This document discusses fast close management challenges and outlook. It defines fast close as actions taken to accelerate financial closures while ensuring data quality. Some key points made include: - Fast close involves thoroughly reviewing processes, tools, and rationalizing steps to reduce bottlenecks and speed up reporting. - The objectives are to produce financial and operational information as quickly as possible to facilitate decision making. - Implementing a fast close plan typically involves auditing the reporting process and defining action plans targeting people, processes, and systems. - Actions may include improving training and communication, reengineering processes, and automating tasks with dedicated software.

1. 1
Fast Close Management
Challenges and outlook
Benoit LASCOLS - Oct 2014

2. 2
About...
The Company
WM-Up, a company founded in 2013 by Benoit LASCOLS and Nadir AID, promotes and
provides innovative solutions to the financial departments in order to speed up report-
ing cycles and decision making (Fast Close).
Our main line of development is to design tools to optimize finance process by enabling
and pushing accounting information entered by subsidiary (into the ERP) at the group
level and in a homogeneous format. The innovative nature of the approach and the
gains lie in the simplification, auditability, and speed of information feedback.
The Author
Benoit LASCOLS has over 10 years’ experience in consulting with financial departments,
but also as an finance SI manager in a CAC 40 group. He was thus able to develop ex-
pertise in the implementation of tools for consolidation and reporting as well as develop-
ment service activities for financial departments.
Today and in addition to his role of Director General, he manages the Front Office part
(marketing, partnership, support, and testing). Benoit is personally involved in the bal-
ance between business need and development projects of our tools. In parallel, he con-
tinues to provide his expertise to advise the finance departments on the implementation
of Fast Close projects and the optimization of the reporting process.
He holds an engineering degree and a Masters of Business Administration (obtained at
IAE in Aix-en-Provence).
The White Paper
This white paper is the result of a survey conducted with large listed groups. It lists all pos-
sible actions to fasten the financial reporting process, presents a current state of art of
financial reporting, and will project a few years into the future by introducing you the in-
novations proposed to date by few niche publishers, that will help revolutionize the fi-
nance reporting tomorrow.

3. 3
What is it ?
Fast Close encompasses all elements implemented
to accelerate financial closures while ensuring data
quality.
Fast Close thinks through a thorough review of processes,
tools, and a rationalization of these to reduce the number of steps and potential bot-
tlenecks. In some cases, Fast Close can be seen as an approach:
 Quality and continuous improvement: the implemented actions are
preventative and consider over the long term. The ISO 9000 standards
provide a methodology suited to this type of approach
 Project: corrective actions and re-engineering must be conducted and
organized around a transverse approach, with a strong interaction be-
tween finance and information systems.
Why ?
Fast Close is an objective that returns to the financial departments' issues. Status quo
technology (weak developments over the last 10 years, mainly related to technical
limitations and a duopoly situation in the market), and the ever-increasing need to re-
duce costs and the duration of closing lead to new initiatives.
The objectives are to produce financial and operational information, as quickly as
possible. Early reporting production allows for (non-exhaustive list):
 Facilitating management decision-making
 Reducing inertia in the decision cycle
 Improving company image (external communication)
 Easing communication between the management and the subsidiaries
 Reducing costs related to reporting production
 Improving analysis that can be done and giving more time to decision-
making
Fast Close
90%
Of CFO want to reduce re-
porting deadlines and repor-
ting workload

4. 4
Fast Close
How ?
Fast Close projects are from a state-
ment made in connection with an au-
dit of the reporting process. This au-
dit can highlight stages at risk (to
meet deadlines or to ensure
data quality), and result in an
action plan, the Fast Close
plan.
The audit may direct targets by focus-
ing on:
 People to improve training and communication with the "finance" pub-
lic and contributors but as well to organize roles and tasks.
 The process to redefine the implementation process, closure schedules,
document or anticipate closure periods.
 Systems to automate, centralize, simplify, and choose dedicated tools.
Peoples
Training and
communication
Process
Re-engineering and
calendars
System
Automation and
simplification
The Six Sigma Method
Six Sigma is a method of project management method to improve the quality and ef-
fectiveness of the process. Six Sigma was first applied to industrial processes before
being extended to all types of processes, especially administrative, logistical and com-
mercial. Since the early 2000s, it underwent a major expansion due to the complexity
of organizations and internalization of the processes that command a global vision of
the problems.
The Six Sigma method is based on an approach based on both the customer's voice
(surveys, etc.) and on measurable and reliable data (through indicators). This method
is used in approaches to reduce variability in the production (or other) processes and
at the product level as well as aims to improve the overall quality of the product and
services.
To that extent, it applies perfectly to the implementation of Fast Close projects, and
because of the multitude of stakeholders, the complexity of the implementation pro-
cess and the necessity of monitoring within the business performance timetable.

