Financial close anonymisation is the removal of personal data from a month-end dataset. UK GDPR Recital 26 exempts truly anonymous information from the rules. The test is whether re-identification is reasonably likely, which the ICO judges with its motivated-intruder standard. anonym.plus marks each identifier on your device, so the period figures stay while named parties go.
When this applies
The dataset blends ledgers, accruals, and payee lists full of names and accounts. Joining files raises the risk: a value that is common inside one file can be unique across the whole set. You anonymise before the combined data feeds a reporting model.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Point anonym.plus at the month-end folder on your device.
- It scans each file for names, accounts, and contacts.
- Built-in OCR reads any scanned support page.
- A shared map keeps repeat parties steady across files.
- Turn the map OFF when anonymity must be final.
- Save the clean dataset locally.
What you need to provide
- A folder of period files (CSV, XLSX, PDF, mixed).
- An operator (Replace works across a mixed set).
- The shared map turned OFF for final anonymity.
PII & financial identifiers detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Names | PERSON | payee across files → [PARTY_1] |
| Financial | UK_BANK_NUMBER | accounts → [ACCOUNT] |
| Identifiers | UK_NINO | contractor NI numbers → [NINO] |
| Contact | EMAIL_ADDRESS | emails → [EMAIL] |
| Money | MONEY | accrual £9,900 → [AMOUNT] |
| Org | ORGANIZATION | supplier orgs → [SUPPLIER] |
Compliance achieved
- Targets the anonymity test in UK GDPR Recital 26, judged by the ICO motivated-intruder test.
- Turn the shared map off so the set cannot be re-linked: DPA 2018 s.171 makes re-identifying de-identified personal data an offence.
- Where a set stays personal data, the safeguards in UK GDPR Art. 89(1) and the design duty in UK GDPR Art. 25(1) still apply.
- Does not replace the accounting records Companies Act 2006 s.386 requires. Whole-folder work stays offline — nothing is uploaded.
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Limitations & cautions
A combined set raises re-identification risk, because a rare value across files can single out one party. If the map is kept, the result is pseudonymised rather than anonymous, and UK GDPR still applies to it. Keep the map off for final use and review outliers in the joined data.
Frequently asked questions
How does a shared map help at month-end?
It logs each person once, so the same party maps to one alias in every file. Turn it off when you need the result to stay anonymous.
When does a close dataset stop being personal data?
When re-identification is no longer reasonably likely, which is the test UK GDPR Recital 26 sets and the ICO applies through its motivated-intruder standard. Keeping a reversible map means the set is only pseudonymised, so UK GDPR still applies to it in full.
How many files can one run handle?
Up to 20 files per batch, all processed locally with OCR for any scanned support.