations: completeness, totals, status changes, contribution logic, roll-forward consistency, or assumptions.
• Evidence location and review notes.
• Open exceptions and resolution owner.

Common source categories

1. Payroll and contribution files — employer payroll submissions, contribution totals, adjustments, pay-period records, and reconciliation support.
2. Member and status data — active, deferred, retired, terminated, beneficiary, demographic, service-credit, compensation, and status-change records.
3. Finance and accounting schedules — ledger extracts, investment/accounting summaries, cash activity, receivables, payables, and financial statement support.
4. Actuarial data requests — valuation extracts, assumptions, reconciliation notes, experience data, and prior-year change explanations.
5. GASB support materials — plan reporting support, employer disclosure package inputs, schedules, source references, and review signoff.
6. Audit evidence — workpapers, confirmations, approvals, final exports, exception resolutions, and reviewer comments.
7. Board packet materials — management summaries, exhibits, appendices, public-facing narrative, exception status, and final approval dates.

How 37Act uses this inventory

The inventory is a design-partner input. It shows where a retirement system needs a governed workspace: source intake, validation, exception management, evidence retention, review status, and repeatable exports.

A strong pilot starts with one output chain — for example, contribution reconciliation to actuarial package, GASB support, audit evidence, or board packet production — and maps every source file behind it.

Professional-review boundary

A source-file inventory is operational support. It is not legal advice, actuarial advice, audit certification, investment advice, or a guarantee of compliance. It helps the people responsible for those reviews see the evidence trail more clearly.