Reconciling exchange transactions with manager reports

A difference between a manager report and an exchange export does not automatically mean a missing trade or an error. The reports may cover different events, timestamps or currencies. Good reconciliation first aligns scope, then looks for supported explanations of differences. Its purpose is not to manufacture a preferred return figure.

Fix the period and account boundary

Record start and end dates, time zone, markets and included subaccounts. Establish whether a report lists submitted orders or confirmed fills. An order may have several fills, with cancellation of its remainder recorded separately. Summing order rows instead of fills can misstate trading turnover.

Classify events before adding them

Separate trades, deposits, withdrawals, internal transfers, fees, funding and host adjustments. Moving funds between two subaccounts inside the reporting boundary is not trading income. If one subaccount is outside that boundary, the same transfer becomes an external cash flow for the defined scope. The boundary explains the difference.

A hypothetical double-counting problem

Suppose 1,000 units move from one subaccount to another and the consolidated report covers both. The outgoing and incoming legs cancel at the combined level; the second account’s receipt alone is not a 1,000-unit profit. Any charge is a separate event. This example makes no claim about a particular exchange’s actual structure.

Match using identifiers and times

• A non-sensitive fill or transaction identifier and the relevant subaccount.
• Event time and report-recording time, with an identified time zone.
• The original asset and quantity before reporting-currency conversion.
• The fee, the asset used to pay it and the conversion rate applied.
• The corresponding manager-report row or an unresolved discrepancy status.

Asset valuation differs from incoming cash

A held asset can increase in value without a trade or transfer. Comparing opening and closing valuations requires a reference price and its timestamp. Do not invent a deposit event to represent open profit or assume that no closed trades means no economic change. Charges not yet recorded should also be disclosed as a reporting limitation.

Do not close gaps with invented rows

If an entry cannot be matched, record its review status, required source and person responsible for responding. An unsupported adjustment merely to equalise totals does not improve reporting quality. Preserve original exports and record later corrections with versions and reasons. A report with gaps can be reviewed but must not be presented as final and unambiguous.

Relevant evidence, not account secrets

Explain discrepancies with limited, redacted exports; API keys, passwords and recovery phrases are unnecessary. When reviewing account information, ask managers for their reconciliation basis, and describe reporting formats without private information in a cooperation inquiry. This framework claims neither automatic product connectivity to every exchange nor verification of any actual report.