Close calendar and bottlenecks
A close is a chain of steps waiting on each other. Mapped step by step, it becomes visible which step holds up whom; in most organizations the bottleneck is waiting for data rather than calculating it.
- Each step gets an owner and its dependencies
- Waiting time is measured separately from working time
- Recurring delays are classified by their source
- The calendar is measured the same way every period
Reconciliation automation
Bank, subledger and intercompany reconciliation done by hand is both slow and error-prone. Once matching rules are defined, the work shifts from checking what matched to focusing on what did not.
- Matching rules are tightened in stages
- Unmatched items appear on an ageing report
- Intercompany differences are resolved at source
- A rule change does not disturb prior periods
Controls and audit trail
A manual control that leaves no evidence counts as absent during an audit. Moved into the system, controls become both repeatable and provable, and exceptions enter the record too.
- Evidence for each control is generated automatically
- Exception approval is bounded by role
- Segregation of duties is protected through a rule set
- Audit questions are met with ready reports
Reporting and one truth
The same figure differing between two reports destroys trust faster than anything else. Reports are produced from one data source, different breakdowns rest on the same definition, and definition changes are versioned.
- Indicator definitions live in one dictionary
- Report changes are announced with a version note
- Breakdowns derive from the same source
- The count of hand-built spreadsheets keeps falling