Smarter Month Ends
It’s that time of the month again. Finance month-end. Only a few days to perform some miracles to making impossible deadlines. Surviving on extra strong coffee and working long hours. There’s so much to do and so little time.
It feels like herding cattle during a thunderstorm, and everyone is running in different directions due to the amount of work to be done.
The worst part is waiting for colleagues to complete their tasks, which you are dependent on. Getting information at the last minute and now trying to create miracles.
Everyone rushing, multi-tasking, and eventually unfocused. This is what leads to a high level of stress!
Sounds crazy right? Yet this happens every month of the year…even during the pandemic.
All accountants and finance managers can tell you different horror stories of their experiences with month- ends.
Here are some of the questions reflected upon:
- How many tasks were repetitive? Pressing the same button repeatedly every single month.
- How many manual calculations are performed in Excel and then captured as a journal?
- Where are we with month-end?
Working in a hybrid environment has created numerous challenges in closing out a financial period.
But what has changed? Not much
There is still a structure, tasks to complete on certain days, a designated person, and a plan…
Why not have it in one spot?
Your ERP Microsoft D365 F&O has a great feature of Workspaces and the Financial Period close workspace does just that. Plan, track, and allocate resources for your month-end. No more running in the dark. No more micromanaging, the ERP will remind everyone of tasks due, either through email or when they log in.
The Microsoft Cortana daily briefing, Microsoft To-Do, and even your calendar are some of the few examples.
Allocation journals are pre-2020. If it’s based on a formula that can be automated, your system can calculate it. No need for excel and in the end, you must review and post. Just think of the time saved. More time for coffee.
