Accounting

Creating A Culture of Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement is driven by the belief that small, incremental improvements over time will compound to create greater efficiencies. This belief can be applied to anything that has room for improvement, whether it be business processes, dieting even saving for retirement.

Accountants face a challenge when it comes to continuously improving the close process, prompting the question, “Where do I even start?” To understand this, we must first understand where we are struggling and this information can be elusive.

Last week we announced a new product module called Close Analytics. This was part of broader announcement that shared how we’ve added new user roles and permissions that help enforce and manage internal controls to meet compliance requirements, like SOX.  At Oracle SuiteWorld 2017 in Las Vegas this week where we demonstrated the new capabilities, Close Analytics was of particular interest because it helps accounting teams to start answering the questions of how and where they can improve.

The new solution analyzes numerous month-over-month close metrics to help teams better understand the historical performance of their close process. It helps identify holes in the close such as which deadlines are consistently missed, what close items are submitted late and by whom and assesses trends in average time it takes to close. By gaining insight into these, a Controller can reallocate resources and make the changes necessary to accelerate and improve the overall process.

Want to learn more?  Join our CEO, Mike Whitmire, as he presents at our upcoming webinar on May 11 titled Master Month-End: Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement.  Register and learn how your team can continuously improve your close.