The Fast Close Toolkit

CHAPTER FORTY ONEAccelerating the Close with Automation

INTRODUCTION: NO MATTER THE size of your organization, the monthly fiscal close can be a daunting effort. It often requires hundreds or thousands of tasks executed by scores of people working across the enterprise. And it's inherently a fire drill and a new adventure every month.

Even if they automate some parts of the fiscal close process, organizations still must perform time-consuming double-checking and rework, with the potential for error growing each time someone touches the data. The fiscal close is a reality that all organizations must deal with. While automation has helped in parts of the process, modern solutions that enable end-to-end management can allow finance departments to make huge steps in accelerating the close.

KEY REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTOMATING THE FISCAL CLOSE

When automating your fiscal close process, determine if the alternative will achieve the following requirements when selecting a solution.

• Reduces the cycle times of individual close tasks
• Adds visibility and predictability to close processes
• Ensures trust and reliability that the numbers are complete and accurate
• Increases collaboration
• Improves the consistency and quality of the fiscal close
• Delivers modern best practice out-of-the-box
• Addresses the extended close process comprehensively
• Provides solutions that are integrated, connected, secure, and auditable

KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK DURING IMPLEMENTATION

• How valuable would it be to structure ...