5. 5
Contributor and their objectives
Define available roles and support
Closures and reporting process involve a multitude of
organizations on different tools. These contribu-
tors may have:
 Different objectives and con-
straints.
 Various skills.
 A level of information about the
processes, tools, and variable data.
These differences impact the process and closure deadlines by :
 Lack of user training
 Too complex systems and processes.
 Excessive turnover of the "finance" population.
 Correlation of these impact that can degrade the situation.
A lack of communication between the group and (local) subsidiaries whose origin can
be:
 Vague or poorly formulated "group" rules.
 Lake of communication or difficulties to access "group" rules.
 A lack of visibility on the application of
"group" rules by the subsidiaries.
Organization problems whose origin can be:
 Roles and objectives not
clearly defined.
 Diffusion of responsibilities or on
the contrary too concentrated.
 Internal audit deficit.
Training and communication are integrated into a continuous improvement approach
with an initialization project if necessary.
70%
Of IS Manager think that systems
are not correctly used by users
80%
Of contributors esteem that the
corporate rules are not clear or
not accessible

6. 6
Implementation
Actions that can be considered in the context of a Fast Close approach (with an objec-
tive of handling users better) can be the following:
Case study - Training and documentation review
State of process
The consolidation group was faced with 50% of
entities submissions made after the deadline.
as well as consistency problems figures at
group level.
Project
The steps of the project were a rewrite of trai-
ning documents (from word format to power-
point in a more accessible format), the esta-
blishment of a sharepoint site for finance and a
tool with educational links and Frequently As-
ked Questions (help forms) and finally the trai-
ning of users.
Total project costs have reached 120 days
(including days of availability of people trai-
ned).
Gains
Gains after project were a reduction of 60% of
submissions made after the deadline and bet-
ter confidence of the top management in fi-
gures and mastery of reporting risks.
Action Advantages Disadvantages Example
Users training User Training Accountability in
their zone
More restrictive organization
and logistics
Regular training with a sched-
ule and training objectives
(training plan)
Identify key users as relays
in the closure process
More flexible and supply sup-
port and communication pro-
cesses
Requires having a minimum
target number of users
FP&A advanced training on
tools and implemented pro-
cesses
Simplify the rules Simplification of communica-
tion to users
Compromise with the data
quality
Removal of some unused or
unreliable account details
Communicate and for-
malize the rules
Accessibility of support Significant responsibility of
initialization. Updating and
maintenance of procedures
Documentation of account-
ing procedures in an accessi-
ble format (powerpoint)
Centralize information Ergonomics for facilitating
research and access to infor-
mation
Establishment of a SharePoint
site
Organize and redefine
objectives in teams
Clarification of roles and ob-
jectives, improvement of the
understanding of manage-
ment expectations
Significant change manage-
ment
Definition of a mapping for
roles and objectives for each
in the closure process
Contributor and their objectives

7. 7
Process
Complexity related to the num-
ber of contributors
Processes are necessary because they help
ensure data quality. However, if the processes
are poorly arranged or performed too late in
the production cycle, they can put at risk, in-
crease time periods, and have in some cases
counter-productive effects (with regard to fixed ob-
jectives). The main processes involved in the financial clos- ing
are:
 The contribution of subsidiaries and the rise in numbers (ERP closing, data
entry / loading, data validation)
 The consolidation process: inter-company reconciliation, control of
batches and analysis, accounting for the group's operations, internal re-
porting process, analysis of changes
 Data control and accounting adjustments
 Formatting and presentation of figures / dashboarding
 The audit and certification of accounts
The problems encountered may be of different types:
 A data quality level too high or useless for quick decision-making
 A lack of phasing / structuring the process
 Redundant tasks / controls
 Validation process that is too hierarchical
70%
Of the times is spent on tasks wi-
thout added value from control-
ling point of view
Few records illustrating the reporting issues
« This is not my figures» (Regional CFO)
« My technical expert is in vacation. I cannot close my reporting » (Consolidation manager)
« I prefer to post a journal, than to reload the whole local package » (Accountant)
« I spent more time on reconcilliation than on analysis» (Controler)
« I do not have access to figures, so I cannot justify them» (Controler)

8. 8
Finance process
Process Typology
The reporting process can be considered as two major methods:
 Rake: for a centralized and direct process, but leaving very little leeway
for sub-activities or sub-assemblies (BU subgroups, ...). Suitable for matrix
organizations.
 In tiers for a decentralized process and delegated responsibility for pro-
duction of the numbers, providing flexibility for stages (often necessitated
by the specific nature of their organizations or businesses) suitable for hier-
archical organizations
The stage method is less suitable for the following reasons:
 Not suitable for the majority of matrix organizations
 Adds validation levels and sub tasks that can slow down the whole pro-
cess
 Necessarily higher overall reporting cost and therefore inadequate in a
logical rationalization of costs
Detailled workload on closing processes
Our survey has been led on company that have to comply with external reporting re-
quirements. The survey was on half-yearly financial processes. 46 company contributes
between March and June 2014. The result present average time to complete on half
yearly closing.

