Getting to a five-day close

A practical roadmap for controllers who are tired of month-end marathons. In this article we share what we have learned from recent client work and from our own research across more than 400 organisations.

Start with the decision, not the tool

The most successful programmes we see begin by naming the handful of decisions that will change. Only then do they choose data, processes and technology. It sounds obvious, yet fewer than one in three companies we surveyed could list the decisions their last transformation was meant to improve.

Make ownership personal

Every initiative needs one named executive who will be asked about it at every monthly review. Shared ownership is a polite way of saying nobody is accountable.

If a target does not have a name next to it, it is not a target. It is a wish.

Measure what the CFO measures

Impact should be reported in the same numbers the finance team uses to close the books. That keeps everyone honest and makes the next funding conversation far easier.

What to do next

Pick one initiative already under way and test it against these three questions. If it fails any of them, fix that before adding anything new to the portfolio.