First I would need to review the previous controller’s closing process to determine areas that need improving. Next I would document every step of the closing process this will help itemize the nature of each task, who completes it, the time required to complete it, and any queue times that appear when a task is shifted to a different person within the process. I would also consider shifting work outside the period traditionally reserved for closing activities. I would review the closing activities to determine which ones could be shifted to the previous months and which ones can be delayed until after close. Implementing automation can also shorten the closing process. For example, a data warehouse can be constructed to extract and consolidate data from various computer systems or a workflow management system can be used to coordinate activities across several offices such as who works on what activity and how long it takes them to complete a task. Another way to shorten the close process is to centralize all accounting operations in one location. This allows the company to concentrate all of its efforts on improving the efficiency of a single …show more content…
A spend analysis evaluates spending to keep costs down. The advantages of a spend analysis is that it contains detailed files on what a company buys, how much they spend, and who they buy from. By conducting a spend analysis the controller can consolidate purchases in order to increase buying volume with a smaller number of preferred suppliers. Although this analysis can be used to reduce cost it does have one disadvantage. Spend analysis do not account for nonfinancial questions behind purchasing decisions. Such as why does a company work with one supplier versus another or is it more beneficial to the company to use a higher price supplier to guarantee higher quality. Higher quality products and supplies can generally help reduce