Optimize the Closing Process to Unlock New Strategic Financial Momentum

The following is a guest article by Cory Teller, head of UHY. The views expressed are solely those of the author.

For CFOs, time is the scarcest resource. Every hour spent reconciling spreadsheets or tracking journal entries is an hour less for guiding strategy or navigating uncertainty. Yet,the monthly closeremains one of the most stubborn bottlenecks in corporate finance: it slows decision-making, reinforces departmental silos, and leaves leaders viewing the business through the rearview mirror.

But it doesn't have to be this way. By combining process improvements with smart technology and automation decisions, the close can shift from a reactive scramble to a forward-looking driver.

The obvious bottleneck

The mechanics of the close are often quite outdated. Finance teams rely on reconciliations scattered across spreadsheets, manual journal entries, and email-driven approvals—sometimes even using printed calculators. What worked in smaller or simpler organizations has become overwhelmed as scale has grown.

The cost is clear: hours of manual work, inconsistent practices across units, errors from late adjustments, and reports that are already outdated by the time they arrive. Finance leaders end up merely validating the past rather than shaping the future.

Some inefficiencies are obvious, such as the close dragging past day 10. Others are hidden in the details, like duplicate reconciliations across multiple workbooks, approvals stuck in email inbox purgatory, or recurring issues whose root causes remain unresolved.

These frictions drain team bandwidth and morale, only surfacing when auditors, regulators, investors, or other key parties scrutinize the process.

The maturity curve

Not all organizations are at the same stage. A useful framework categorizes them into three types:

• Stage 1—Manual and reactive:Processes rely heavily on spreadsheets, are slow, and are prone to errors.
• Stage 2—Standardized and automated:Key reconciliations and workflows have been streamlined.
• Stage 3—Predictive and strategic:The close integrates with FP&A, supporting real-time decision-making.

Where a company sits is indicative, and understanding whether to stabilize, standardize, or optimize the close process depends on the company's current state. A close that drags on for two weeks and relies on continuous manual adjustments indicates Stage 1. The goal is not to leap forward all at once, but to chart a clear path forward.

A slow close is not just inefficient—it's risky. Decisions based on lagging indicators leave leaders reacting rather than leading. Competitors using fresher data move faster.

For companies preparing for an IPO or navigating audits, the stakes are higher. Delays or errors not only look sloppy but also raise questions about credibility. Process issues can quickly become questions of trust in the numbers.

Automation as a force multiplier

High-volume, repeatable processes are natural targets for automation—such as journal entries, reconciliations, and roll-forward calculations. Done well, automation reduces manual effort, enhances accuracy and auditability, and cuts cycle times by days.

The real payoff is strategic. Freed from mechanical work, finance teams can devote time to analysis, forecasting, and scenario planning. Efficiency becomes a lever for impact. In a world wary of AI replacing jobs, the value of people in the process lies in strategy, not mechanics.

Automation has the greatest impact when embedded in the tools finance teams already use. Integrating the close with FP&A platforms creates a continuous loop: actuals flow directly into forecasts, variances update in real time, and leaders see not only what happened but also what comes next.

Feedback cycles shorten, and planning and reporting converge. Finance evolves from a post-hoc reporter to a real-time partner and forward-looking strategist.

Organizations that have optimized their close processes report benefits beyond speed: sharper insights for executives, stronger audit trails, better team morale, and more capacity for growth initiatives.

The phrase "doing more with less" has gained traction among finance and accounting teams, underscoring the value of simplicity, intentionality, and leverage. In this context, efficiency becomes strategy in action.

Modernization is not without obstacles. Teamscling to Excel, data quality issues complicate or hinder automation, and leadership support is not always aligned. The solution is incremental: start with high-volume pain points, achieve quick wins, and position automation as enhancing work rather than eliminating jobs.

When positioned as an investment in people's time and judgment, adoption follows.

The future of the close

The close is moving toward being continuous rather than periodic. Transactions will be validated in real time, AI will flag anomalies before they escalate, and agentic AI—systems capable of acting autonomously—will anticipate close needs, initiating workflows before anyone asks.

In this future, CFOs will spend far less time looking backward and far more time shaping the road ahead. The close itself becomes almost invisible, woven into the daily rhythm of finance rather than a month-end scramble.

The close has always been a cornerstone of the finance function, but it doesn't have to be a drain on resources. By rooting out bottlenecks, assessing maturity, and embracing automation—especially when integrated with FP&A—organizations can transform the close into a strategic asset.

The dividends go far beyond efficiency. It's credibility with investors, confidence in the speed of decision-making, and a finance team with the capacity to help steer growth.