The last thing Finance wants to think about now is year-end. But a little bit of work today can make your life a whole lot easier come crunch time.
Here are three things you can do right now to make your year-end close less of a nightmare.
1. Go over last year’s debrief. Now’s a great time to revisit that report Finance put together following last year’s year-end close to see what you want to do the same this time around and, more importantly, what can be done differently. It’s also a good idea to let all Finance staffers have a look at the report. That way, they can offer their feedback on any issues they may have run into during the year.
2. Get all deadlines set now. Take a look at the calendar and find out which dates may cause some issues. Example: Jan. 1 falls on a Sunday in 2012. That’s means your cutoff dates for vendors, employees, etc., will be different than they usually are.
3. Let everyone know your plan. There’s an entire army of people inside and outside of your firm that will need to know your year-end deadlines and cutoff dates. Some advance notice may be all it takes to ensure everyone adheres to those deadlines. So list all of the people — from purchasers to vendors — that need this info and let them know as soon as your cutoff dates are set in stone.
