Author Overview

I have been closing the books for a multi-division company within one day for a number of years (my record is five hours), and have continued to be surprised at the difficulty other companies have with a fast close. As explained in Fast Close, the accountant needs to think like an industrial engineer, because this is all about scheduling, standardization, centralization, and designing the finished product (the financials) to be easy to create. This second edition includes new chapters on closing the books of a public company and the control systems needed for financial reporting.

Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction.
Chapter 2 Your Current Closing Process.
Chapter 3 Conducting a Review of the Closing Process.
Chapter 4 Alter the Timing of Closing Activities.
Chapter 5 Revise the Contents of the Financial Statements.
Chapter 6 Optimize the Use of Journal Entries and Chart of Accounts.
Chapter 7 Standardization and Centralization.
Chapter 8 Closing the Inventory Function.
Chapter 9 Closing the Billing Function.
Chapter 10 Closing the Payroll Function.
Chapter 11 Closing the Payables Function.
Chapter 12 Closing the Cash Processing Function.
Chapter 13 Impact of Automation on the Closing Process.
Chapter 14 Closing the Books of a Public Company.
Chapter 15 Controls for Financial Reporting.
Chapter 16 Ongoing Improvements in the Closing Process.

Appendix A Comprehensive Closing Checklist.
Appendix B Fast Close Policies and Procedures.
Appendix C Soft Close Checklist.
Appendix D Year-End Close Checklist.

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