This is for all accountants who participate in the month-end close. I bet you often wonder about whether your close process is as great as it can be! The reality is that whether you’re on a 1-day close or a 10-day close, there are some fundamental commonalities that all strong accounting departments share when it comes to the month-end close.

1. Close Like a
Rock Star
The Power of Process (and Why We Sometimes Hate It)

2. Nancy Wu
Head of Sales and Support
SkyStem LLC
About SkyStem
SkyStem makes ART – a month
end close and reconciliation
software for the busy accountant
that is affordable and easy to use.
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com

3. Why Do We Care?
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com

4. Why do we care?
Minimize Effort
Maximize Results
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com

5. Unpredictable
Poor Accountability
Lack Statistics
Less Auditable
Limited Continuity
No High Level Reporting
Adverse Event / Error
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com
Signs of a Weak Monthly Close Process

6. Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com
Close Sub
Ledgers
Record Journal
Entries
Consolidate Report and File
Reconcile Accounts
Error Correcting and Adjustment Journal Entries
Balance Sheet Flux
P&L Variance Analysis
Budget to Actual Analysis
Forecast Analysis
Day 0
A Typical Close Process

7. Improving the
Month-End Close Process
Step 1
Set the Account Population
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com

8. More Errors
More Reconciliations
More Management
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com
More Accounts Mean…

9. New Offerings
Merger/Acquisition
Divestiture
Change in Technology
Loose Controls
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com
When Chart of Accounts Structure Go Haywire

10. Improving the
Month-End Close Process
Step 2
Determine Account Attributes
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com

11. Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com
Lock Stuff
Down

12. Assign Ownership
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com

13. Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com
Risk Rank

14. Improving the
Month-End Close Process
Step 3
Set Thresholds and Limits
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com

15. Materiality, Unexplained Variance, % Fluctuation
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com

16. Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com
Researched
Consistently Followed
Documented
Bought In

17. Improving the
Month-End Close Process
Step 3
Set Goals and Measure
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com

18. Subsystem Close
Overall Close
Reconciliation Completion Date
Prelim Financials
Flux Completion
# of Non-Standard JEs
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com
Milestones / Performance Metrics Examples

19. % of Work Done Before Day 0
# of Man House Before Final TB
Amount of Rework (JEs, Recs,
Others)
Late Submissions
# and Type of Unexpected Events
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com
Milestones / Performance Metrics Examples

20. Improving the
Month-End Close Process
Step 5
Identify Issues, Analyze
Root Cause and Tweak Process
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com

21. Less About Fixing
Problems
More About Preventing
Problems
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com

22. Improving the
Month-End Close Process
If Process is So Great,
Why Do We Hate Sometimes?
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com

23. I
AM
SPECIAL
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com

24. I
AM
SPECIAL
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com

25. Birth of the Modern Checklist
Webinar: Close Like a Rock Star www.skystem.com

26. Linked In: SkyStem
Facebook: SkyStem
Twitter: @skystem
Email: info@skystem.com
877.778.3320 www.skystem.com
Thanks! xoxo
More CPE Webinars to Come!