Ventana Research - Make Faster Closing a Reality

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Make Faster Closing a Reality
Providing Actionable Information Sooner Can Improve Performance

by Robert D. Kugel CFA | 6/6/2008 | Article ID: QT08-05 | Article Type: QuickTake


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			Business Research: Business, Finance Vendor Research: Adaptive Planning Business Objects Clarity Systems Cognos Epicor Exact Software - Longview Solutions Host Analytics Infor Intacct Lawson Microsoft Business Solutions Microsoft FRx NetSuite Oracle Oracle - Hyperion PrecisionPoint Software Sabrix Sage SAP Star Analytics

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Take
Does your company close as quickly as it should? If you are not closing your books at the corporate level within five or six business days after the end of the month or quarter, you should be looking for ways to accelerate your process. Companies that close faster are able to provide executives and managers faster with actionable financial and operational information that can be used to improve performance and enhance agility. Even if you do close within this period, you may want to look for ways to perform the task more efficiently so that people in the finance and accounting area can spend their time more productively. Most people we assessed in our benchmark research “The Fast, Clean Close” said this issue is important or very important. Accelerating the close or making it more efficient should be a priority for the CFO and/or controller in your organization. Our research revealed, not surprisingly, that companies that explicitly decided to shorten their close most often actually achieved it. Beyond making the fast close a priority, the other two prerequisites to accelerating the closing process are effective management both of the process and of the IT elements that affect it.

Related Research Notes:
Software Drives a Fast, Clean Close
Research shows the right tools help improve results

Better Process Enables Faster Close
Research shows that process management produces results

Closing Faster Should Have Priority
Research shows some companies have made progress, but more is needed

The Effective CFO
For finance leaders, efficiency isn’t enough any more