For most accounting and bookkeeping firms, it’s month end and closing the books is part of the job. Or is it?
How many small business owners today pay attention to this process?
Apparently not many. According to Adra Match, just 28% of respondents said they trust the numbers reported in the month-end close.
At the same time, 90% said they are under pressure to close faster. Meanwhile, just 39% said they are satisfied with the quality of the closing process. AICPA Store
In order to be efficient, business owners and operations may need to even adjust their close time on their books.
So how do we determine how to improve our month end close process?
For some bookkeepers closing the books comes in two variables: hard and soft closing. This is due to mostly in part to the users of the financial information, the industry, the size of the company, etc.
- Internal departments in addition to finance and accounting, including operations, sales, human resources, and systems.
- External sources of necessary data, including vendor invoices, bank information, and customer and supplier information.
- Outdated processes and systems.
- Resistance to change.
- Staff tenure and training, and ability to accept and implement change.
