It’s a snapshot of the company’s past rather than a window into its future. The problem is, by the time the finance team finishes the process, potentially weeks after the numbers came in, that product is old news and therefore of minimal value to decision-makers. Each team member had specific responsibilities for the monthly close, and a company could get the final product - financial results - only at the end of the line. An Outdated Approachįor years, accounting teams have operated like assembly lines. Much like Fred, accountants are too often chained to that one process - meaning they don’t have time to be the true business partners their colleagues need.
“Guess what happens the next month? The same thing all over again.” “I’m rushing like mad, I’m booking a journal entry, I’m preparing an analysis, I’m reconciling stuff, and it’s like I’m just doing it so I can get done with it … I want to go home to my family, it’s 10 o’clock at night,” said Tom Kelly, senior director of product marketing at NetSuite and a former CFO at multiple businesses.
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Recording and totaling journal entries, producing trial balances, reconciling bank statements, recognizing revenue and other tasks integral to the process are not how most accountants or controllers would choose to spend the bulk of their working hours, even with a box of maple glazed nearby. Many finance professionals can relate when they contemplate the long hours and monotony that come with the monthly close process, which can carry on for days or even weeks.Ĭlosing the books is a resource-intensive job that requires a concerted effort, not only by the finance team, but across all functional segments of the company. In a classic ’80s Dunkin Donuts commercial, Fred the Baker repeatedly says “time to make the donuts” as he endures rain, snow and exhaustion in his quest to produce the perfect chocolate raised. Companies looking to adopt a continuous close need to embrace cultural as well as process and technology change.A continuous close reveals crucial business information in real time, empowering finance and accounting leaders to influence strategic decisions.
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