Sarbanes-Oxley requires a faster delivery of the 10-Q, so everyone is scrambling to find ways to release financial information and statements sooner. Also, this is a major efficiency issue for the accounting department, which can get bogged down in financials issuance for weeks. This book will provide flowcharts and checklists to help avoid delays and bring accounting department closing procedures current, so companies can close the financials quickly enough to issue statements for the new requirements.

STEVEN M. BRAGG, CPA, has been the chief financial officer or controller of four companies, as well as a consulting manager at Ernst & Young and auditor at Deloitte & Touche. He received a master''s degree in finance from Bentley College, an MBA from Babson College, and a bachelor''s degree in economics from the University of Maine. He has been the two-time president of the Colorado Mountain Club, is an avid alpine skier and mountain biker, and is a certified master diver. Mr. Bragg resides in Centennial, Colorado. He is also the author of Accounting Best Practices and Accounting Policies and Procedures Manual, both published by Wiley.

Leseprobe

Preface. Chapter 1 Introduction. Different Types of Fast Close. Benefi ts of the Fast Close. Legal Issues Impacting the Fast Close. Steps to Achieve a Fast Close. Summary. Chapter 2 Your Current Closing Process. Traditional Closing Process: Basic. Additional Closing Tasks for the Multidivision Company. Additional Closing Tasks for the Multinational Company. Additional Closing Tasks for the Public Corporation. Problems with the Closing Process. Summary. Endnote. Chapter 3 Conducting a Review of the Closing Process. Steps in the Process Review. Payables Process Review. Billing Process Review. Inventory Process Review. Cash Process Review. Final Closing Process Review. Total Duration of the Closing Process. Summary. Endnote. Chapter 4 Alter the Timing of Closing Activities. Altering the Closing Mindset. Review and Correct Subledger Transactions Throughout the Month. Complete the Bank Reconciliation Every Day. Review Uncashed Checks. Update the Inventory Obsolescence Reserve. Determine the Lower of Cost or Market. Calculate Overhead Allocation Bases. Bill Recurring Invoices. Conduct a Preliminary Comparison of the Shipping Log to Invoices Issued. Review Preliminary Rebillable Expenses. Update the Bad Debt Reserve. Review Preliminary Billable Hours. Accrue Interest Expense. Determine Pension Plan Funding. Determine Flexible Spending Account Funding. Accrue Unpaid Wages. Accrue Unused Vacation Time. Accrue Travel Expenses. Reconcile Asset and Liability Accounts. Calculate Depreciation. Compile Preliminary Commissions. Review Financial Statements for Errors. Complete Selected Financial Reports in Advance. Deferred Closing Activities. Summary. Chapter 5 Revise the Contents of the Financial Statements. Alter the Mode of Report Delivery. Standardize Reports. Eliminate Cost Reporting from the Reporting Package. Separate Metrics from the Financial Reporting Package. Summary. Chapter 6 Optimize the Use of Journal Entries and Chart of Accounts. Eliminate Immaterial Journal Entries. Standardize Journal Entries. Convert to Recurring Journal Entries. Centralize Use of Journal Entries. Use Journal Entries to Accrue Expenses Delaying the Close. Automate Journal Entry Postings. Use Accruals Only for External Reporting. Defi ne Accounts. Standardize the Chart of Accounts. Automate Eliminations of Intercompany Transactions. Summary. Chapter 7 Standardization and Centralization. Impact of Standardization on the Closing Process. Impact of Centralization on a Multilocation Accounting Department. Impact of Centralization on a Single-Location Accounting Department. Incorporating Standardization and Centralization into Acquisition Activities. Summary. Chapter 8 Closing the Inventory Function. Create an Inventory Tracking System. Implement Cycle Counting. Reduce the Amount of Inventory. Properly Record the Lower of Cost or Market Rule. Reviewing Obsolete Inventory. Preventing Obsolete Inventory. Summary. Endnotes. Chapter 9 Closing the Billing Function. Bill Recurring Invoices in the Preceding Month. Computerize the Shipping Log. Eliminate Rebillable Expense Processing from the Core Closing Period. Eliminate Month-End Statements. Print Invoices Every Day. Transmit Transactions via Electronic Data Interchange. Summary. Endnote. Chapter 10 Closing the Payroll Function. Automatically Calculate Commi ...