The old adage states that what gets measured gets managed. With that in mind, how can we ensure the metrics we are implementing have the right impact on the performance of our Record to Report process?

We first need to understand what we are trying to achieve and ensure that this is aligned to our overall business strategy. One of our customers created their business case by aligning their close transformation project to cost and risk reduction. They wanted to reduce the amount of time and effort that was required at each period end by improving the efficiency across their financial close process. Furthermore, they coupled this approach with a very important consideration that is often overlooked by other organizations – the quality of the financials being produced.

So, what are the top Record to Report metrics we should be measuring?

• Close Time: To ensure an organization has a proper understanding of the time required to perform the standard financial close and that the appropriate amount of resources are available
• Close Effort: To ensure an organization has an understanding of the variability in the Close process and the appropriate amount of resources available to perform the financial close process and provide both high job quality and job satisfaction
• Close Quality: To ensure an organization has the resources to produce accurate and reliable financial statements for management and regulatory purposes.

As stated by Deloitte, “The utopian close should be: Risk-based, automated, transparent, consistent, segregated, auditable, platform agnostic, timely and efficient.” To realize this utopia and deliver improvements in close time, effort and quality within an existing technology landscape is incredibly difficult, if not impossible for most organizations.

To find out how innovative and risk-intelligent Record to Report technology can help deliver and manage the metrics required to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your financial close process, please click here to view the webinar recording – “True Measure of the Close: Time + Effort + Quality”.

 

Written by: Kelli Shoevlin