Close, Consolidate, and
Reporting Cycle
Paul Young CPA CGA Senior Data and AI Specialist
March 26, 2023
2023-26-03

Paul Young - Bio
• CPA, CGA
• Academia (PF1, FA4 and MS2)
• SME – Risk Management
• SME – ESG and Sustainability
Reporting
• SME – Financial Analysis and Planning
• SME – Data Strategy and Data
Management
• SME – Close, Consolidate and
Reporting
• SME – Public Policy
• SME – Emerging Technology
• SME – Business Process Change
• SME – Financial Solutions
• SME – Supply Chain Management
Email: Paul_Young_CGA@outlook.com

• CFO area of Focus
• 2020 focus of Business
• 2021 / Focus
• Sustainability Reporting
• CPA/USA – Reporting
• Self-Reporting Issues
• Regulatory Filing Issues
• Time to close the accounting cycle
• Continuous accounting close
• Other pain points for accounting and finance
• AI and Accounting
• Virtual Close Cycle
• Sales / Forecasting
• Supply Chain
• Analysis and Reporting
• Cognos Controller
• Cognos Analytics / Driving Strategic Decisions
• CloudPaks
• FOPM/FPM solutions
• Risks/audit
• Security / Data Privacy
Agenda

September 9, 2014
Area of Focus by CFO
Source - https://www.gtnews.com/

September 9, 2014
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffthomson/2020/12/18/speedin
g-towards-transformation-2021-trends-in-finance-and-
accounting/?sh=6ed4329834ab
1. Automation will no longer be debated. Routine, rules-based tasks will be
automated. This was true before the pandemic, with over 50% of finance and
accounting professionals indicating automation would impact how their company
performed its work in the next one to two years in a Deloitte/IMA survey released
in August 2020.
2. Remote working will become the norm for finance teams. According to a June
2020 PwC survey, “54% of CFOs plan to make remote work a permanent option.”
Facilitating successful remote working arrangements is a two-part process
3. Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting will become more important.
An already-accelerating trend pre-COVID-19, ESG will gain new focus, fulfilling
consumer mandates for more corporate responsibility, but also serving as an
important organizational risk mitigation tool.
Financial Transformation / 2021

September 9, 2014
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffthomson/2020/12/18/speedin
g-towards-transformation-2021-trends-in-finance-and-
accounting/?sh=6ed4329834ab
4. Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) becomes a finance accountability. If there’s one
thing the Covid-19 pandemic has taught is, it’s that a crisis can emerge suddenly and
overtake all one’s plans and expectations for the future
5. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) will be a competitive differentiator, in
addition to being the right thing to do from a core values perspective. In 2019 The
Wall Street Journal ranked companies in the S&P 500 by levels of diversity and
inclusion. They found the top 20 companies (or those with the highest scores for
DE&I) had better operating results on average than the lowest-scoring firms
6. Upskilling is the call-to-action. IMA recently conducted a global survey of finance
and accounting professionals, posing questions related to COVID-19 impacts on
staffing, revenue management, upskilling and reskilling.
Financial Transformation / 2021

September 9, 2014
Source - https://bluebackglobal.com/cfo-challenges-going-into-q4-
and-q1-of-2021/
CFO Challenges Going into Q4 and Q1 of 2021
1. Change Management - One of the major CFO challenges the pandemic created is a pressing need for change
management. Most companies are now forced to recognize they need new digital technologies, skilled talent, and
innovation, but that doesn’t mean change comes easily.
2. Creating an Agile Business Model - The pandemic has clearly demonstrated the need for company agility.
Businesses without a Plan B scrambled to recovered and some could not operate at all. Those that could quickly
adapt to a work-from-home strategy or a blend of in-house and remote work had a distinct advantage over their
competitors. In the long run, agility could determine whether a company survives during and after the pandemic.
3. Automating Processes - Most CFOs recognize automation of routine tasks such as accounting, payroll, HR, and
compliance can offer savings. Some also see the benefits of harnessing the power of automation for a stronger,
more effective organization.
4. Analytics & Long-Term Planning - According to the TCS 2020 CFO Study, long-term strategic planning is a
development priority for CFOs. Subsequently, they believe superior analytic skills will deliver the most value in the
next five years. An integral part of long-term planning and a company’s response to change is access to in-depth
financial reporting. More than ever, companies need accurate, real-time data to create accountability, improve
levels of performance, and pinpoint where to best focus their talent and leaders. By connecting finances with
operational data, non-finance leaders can also see benefits for more informed decisions.
5. International Complexity - The pandemic has drastically increased the complexity of operating across borders.
Legislative changes occur at lightning speed across jurisdictions and can change frequently too, making compliance
an even greater challenge for the CFO than in the past.

