Bank reconciliation redaction is the removal of banking and personal data from a recon worksheet. Companies Act 2006 s.386(3)(a) requires the accounting records to contain entries from day to day of all sums received and expended. Section 386(2)(b) requires them to disclose the financial position with reasonable accuracy at any time. A recon is how you prove that. anonym.plus marks each identifier on your device, so matched items stay.
When this applies
A recon worksheet pairs a bank statement with the ledger, listing full account numbers and signatories. An auditor treats a statement received from the bank as evidence from a source outside the entity under ISA (UK) 500. You strip the account data before a reviewer opens the workbook.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open the worksheet in anonym.plus on your device.
- Built-in OCR reads a scanned statement page.
- The app marks account, sort-code, and signatory data.
- Apply Mask to keep only the final digits.
- Keep the matched and outstanding-item rows.
- Save the clean workbook locally.
What you need to provide
- The worksheet plus statement (XLSX, PDF, scan).
- An operator: Mask keeps the final digits.
- Optional allow-list for cleared-item references.
PII & financial identifiers detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Financial | UK_BANK_NUMBER | acct 4412 9087 → ****9087 |
| Sort code | UK_SORT_CODE | 60-16-13 → [SORT] |
| Names | PERSON | signatory Thomas Wu → [SIGNATORY] |
| Money | MONEY | balance £52,110 → [AMOUNT] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | as at 31/03/2026 → [DATE] |
| Org | ORGANIZATION | First Trust Bank → [BANK] |
Compliance achieved
- Supports the daily receipts and payments record required by Companies Act 2006 s.386(3)(a).
- Keeps the reconciled position that CA 2006 s.386(2)(b) expects the records to show at any time.
- Masks account and sort-code numbers to the final digits, in line with the pseudonymisation and encryption measures in UK GDPR Art. 32(1)(a).
- Leaves the externally sourced statement usable as audit evidence under ISA (UK) 500. Offline work keeps the workbook off any server.
Anonymise bank reconciliations offline — see plans & start free →
Limitations & cautions
A spaced number on a faint scan can confuse OCR, so verify masked figures on image pages and confirm no full value remains. Masking a working copy does not change the records s.386 requires you to keep. The app masks what it detects; check the result.
Frequently asked questions
How much of a bank number may stay?
Usually only the final digits. The Mask operator keeps those and hides the rest across the workbook in one pass.
Will my matched-item rows survive?
Yes. Allow-list cleared-item references. Only banking numbers and signatory data are marked, so the reconciliation still proves the position Companies Act 2006 s.386(2)(b) expects the records to show.
Is the workbook uploaded?
No. The app runs locally, so the recon stays on your machine.