Course Objectives
There is no doubt that the faster availability of data will have a knock-on efficiency effect throughout the organisation:
- More effective performance management based on better quality data
- Cost savings through better and faster decision making
- Free up expensive finance resource from the “actuals close treadmill” to allow better and faster forecasting and more effective partnering with your business functions
Please Note: This course does not focus on a particular industrial sector and addresses the generic issues that are attached to closing and reporting issues at both the legal entity, divisional and group levels and across all the main reporting cycles, the close of actual results, the budget and forecast.
Practically Focused With Numerous Case Studies
In addition to real client situations throughout the course, there will be consideration of detailed case studies where you will cover in depth real projects that have achieved significant improvements in close cycles and quality of reporting.
These Case Studies Will Include:
- An effective approach to accelerating the close in a shared service centre accounting for 40 separate accounting units, in the oil industry. What are best practices in the ledger close and how can you work with your accounting teams to achieve significant improvements
- Focusing on improving the divisional and group consolidation processes in a global logistics company. How can you set about cutting the reporting cycles by 50% without investing heavily in new consolidation systems. The challenge of process and policy tuning to achieve reporting excellence
- Moving from half yearly financial reporting to quarterly external reporting and monthly actuals reporting, including monthly balance sheet consolidation, significantly accelerating the reporting cycles and freeing time within the finance function to introduce effective quarterly rolling forecasts, better budgeting and value based management.
- The challenges of introducing fast close in a group of companies operating in developing countries where finance skills, practices and policies are focused on individual company accounting with a tax authority focus. This case study looks at the additional challenges of introducing fast close and group reporting principles to companies in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Far East where the key principles of accruals accounting, group ownership, inter-company accounting are not well established. In this case using experience from an Eastern European natural resources group
Above and beyond these case studies, the course will also include a “live” case study from one of the clients the course leaders are working with in the region.
Real Insight Into Technology Solutions To Assist The Close
During the course you will have the chance to understand and actually view key elements of technology to assist the close process. This will include:
- Technology for managing and monitoring the local close process of your ledger systems
- Technology for maximising the effectiveness of your transaction recording and local ledger close
- Inter-company transaction processing, recording and reconciliation between counter party subsidiaries across the group
- Effective tools for consolidation and group reporting across the legal, management, budget and forecast consolidation processes
- Effective tools for extracting and mapping data from general ledger systems into consolidation, aggregation and reporting systems
This will give you a clear view of how this technology can be used to accelerate the close process, improve the quality of transaction recording, help produce fast and effective group consolidated results. The course will also give you a clear view of the cost and benefit of introducing these types of technologies and the impact they can have on your close processes.
| Course Timings: Registration for this event will commence at 07:30 on Day One. Course sessions will start promptly at 08:00 each day and end at 14:30. There will be two short breaks for refreshments at appropriate times and lunch will be served at the end of each day’s sessions. |
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Course Benefits
Introduction: Fast Closing As A Project And Methodology For Improvement
Case Studies
- The Diagnostic Process – Understanding The “As-Is” And Identifying The Opportunities For Improvement
Case Study
- Design And Implementation Approaches
Case Study
- Implementing The New Process
Case Studies
Systems And How They Can Be Used To Support Fast Close
- General Ledger And Local Transaction Systems
- Group Reporting And Consolidation Systems
- Inter-Company And Other Specific Areas Of Best Practice And How Systems Can Help
Case Studies
- Workshop Sessions – This course will include a number of workshop sessions at appropriate times focusing on the following different aspects of fast closing:
- The challenges you face in your company
- The key objectives you want from the course
- What the benchmarks mean for your company
- Process mapping exercise and review
- Converting issues identified into opportunities and categorisation of the opportunities
- Developing the roadmap for a example group reporting programme
- Developing extracts of a blueprint to articulate key new process steps
- Designing the implementation plan
- Group finance portal – contents and considerations
- Dealing with obstacles and objections
- How to use the technology described to achieve success in fast close | | |