September 9, 2014
Source - https://www.wealthprofessional.ca/investments/socially-responsible-
investing/most-cpas-accept-the-esg-accounting-challenge/337087
Most CPAs accept the ESG accounting challenge

September 9, 2014
CFOs are not ready for an era of
self-service reporting
Source - https://www.gtnews.com/

September 9, 2014
Accounting and Big Data
https://www.accountingtoday.com/opinion/how-big-data-can-
help-businesses-achieve-compliance-in-2021

September 9, 2014
2020 Focus by Business
Source - https://smallbiztrends.com/2019/10/6-key-challenges-small-businesses-
need-to-address-soon.html
1. Cyberattacks Continue to Run Rampant
2. Consumers Look for Engaging Content on Social Media
3. Stakeholders Want to Be Educated
4. Distributed Teams Require Collaborative Task Management
5. People Want to Do Business with Thought Leaders
6. Customers Demand Fast Responses to Inquiries and Concerns

September 9, 2014
CPA / Business Challenges
Source - https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2019/dec/cpa-accounting-issues-for-2020.html
• Less emphasis on new standard changes (i.e. leases, credit losses, etc.)
• AI/RPA - Accountants have heard for years that emerging technologies such as
blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) are going to radically reshape the profession.
The reality has yet to live up to the hype, but major strides could be made in 2020 on
a couple of fronts. The first of those is the continued development and adoption of
robotic process automation (RPA). Most current RPA iterations are perhaps best
described as Microsoft Excel macros on steroids. These RPA "bots" can watch a human
perform a multistage process and then repeat that process. Unlike Excel macros,
however, RPA can perform these processes across multiple applications.
• 5G Technology - "2020 will be a breakout year for 5G, as handset manufacturers
begin to make a 5G chipset standard equipment," said Rick Richardson, CPA/CITP,
CGMA, founder and CEO of RichardsonMedia & Technologies LLC. "The major
telecommunications companies will continue major deployment of network coverage.“
• Automation of tax reporting and filing
• More demand for real-time data processing
• More emphasis on advance analytics (data sciences)

September 9, 2014
Statutory reporting falling short
Source - https://www.gtnews.com/

Times it takes to close
Source - https://www.cfo.com/accounting-tax/accounting-accounting-
tax/2023/02/cycle-time-to-perform-year-end-close-speed-up-annual-close/

SOX and the Cost of Compliance
• Source - http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2017/jun/companies-spending-more-time-on-sox-compliance-
201716857.html

What can be done to expedite the close
• More automation between ERP systems with reporting systems
• Movement to FOPM and FPM solutions
• Strengthening controls on all aspects of the organization (Ongoing internal
audit programs)
• Developing and implementing an effective data strategy
• More integration between systems
• Use of mobile applications to access real-time reporting
• Re-engineering other business processes as part of streamlining the close,
consolidate and reporting cycle

What is continuous accounting
• Source - http://www.digitalistmag.com/finance/2017/02/17/what-is-continuous-accounting-04917410
September 9,
2014
• Continuous accounting is a paradigm shift for finance professionals
responsible for closing the books and producing financial
statements. “The way we’ve always done it” is to wait until period
end, work long hours, and get the end of the period reporting done.
This traditional way of doing things is based on repeating what’s
been done period after period in the past. The reports are getting
done so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Change is hard.
• The concept of continuous accounting is not waiting until the end of
the period to execute the multiple tasks that need to happen to close
the books. With the advancements in technology over the past
years, it is now possible to execute tasks required for the close
throughout the period. Similar to the concept of a soft close,
continuous accounting provides better visibility into financial results
throughout the period – live and in real time.

