Time spent on a monthly close can vary widely by organization – around four days or less for top performers to as many as 10 days for the bottom 25%, according to a recent benchmark survey by APQC.

Improving operational efficiency, especially in the area of period close, is imperative for the office of finance, but how does the finance organization do that? With a cost center stigma, the finance department is not always the first to receive funding for transformative change.