9. 9
Financial process
Implementation
The implementation of efficient processes will be mainly determined in the process type.
In a process by stage, the flexibility and leverage of optimizations are difficult to use by
the group. Conversely, in a matrix organization, optimization options are numerous and
can lead to concrete results.
To date, the most extensive and most extreme method is to achieve an early closure.
We will develop the issues for this method in order to show the limitations of such practic-
es.
Action Advantages Disadvantages Example
Establish an organization
in stages.
Accountability of subgroups
independant.
Well suited to hierarchical or-
ganizations or conglomerates.
Opacity of any analysis at
group level.
Unsuitable for matrix organiza-
tions.
Increased inertia in the closure
phases.
Establish a rake organiza-
tion.
Direct accountability for the
subsidiary accountants.
No intermediate level, direct
communication.
Increase the number of inter-
locutors.
Reduce the number of
controls.
Acceleration of reporting and
the provision of information.
Compromise on data quality
that must be corrected later.
Automate some correc-
tions.
Presentation of specific infor-
mation.
Necessary corrections of the
(ERP) source systems after-
wards.
Establish account plan
into ERP Core model.
Information feedback facili-
ties.
Rigid and somewhat flexible
solution, which does not allow
for taking into account fiscal
constraints for example.
Assimilating ERP controls. Faster correction of errors. Need for flexible tools.
Assimilate the inter-
companies into the trans-
action currency.
Simpler reconciliation.
Offset currency effects. No
disruption due to currency
effects.
Risk of discrepancies among
(ERP) sources and batches of
rebounds (consolidation tool).
Anticipate the figures. Suitable for long production
cycles or planned (consulting
& design firm) activities.
Unsuitable for short production
cycles.
Feasible only on operational
data.
Establishment of a process
allowing to raise the margin to
D-5 (anticipated time entry for
a consulting activity).
Establish a hard close (to
simulate a biannual clo-
sure in preparing figures
for the first 5 months).
Anticipating problems related
to the closure.
Reduction remains to be done
on the next closure.
Streamlining responsibility re-
lated to the closure.
Limiting the risk on the actual
closure.
No reduction of the actual
responsibility.
Communication about the
hard close.

10. 10
Financial process
Early Closures
The main limiting factor at the time of closures is the data submission date. To return this
task back to an earlier time in the process, some groups establish early closures.
Early closures consist of anticipating some or all of the figures before the closing date
(with the consolidations re-worked at D+1, to take into account variables external to the
business like exchange rates, or more generally, market factors, which can not be antici-
pated).
This type of closure is conceivable only in the condition of having a predictable activity
and must for example:
 Rely on a fixed backlog (building, ....)
 Long production cycles (aircraft construction, ...)
 A planned activity (consulting activity on the condition of knowing about
their activity in 2/3 weeks)
On the other hand, this type of closure will not be suitable for the following activities:
 Short cycle activity (large distribution)
 Seasonal activity because of not being an issue (non-calendar closures)
 Conglomerates: too many different activities to model, and potentially
too frequent organizational / zone changes
Early closures, allow at best, to promote the numbers and start consolidation audits at
D+1. However they entail difficulties:
 Need for a common model to allow for the achievment of a reliable clo-
sure
 Need to perform a second closure and to overcome fluctuations, quickly,
to provide adjustments to the audit
Early closures are therefore very quickly limited by business constraints or implementation
difficulties. It is therefore not possible to generalize a Fast Close method.

11. 11
Information systems
Sources of Process Complexity
Information systems must proceed and develop along with the business. The various as-
pects to consider are:
 Flexibility: the ability to move with business organization changes.
 Their integrability: the ability to integrate with other information systems.
 Their auditability: the ability to trace and track changes (SOX require-
ments, external and internal control).
 Their simplicity: the ability to be properly handled, and used.
Case—Survey on financial information system
Bellow the result of a studies (survey led between March and June 2014) presenting the
closing deadlines compare to the flexibility of the tools used (mesure from a questionnary
that gaves a note on 10). The bullets size is a evaluation of the TCO (total cost of
ownership) of the financial tools by M€ of revenues.
This study shows that the flexible system close faster, and that the rapidity of the closing is
not obviously linked to the investments realized by IT departement.

