{"id":2224,"date":"2015-06-30T15:54:26","date_gmt":"2015-06-30T15:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peeriosity.com\/shared-services\/articles\/?p=2224"},"modified":"2022-08-09T08:17:17","modified_gmt":"2022-08-09T08:17:17","slug":"simplifying-the-administration-of-the-financial-close-through-automation-and-process-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peeriosity.com\/shared-services\/articles\/2015\/06\/simplifying-the-administration-of-the-financial-close-through-automation-and-process-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Simplifying the Administration of the Financial Close through Automation and Process Design"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s common for Finance & Accounting leaders to be asked \u201cHow many days does it take your company to carry out the monthly close?\u201d However, the follow-up question not typically asked is \u201cHow painful actually is your closing process?\u201d\u00a0 The financial close continues to be one of the most critical and time-consuming efforts for the Finance & Accounting organizations at the majority of major corporations.\u00a0 While variations in complexity and requirements may exist between companies for this important activity, most companies can greatly benefit from the application of automation and process improvement<\/a> in this area.<\/span><\/p>\n

A recent Peeriosity PeercastTM<\/sup> in the General Accounting research area<\/a> featured a global Shared Services organization that coordinates the financial closing process for approximately 450 legal entities in over 80 different countries, with a maze of cross-border intercompany and external transactions that further complicate the closing process.\u00a0 Some of the major enabling changes this company used to create a global platform for the financial closing process include the following:<\/span><\/p>\n