Habit Health Brings Structure and Speed to Month-End Close with FloQast

Habit Health, New Zealand’s largest integrated health and wellness provider, reduced its time-to-close from 12 days to 8 with FloQast Accounting Transformation Platform, adding new visibility and oversight. Learn how speed and communication have improved, how balance sheet reconciliations have been automated, and why repetitive monthly information requests now take only a fraction of the time they used to.  

“FloQast has delivered everything we wanted. We’ve gained significant time savings, improved team collaboration, and enhanced visibility into our financial processes. FloQast has not only lived up to its promises but exceeded them.”  

– Akmal Idris, Financial Controller

Akmal Idris needed more clarity on the progress of the month-end close each month.

The close was previously managed through individualised spreadsheets, taking a silo approach by entity rather than a centralised checklist.

“Before FloQast, we were unable to identify bottlenecks or gaps due to sickness/leave, delaying our month-end close. Which in turn delayed reports to the wider business on performance.

When Akmal was promoted to Financial Controller, he immediately saw the need for a more consolidated and transparent system.  

“We focused on only the key balance sheet reconciliations due to time limitations on both the preparer and reviewer. This lack of oversight and control was a significant problem for us, hindering timely and accurate financial reporting. FloQast AutoRec was a big help here. Because it’s linked to Excel, we’re confident that our numbers are solid and that nothing goes out of sync. ”  

Akmal and his team spearheaded the search for a close solution, and FloQast emerged as the winner due to its ease of use and comprehensive features.  

“FloQast’s platform is intuitive and visually appealing, which was a huge plus for us,” Akmal said. “The fact that it’s designed and supported by accountants who understand our needs made us even more confident in our selection of FloQast.”  

Workflow Automation and Collaboration Reduce Days-To-Close by 33%

“Implementation was easy. It took us about two to three hours to handle integrations with our accounts in Intacct. We also taught ourselves the platform through the FloQademy learning portal, and within a month, we had FloQast fully operational,” said Akmal.  

The team quickly capitalized on transparent task assignments and the ability to track progress in real-time. FloQast’s timeline feature allowed Akmal to see task allocations by person and entity, enhancing oversight and workload balancing. The results were immediate and significant.  

“We reduced our close time to 10 days within the first month and have consistently closed within eight days since then,” Akmal said. “Going from an undefined timeline to a structured eight-day close made all the difference for us.”  

The ReMind module also drives information requests more easily and quickly.  

“The monthly information request emails, which number over 100, were a grind to send and track, and sometimes we’d forget or send them late,” said Akmal. “Now we don’t have to think about them with ReMind; they’re automatic and standardized, and you can take them off your mental to-do list.”  

A Framework for Continuous Improvement and Better Controls  

Looking ahead, Akmal plans to leverage additional FloQast features to further refine the month-end close and Habit Health’s financial reporting.  

“We’re in the process of implementing FloQast Variance Analysis and incorporating more robust review and sign-off mechanisms,” Akmal said. “The flexibility of FloQast allows us to adopt new features and functionality at our own pace, and FloQademy makes it easy for us to learn and implement on our own, too.”  

The new efficiencies also have Akmal thinking about the new value his finance team can add to the company.  

“We want to use our time to focus on reporting, insights, and commentary,” Akmal said. “We not only want to provide KPIs that everyone can trust but also advise on those KPIs and look for ways to meet and exceed them.”  

Akmal said the FloQast experience has lived up to expectations, which is rare today.  

“Implementation was easy. It took us about two to three hours to handle integrations with our accounts in Intacct. We also taught ourselves the platform through the FloQademy learning portal, and within a month, we had FloQast fully operational.”  

– AKMAL IDRIS, Financial Controller  

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