Tic and Tie

Many years ago I worked routinely with finance people.  Lately, I find myself in their midst yet again.  On my latest engagement, I've been coming across an interesting phrase for which I haven't been able to find a solid etymology.

The phrase as Tick and Tie. Or maybe Tic and Tie? Or ??

There are many people that use this phrase, managers, accountant types, legal eagles, etc.  They all seem to provide their own subtext and implications, but somehow they all seem to understand what it means by unspoken agreement.  When pressed, no solid answers were at hand.

As best I can figure, it relates to checking the numbers or answers, and relating the specific numbers or answers to their supporting information.  When working a proposal, projection, or model, this is a crucial step necessary for validating that all the information can be defended.  During facilitation we call this  the clarify step.  In computer terms we call it a check-sum.

Lacking a good definition, I'm presenting a bogus history.  Tick as in making check marks (ticks) on each entry. And Tie as in connecting each item back to the supporting documentation from which the number is derived.

If you've got the real one, I'd love to hear it.