Does low technology essentially mean low cost? Maybe not. A financial close reconciliation software system is transparently profitable.
We like security. You prefer security. As CFOs, we tend to not only prefer security, we tend to demand it. Our brains continually store constant reminders of Compliance, Governance and of course Risk.
Storing all your monthly closing reports in folders can give you that old-style feeling of security, but that feeling is misleading.
sudden audit check
What happens if you are suddenly audited? What happens when you have to go back and check a reconciliation statement? What if you’re a large company and you’re an internal auditor or your Risk Manager who needs to make sure fraud is kept at bay in the month-end closing process? what is it going to take
In all of these situations, using file folders will eventually prove more of a hindrance than a help:
– What binder is it in? The physical area required to store the binders could be a growing inefficiency.
– Where is? Usually she is in a strong folder to get through.
– Will account reconciliation be understood easily enough? And all the supporting documentation? It is difficult to trace who originally performed the financial reconciliation, especially if there is a reference to another account. Browsing through your archive folders is tedious.
– Even if it’s neatly filed, it will still take a member of your finance team a while to discover the precise information required.
– Costs of Public Accountants. The time of manual searching in depth to find all the data that proves that your month-end closing was correct, requires money. If you are a group of corporations, they have to travel to their various offices, which in turn also requires money.
With some financial closing software systems offered on the market, all month-end closing reconciliation work is stored in digital files. The act of searching and retrieving documents is usually needed at any time…for any reference. Or maybe for searches on what conciliation policy and what conciliation procedure was used.
Reviewing the documents from this perspective can result in a suggestion for improvement, which can be very valuable. Or what about the criteria for supporting documentation, is it sensible enough? However, how was this account reconciled within the previous period? However, how will an equivalent reconciler reconcile different accounts?
Answering essential queries like these via electronic search compared to manual search is really cost effective, don’t you think? Digital archiving within the cloud is more “safe” from fire or flood. The CPA will not even need to visit your offices, the audit is often done from your office.
High-tech accounting software systems don’t always mean high cost
High-tech financial reconciliation software can even be comparatively affordable compared to low-tech solutions. Yes, it’s invariably going to cost a little more compared to Excel, however even less compared to the work to make “Excel Reconcile” effectively complete the month-end close; more importantly, it addresses and satisfies the common problems listed above.
Some financial reconciliation software systems available on the market feature…
• automated account reconciliation management
• an approval workflow scheduler
• a compliance checker
• a digital file
• and more…
…to make your monthly closing process faster, easier and with less risk involved.
Enhanced account reconciliation software systems have been purposely designed to meet all of the challenges that finance professionals expressed in the recent Adra Match financial close comparison survey. Or if you want a quick recap, get the infographic covering the financial close benchmark results. Some financial close reconciliation software is often transparently cost-effective and offers you features that only giant corporations were big enough to afford. That is until now.
