EPM Buyer’s GuideFINANCIAL CLOSE

Financial Close

Coordinate tasks, certifications, reconciliations, and narratives to shorten the close while strengthening control—without heroics.

Key takeaways
  • Calendar‑driven orchestration with dependencies and SLAs.
  • Attestations and approvals with evidence and audit.
  • Automated variance analysis and commentary workflows.
Close calendar & RACI
  • Task templates by day; dependencies and notifications.
  • Owner/reviewer/approver roles and backup plans.
  • Escalation paths and late‑task policies.
Variance & narratives
  • Materiality thresholds and auto‑flags.
  • Commentary tied to numbers and versions.
  • Packs for management/board with repeatable format.
Certifications & controls
  • Sub‑certs roll up to entity/corporate.
  • Evidence attachments, immutable history.
  • Block period close on critical failures.
Fast wins
  • Automate trial balance loads nightly.
  • Standardize flux templates.
  • Integrate recs status to block certifications.
Checklist
  • Publish close calendar and owners.
  • Define materiality rules and escalation.
  • Standardize variance templates.
  • Map certifications and sub‑certifications.
  • Decide evidence retention policies.
FAQ
In EPM recs; status rolls up into the close dashboard and can block certifications.
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