Fast Close Implementation

Driving Value through your financial close process

Many companies struggle with streamlining the financial close process. The is no quick-fix or simple remedy. However, by assessing the current process and identifying the root causes for the bottleneck or inefficiencies, organizations can realize improvements across people, process and systems to optimize their financial close cycle.

Financial Close: More than Just Reporting

The close process is most likely the single biggest drain on your finance department’s resources. What if you could close more accurately while significantly decreasing the time spent? Your team could have more time for value-added activities and mission-critical needs – updating aging IT systems, developing and retaining top talent, managing the needs of stakeholders or mitigating business risks. But who has time to shrink the close process? We Can Help.

How We Can Support You?

Walton Partners has helped several organizations navigate through Financial Close Optimization successfully. We help financial organizations shift the focus to reporting and analysis instead of only transaction processing, while still integrating systems, increasing accuracy of reporting, reducing close periods, risks, and costs.

Here are four main areas to keep in mind throughout the process. Walton Partners can help in all of these areas:

ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE

• Map existing systems and processes; identify gaps
• Map and test data
• Create pro forma financial statements
• Identify best practices and implementation and training
• Rationalize footnote disclosures
• Prepare management and regulatory reporting
• Provide interim finance & accounting management or senior staff
• Evaluate efficiency of information flow and communication

TRAINING AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT

• Develop and implement a communications plan for transition
• Create detailed transition work plan with specific dates and timelines
• Create processes and tools to facilitate efficient handoff of responsibilities
• Determine accountabilities and capabilities required of each position
• Develop monthly close manual
• Recommend potential technology upgrades that could promote process efficiencies and additional streamlining of processes

IT SYSTEMS

• Review and document business processes
• Provide preliminary assessments of existing systems
• Evaluate manual versus automated process
• Provide IT strategic planning and project management
• Define business requirements
• Assess current need to optimize or upgrade current state
• Prepare implementation plan
• Conduct application integration, interfaces and data conversion
• Provide database and data warehousing
• Prepare change management, training and documentation
• Prepare ad-hoc reporting and documentation
• Revise policies and procedures
• Review security and controls
• Process mapping and rationalization
• Perform QA and testing

PROCESS & INTERNAL CONTROL

• Conduct initial assessment of internal controls over financial reporting
• Identify gaps and remediation roadmap