12. 12
Information system
Implementation
All of these 4 points seen previously allow for influencing the ability of a system to simplify
use, improve processes, and reduce reporting needs. In consideration of the existing,
and the issues encountered, the strategy will be oriented according to one of the fol-
lowing strategy:
 Redesign of interfaces to automate and re-process batches and their
submissions.
 SI rationalization by a decrease in the number of bases needed for re-
porting to avoid reconciliations.
Action Advantages Disadvantages Example
Integrate existing systems. Optimal use of existing sys-
tems.
Complexity of flows and inter-
faces.
Inflexibility of systems.
No questioning of the overall
architecture.
Establishment of a corporate
mapping within the ERP sub-
sidiaries
Centralize figures in a da-
ta-mart.
Analysis capabilities and ad-
vanced controls.
Simpler and faster audit and
certification of accounts.
Need for a flexible and dedi-
cated tool.
Establish an electronic
data interchange system.
More than necessary inter-
company reconciliation
(adequate through construc-
tion).
Cumbersome and complex
maintenance.
Inflexible system.
Establishment of a system for
generating internal invoices
(electronic data inter-
change).
Industrialize reporting pro-
duction.
Implement a spider web
architecture
Guarantee scalability of sys-
tems over time.
Flexibility with respect to
changes in the business.
Centralization of all business
financial and operational da-
ta.
Necessary questioning of exist-
ing information systems
Elimination of unneeded
bricks.
Installing performant applica-
tions and environments.
Implementation of Fast Close
Management (WM-Up).

13. 13
Information system
Simplification and Adaptability
Information systems have become rigid, mainly for the following reasons:
 Too many specific developments that have led to black boxes too com-
plex to evolve
 Lack of rationalization of application portfolios
 No standard for communication among software publishers
 Lack of finance process industrialization
The cause of these problems is found in an unstable economic environment that evolves
much faster than information systems. These changes have accelerated with the global-
ization of the economy (merger, acquisition, spin-off, IPO, reorganization, ...) and have it
constantly jumbling, stiffening, and destabilizing information systems.
Simplification (rationalization and ergonomics) and adaptability (standardization and
normalization) are now well-assimilated objectives for information systems departments.
This flexibility of use opens the door to a major change in the reporting process: consoli-
dation in real time.
Fast Close Management and WM-Up innovation
WM-Up, in developing new methods of data processing, has developed tools that can
be quickly adapted to any situation. The added value is summarized in three points:
 Simplicity: an integration and logical use and does not require special
technical skills
 Adaptability, ensured by a wide range of connectors for ease of use
 Auditability of all financial reporting of the issued figure invoice
 Innovation: new algorithms for processing data allowing for the processing
of a large volume of information in a very short time (performance gains
multiplied by 30 compared to market standards)

14. 14
Information system
…. To the real-time consolidation
Consolidation in real time allows for submission of figures central to the transaction gen-
eration within the ERP. This will drastically change the methods and financial processes
that until now were bound by timelines and progressive data validation steps. Consoli-
dation will therefore be more constrained by the slowest submissions.
Tomorrow, from user perspectives, real-time consolidation, financial closures will no long-
er entail an intense workload of 5 to 10 days, but will be a responsibility streamlined over
the entire month. This will reduce approximations and start the analysis at D+1 (instead
of D+10, on average, to date).
These changes can only be emphasized if they have flexible and simple systems, allow-
ing for adaption to changes in scope and reorganization.
This technological evolution has major impacts:
 The finance public is no longer restricted by short, intense closure phases.
It can streamline the workload throughout the month
 Processes are no longer dependent on a specific phasing of reassembled
numbers. They focus more on data quality and their analysis
 The governance of information systems can be more flexible and adapt
to group internal changes
 Numbers production can be done within a much faster time
 The consolidation service can reorder tasks around business analysis
(instead of an organization by milestone, as is the case today)

15. 15
Synthesis
Fast Close can focus on one of three previously identified areas which are: people, pro-
cesses, and / or systems.
A preliminary audit phase allows for emphasizing the possible failures or optimizations.
Risk analysis / efficiency matrices identify the critical points of the closure process.
A feedback on the projects implemented shows that a top management sponsor is
necessary when it strives to change processes and systems. Change management and
enrollment of the various parties are needed to involve stakeholders.
The benefits of such an approach are measurable:
 Data quality: reducing the number of local adjustments passed after vali-
dation of the batches.
 Reducing the percentage of entities / BU outside of closure deadlines.
 Reducing the announced group closure deadline.
 The reduction of the subsidiary recorded closure (actual submission date).
All of these measurable gains, are to allow for calculating a ROI (return on investment)
for the projects, and track this ROI in time. Matrices that allow for assessing risk, also pro-
vide an encrypted correspondence of responsibility induced by such risks.

16. 16
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@Fast_close
@RealTimeReporting
contact@wm-up.com
benoit.lascols@gmail.com
www.wm-up.com
6, rue Henri Marrou
92 290 Chatenay Malabry (France)