LEVERAGING InfoWARE FINANCIALS TO OPTIMIZE FINANCIAL FISCAL YEAR CLOSE AND CONSOLIDATION
As we usher in a new year, Most finance organizations face multiple priorities that include the oversight of financial transactions, management of enterprise performance and most importantly, timely close of financial data.
As they gapple with these issues, CFOs are always seeking ways to increase the efficiency and timeliness of their financial close and compliance process.
The close and consolidation of financial books is the process that corporations use on a monthly or quarterly basis to reconcile, translate, eliminate, consolidate, and report financial information. Each company has their own recipe of closing and consolidating their financials with varying degree of efficiency and standardization.
What If:
- I need to lock the system to disallow further posting after closing my books?
- We will be having entries posted after the year end but to be impacted on the 2013 figure. How then can I change the system date to allow us post into the year 2013 with the value date reading 2013?
- I need to zerorize my books after they have been audited and properly reconciled to begin a fresh start in the new fiscal year
- I am not ready to close my books for this fiscal year?
These are some common questions raised by stakeholders about the challenges of closing their books effectively. Often, the answers leave finance leaders in a position of having to explain why it takes so long to produce “multiple versions of the truth.” This can result in increased risk, more time required to reconcile data, and less time available to analyze it.
InfoWARE Financials to the Rescue!
To fully support the extended financial close process, from closing of sub ledgers andgeneral ledgers to creation of financial reports and regulatory filings, a broad set of technology solutions and capabilities is required. InfoWARE Financials is designed to manage all financial cycle task including ledger and sub ledger close, financial consolidation, reconciliation, internal and external reporting processes and task associated with the extended financial close.
Below are answers to frequently asked questions.
Q1: I need to lock the system to disallow further posting after closing my books?
A: With InfoWARE Financials, you are not constrained to a specific date period. The system allows you lock any period you so desire (see screenshot below). You just need to set the Minimum and Maximum date. If for example you want to lock 2013 so that no more transactions go into that year, you just need to set the minimum date to 01-Jan-2014. The module is available at Administration – General – GL Parameters tab
Q2. We will be having entries posted after the year end but to be impacted on the 2013 figure. How then can I change the system date to allow us post into the year 2013 with the value date reading 2013?
A: The user simply needs to ensure the system Effective Date has been changed before passing the necessary entries
Q3: I need to zerorize my books after they have been audited and properly reconciled to begin a fresh start in the new fiscal year.
A: After all necessary adjustments have been carried out to the closing year’s general ledger, the next step is to post the profit or loss made into the ledger- retained earnings or any ledger they desire. This can be accessed in InfoWARE ERP by navigating to Financials-End of Period-Financial Year End Run.To perform the Financial Year end run, follow the steps below:
• Click on the ‘Extract P&L ‘button: This extracts the profit or loss made for the year.
• Select the Asset or Liability ledger you want to post
• Click on the ‘ Post ‘ button
Q4: I am not ready to close my books for this fiscal year?
A: Usually there is no need to close a fiscal year exactly at the end of the last accounting period. InfoWARE Financials allows you to keep two years’ worth of transactional data open and accessible at any one time. For example, if your fiscal year is based on 12 accounting periods, then period 13 is the “first” period of the second open fiscal year and period 24 is the “last” period of the second fiscal year. It is not necessary to close your first open fiscal year immediately after the year is over, nor is it necessary to wait until the end of the second fiscal year.
With InfoWARE Financials, Finance organizations can more effectively navigate the “perfect storm” resulting from their close activities by optimizing their processes and implementing appropriate technology.
InfoWARE is using this medium to wish our inestimable clients a peaceful and prosperous 2014! Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve your business as a vendor. You are our prestigious customer and We promise to continually serve you with top care and priority.
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