Fast Close: A Guide to Closing the Books Quickly--Free PDF Ebook Download

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Free PDF Ebook Download Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (June 24, 2005) Language: English ISBN-10: 0471708976 ISBN-13: 978-0471708971 Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches Product Description Fast Close provides flowcharts and checklists to help avoid delays and keep accounting department closing procedures current, so companies can close the financials quickly enough to issue statements for the new requirements. From the Inside Flap One of the most common challenges controllers face is closing the month-end books and issuing financial statements as fast as possible. However, the closing process has traditionally been a slow one. Several surveys reveal that the average company requires about two weeks to close its subsidiary's books, followed by roughly another three weeks to roll up the results into corporate-level financial statements. Companies with more organized closing systems can reduce this process to about two weeks, while those companies with the best closing processes can reduce the entire interval to four days. And with the new Sarbanes-Oxley requirement to deliver Form 10-Q even more quickly, the pressure is really on. Finally, help is here! Fast Close: A Guide to Closing the Books Quickly shrinks the closing interval down to just one day. Fast Close presents the successful, field-tested principles of bestselling author and accounting guru Steven Bragg—the same techniques he has personally used for years to issue financial statements for multidivision companies. Brimming with flowcharts and checklists to help professionals avoid delays and bring accounting department closing procedures up to date, Fast Close clearly illustrates how companies can close their financials quickly enough to issue statements within Sarbanes-Oxley's more rigid timeframe. Key improvement steps include: Shifting the timing of closing activities out of the core closing period Reducing the contents of the financial statements Standardizing and automating the use of journal entries Standardizing the chart of accounts Centralizing accounting functions Adopting inventory tracking and cycle counting systems Shifting rebillable expense invoices out of the core closing period Using a Web-based timekeeping system for consulting staff Streamlining the commission calculation process Optimizing the approval process for accounts payable Linking supplier invoice accruals to the purchase order database Layering consolidation software onto the existing accounting software Integrating an ongoing improvement review into the closing process By following the authoritative, recommended changes, readers can expect to arrive at a closing interval that may encompass as little as a single day. Achieve what was once thought to be the unachievable with the step-by-step guidance found in Fast Close.