Phased Financial Close Calendars

Finit Solutions' clients increasingly require the ability to utilize a phased closing calendar, in which separate data sets are loaded, promoted, and locked down at different times within the monthly close process. It is rarely the case that all data is due and locked down at exactly the same time within the close, so Finit helps clients set up processes and controls to stagger data submission and lockdown. Some of the phased closing solutions that Finit helps clients implement include:

• Developing different process management flows, validation requirements, and promotion deadlines for Flash, Actual, and Forecast data.
• Setting up the ability to load, promote, and lock different sets of data for the same Entity, Scenario, and Period at different times. For example, trial balance data might be promoted and locked on Day 3, while supplemental data for that same entity might be promoted and locked on Day 5. The trial balance lock on Day 3 would not prevent continuing manipulation to supplemental data.

Finit's clients find the use of phased closing calendars to provide much better flexibility and control over the data submission, promotion, and lockdown process.