Brian Vondran, assistant corporate controller at RTI Metals, Jeff Hunger from Hyland Software, and Geeknet, Inc. controller Jeffrey Chalmers compare the close process before and after implementing Hyland Software’s AFRM®.
Seth Linebrink, manager of financial reporting and accounts payable, describes how Invacare dealt with their close before AFRM® and how it was improved with it.
Manager of financial reporting and accounts payable at Invacare, Seth Linebrink, talks about why Invacare chose Hyland Software’s AFRM®.
Seth Linebrink, Invacare manager of financial reporting and accounts payable, discusses the benefits for the individual working on the close process.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Manage close using Excel as a process management tool. Generally updated by individuals, resulting in limited visability to information regarding the status of the close. | Close managed using a dedicated software solution which fully documents the close and assigns tasks to specific individuals for preparation, review and additional review. Tasks and journal entries are updated and time stamped as they are completed, reviewed and closed. |
| Status of the close is qualitative since the overall status is not easy to ascertain and requires taking additional time from those who are already too busy closing the books. | A dashboard provides real-time status of the close, including items which are in-process, completed, reviewed or yet to be started. |
| Real time management of the close is complicated and very manual. | Close management is as simple as the click of a button. Tasks or journals may be re-assigned and schedules adjusted based on specific work load of team members impacted. |
| Books are considered closed when everyone believes that all tasks are completed. Additional post-close entries are uncommon. | Incomplete tasks or journals are displayed on a dashboard. The close manager is able to indentify and follow-up with individuals who have not yet completed their tasks. |
| Documents from prior closes are not easily available due to many documents in share drives with similar names, e.g. BS_Mar11, BS_Mar11_Final, BS_Mar11_Final_21Apr11 | All documents used in the close are filed with the task or journal entry. Each document has version control so prior version are available for review and the final document is always presented for use. All prior tasks, including the documents used, are presented so looking back at a prior close period is never more than a click away. |
| Time is spent waiting for people to prepare journal entries so you can start your work. This is further complicated by time zones, countries, work schedules, holidays, etc. | Tasks are monitored on a real-time basis without upsetting your team members by constantly checking on whether they have completed their task. This is further simplified by setting alerts on those tasks or journals for email notification when they are complete. |