Accounting

A Recipe for an Improved Month-End Close

For many, the month-end close can be a messy affair.  When we conducted a survey with Dimensional Research of more than 250 accounting professionals earlier this year, we called the study the “Chaos of the Close.” Chaos may sound like a strong term to use, but it is accurate when

• Nearly two-thirds of respondents state their stress levels increase during the close
• More than three-quarters routinely re-open their books after close to correct mistakes and
• 75% are not fully confident in the accuracy of their last close.

For too many, the month-end close remains a manual, confusing and inefficient process. It doesn’t have to be.

We recently published what is quickly proving to be one of our most popular guides.  Called “The Definitive Guide to Effective Close Management – Best Practices for Managing the Month-End Close,” it is full of practical how-to advice on ways to improve your close process. Focusing on people, process, reconciliations and documents, the guide walks a reader through each category sharing tips to make the month-end close more efficient and effective. Recommendations include

• When to bring Big 4 talent onto your accounting team and when not to
• How to best group tasks by account and how to best organize these and
• How to effectively use Excel when doing tie-outs with your ERP

The new guide is complimentary and available for download. Follow some of the steps outlined and you can reduce the chaos of your close significantly.