Risk Management
September 9, 2014
• Risk Management
•The total global expenditure on risk IT systems and services by financial institutions (FIs)
will be $70bn during 2016.
•The two biggest areas for investment are in the risk governance and integration field
($22.4bn), which is being driven by compliance demands, stress test reporting obligations
and risk data aggregation requirements, and financial crime risk, which follows closely
behind in terms of growth, as cyber and fraud risks multiply and converge.
•The Chartis 2016 Global Risk IT Expenditure report aggregates all of the firm’s 2015
research to derive a global risk IT spend. The market sizing exercise by Chartis is based
on a comprehensive bottom up methodology driven by thousands of demand side data
points. Furthermore, the analysis has been validated by top-down data from hundreds of
technology vendors and consulting firms.
The report provides an overview of the risk technology market and forecasts 2016
expenditure for specific risk categories, examining the regulatory, operational and
reputational drivers for different sizes of financial institution (FI) and across different
regions

Internal Audit
September 9, 2014

AI and Accounting
September 9, 2014
Source - https://www.cfotechoutlook.com/news/artificial-intelligence-will-
transform-the-accounting-industry-nid-451.html

Virtual Close Cycle
September 9, 2014
Source - www2.deloitte.com

Sales / Forecasting
September 9, 2014

Analysis and Reporting
September 9, 2014

Driving Strategic Decisions
September 9, 2014

Cognos Controller
September 9, 2014

Cash Flow Management
September 9, 2014

Watson and automation of the close cycle
September 9, 2014

Watson and Retail (example)
September 9, 2014

Cloud Pak / Containerization
September 9, 2014

Cloud Pak / Modern Analytic
Environment
September 9, 2014

GRC and Risk Management
September 9, 2014
Here is my work on automating Internal Audit as part Risk Mitigation -
https://ibm.box.com/s/noi1j6ixzl6ralxkm4g0zzs911wf6s76

ESG Reporting
September 9, 2014
Link: https://ibm.box.com/s/vmyitcackqevvm1hcxv7wke6gudrpnce

Security and Data Protection
September 9, 2014
More than ever before, as pandemic conditions persist, the threat of data breaches and cyberattacks
continues to grow.
COVID-19 has permanently changed organizational culture and behavior. Recognizing these changes
is the first in a series of steps to mitigate them once this pandemic end, and before the next.
1. Working from home
2. Meeting virtually
3. Keeping data private
4. Redefining culture
5. Managing and controlling transformation
https://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/features/5-ways-the-covid-19-pandemic-has-forever-
changed-cybersecurity/
I have written many blogs on security:
Guardian/IBM - https://www.ibm.com/security/data-security
GRC / OpenPages – Best Practices /
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSFUEU_7.3.0/com.ibm.swg.ba.cognos.administra
tors_guide.7.3.0.doc/c_op_adm_best_intro2.html or
https://ibm.box.com/s/noi1j6ixzl6ralxkm4g0zzs911wf6s76
Close, consolidate, and reporting - https://ibm.box.com/s/i7efp948qvb5l8bt96y8sigsup8yes2u
MAAS360 - https://www.ibm.com/security/mobile
IBM Security Products - https://www.ibm.com/security/products

Planning Analytics Scorecard and Workbooks
September 9, 2014
1. Creating Scorecards - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg09IMF8uFo
2. Charts - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg09IMF8uFo
3. Charts - https://revelwood.com/ibm-planning-analytics-tips-tricks-visualizing-data-pie-
charts/
4. https://pmsquare.com/analytics-blog/2019/9/3/planninganalyticsoverview “Starting
with a basic cube view, a user doesn’t need to enlist a report developer to produce an
on-screen crosstab, chart or combinations or both.”
5. Creation of the metrics cube -
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSD29G_2.0.0/com.ibm.swg.ba.cog
nos.tm1_prism_gs.2.0.0.doc/t_prism_working_scorecards.html
6. Scorecards /metrics -
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSD29G_2.0.0/com.ibm.swg.ba.cog
nos.pa_trial.2.0.0.doc/c_prism_scorecard.html
7. Creation of scorecards - https://blog.octanesolutions.com.au/a-tm1-guide-on-how-to-
for-dummies
8. PA users can work with scorecards - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB3tzTeKULQ

Cognos Controller
September 9, 2014

Cloudpak for Data
September 9, 2014

Thank you
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