San Ramon, Calif. — July 28, 2011 — Finance executives are always looking for ways to close their books faster. Completing the accounting cycle quickly and accurately is a good indicator of efficiency in a finance organization. In most organizations, though, a complex set of issues impedes achieving a fast, errorless close. Ventana Research is studying how organizations close their books, what obstructs the process and how financial executives can move toward a fast, clean close and then publish reports and information to regulatory bodies and management teams.
Finding a formula that allows finance and accounting departments achieve a more efficient closing of the books and reporting, or more simply put the “Fast, Clean Close”, is key to getting accurate, actionable information into the hands of top executives and decision makers. But finance and accounting departments need to define the right process and have the right technology in place to support it. How do you begin improving your accounting cycles, what improvements do you need to make to your use of information technology and what are the best practices?
Ventana Research’s 2011 Fast, Clean Close benchmark research will shed light on new methods of achieving a more accurate and quick close of the accounting cycle. The research will provide valuable insight into the current state and future direction of closing the books and look at the business and technology elements that are driving adoption of an actionable plan. Ventana Research hopes to uncover and define best practices and the core competencies required to improve it in a meaningful way and support the overall financial performance management processes.
“Most companies that take more than a week to close their books want to do better,” commented Robert D. Kugel, SVP of Research at Ventana Research. “By focusing on achieving a fast, clean close, some CFOs and controllers have been able to achieve significant improvements. Still, there are too many companies that waste time and resources on a process that could be improved.”
Ventana Research provides qualified research participants with a complimentary report of the research findings as well as access to a free webinar on its conclusions from the 2011 Fast, Clean Close benchmark research. To learn more about Fast, Clean Close, please visit http://www.ventanaresearch.com/fcc.
About Ventana Research
Ventana Research is the most authoritative and respected benchmark business technology research and advisory services firm. We provide insight and expert guidance on mainstream and disruptive technologies through a unique set of research-based offerings including benchmark research and technology evaluation assessments, education workshops and our research and advisory services, Ventana OnDemand. Our unparalleled understanding of the role of technology in optimizing business processes and performance and our best practices guidance are rooted in our rigorous research-based benchmarking of people, processes, information and technology across business and IT functions in every industry. This benchmark research plus our market coverage and in-depth knowledge of hundreds of technology providers means we can deliver education and expertise to our clients to increase the value they derive from technology investments while reducing time, cost and risk.
Ventana Research provides the most comprehensive analyst and research coverage in the industry; business and IT professionals worldwide are members of our community and benefit from Ventana Research’s insights, as do highly regarded media and association partners around the globe. Our views and analyses are distributed daily through blogs and social media channels including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Business Week’s Business Exchange.
To learn how Ventana Research advances the maturity of organizations’ use of information and technology through benchmark research, education and advisory services, visit www.ventanaresearch.com.
Media: Copies of benchmark research report and interviews are available upon request.
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