Year-end can be an arduous, time-consuming process. On average, it takes organizations thirty days to complete year-end close. The biggest headaches related to year-end can be attributed to just two factors: delayed, inaccessible or inaccurate data and manual, time-consuming processes.

Delays in producing reports and inaccuracies in your data can be caused by a multitude of factors—inaccessibility, human error from manual entries, or disconnected systems. Here’s how to solve these problems and ultimately simplify your year-end close.

• Use the Right Business Management Software

Using the right business management software is the key to achieving financial efficiency. The financial analysis of your year-end data is leveraged to inform budgeting, forecasting and major financial decisions. However, your year-end financial statements are only valuable when they’re accurate. Difficulty retrieving data across locations and a lack of uniformity in data collection prohibit a speedy and accurate close. Recognizing that you may not be on the right system for your organization or that you have outgrown your current solution is the first step to financial efficiency.

• Integrate Your Tools

Having the right tools doesn’t mean much if they can’t talk to each other in a language they all understand. It becomes especially complicated when you have to rely on a different person with a specialized skillset to manually maintain all of those tools. Integrating your tools allows visibility across multiple areas by tying your sales orders and customer records to your financial system, establishing the same universal data language for accuracy and trust in your data.

• Automate Your Processes

When your tools are integrated and “speaking the same language,” the next obvious step to improve your operational and financial efficiency is to minimize—or eliminate—as many manual processes as you can. Automating manual processes not only removes the risk for human error, but it also frees up valuable time for your employees to complete higher-value work that can have a greater impact on your organization. If you can automate your processes, you can drastically cut down the time that it takes to close out the year.

• Centralize Your Data in a Data Warehouse

Centralizing your data in a data warehouse results in one single source of truth for your entire organization. With a data warehouse, your financials can be compared to external data for better forecasting and decision making. This means that at year-end close, you can eliminate the manual compilation of data and get a holistic view of your organization—in real time.

The Key to a Successful Year-End Close

If you experience headaches trying to close out your year, it’s likely due to inefficiencies in your data, processes, or technology. Whether you’ve discovered inaccuracies in your data, reconciliations that don’t tie back or simply get overwhelmed with tedious, manual processes, having the right tools in place can eliminate your year-end headache and ensure accurate reporting year-round, leading to a simplified year-end close.

Contact us if you’re ready to simplify the year-end planning process, ensure compliance, and start the new year strong.

Eide Bailly is a nationally recognized certified public accounting and business advisory firm committed to helping clients grow, thrive, and embrace opportunities for innovation. With over 3,300 dedicated staff members, including CPAs and business advisors, the firm helps clients gain a new perspective of what’s possible and make that vision a reality through inspired ideas and solutions.