The Fast Close Toolkit

Book excerpt: This publication focuses on the critical methods that can be used to dramatically improve the fiscal closing process. The Record to Report (R2R) or Fiscal Closing Process is at the core of the controllership function. The process includes transaction processing, internal and external reporting, and the internal controls—the people, processes, and technology—that constitute the corporate organizational hierarchy. CFOs, controllers, and corporate finance departments require timely, accurate, and consistent data to make appropriate operational and strategic decisions and fulfill statutory, regulatory, and compliance requirements with accurate and timely data. The Fast Close Toolkit offers both strategic and tactical suggestions that can significantly improve the fiscal closing process and provides guidance on new legislation requirements, systems and best practice processes. Checklists, templates, process narratives, and sample policies are provided for every component of the fiscal close. Investors and shareholders expect fast and easy access to the data created by current business activities in the information-driven digital age. The Fast Close Toolkit provides the necessary tools and expert advice to improve the fiscal closing process. Authoritative and up to date, this book: Identifies the bottlenecks that can impact the and improvethe fiscal close process and provides best practices to help alleviate these challenges Defines the Record to Report (R2R) and recommends the roles and responsibilities for fiscal close processes flow Offers the internal controls to use for the end-to-end fiscal close process Describes approaches for risk management, R2R, and fiscal close benchmarking Identifies KPIs for all aspects of the R2R process Provides the mechanism for developing a financial close scorecard Recommends leading practices for both external and internal reporting Provides guidance on how strategic planning, the budget and forecast processes can be streamlined to enhance the fiscal close and internal reporting results Written by a respected expert on internal controls and the fiscal closing process, The Fast Close Toolkit is a valuable source of information for professionals involved in controllership and have responsibility for the fiscal close.