Opening: quick reality check for the month-end

• Tell me how often your finance team completes the month-end close within your target window. Options: Almost always, Most months, About half the time, Rarely
• Walk me through your current close timeline, from preliminary reconciliations to the final published reports, and who touches each step.
• How many business days does each major task take in a typical month?
• Who finds out first when the close misses its target, and what actions follow in the first 24 hours?
• What single close performance metric, if improved by one business day, would make you pursue outsourcing immediately? Options: Days to close, Time to deliver investor reporting, Number of unreconciled accounts, Close cost per month, Other
• Which of these close activities produce the most manual effort and exceptions for your team? Options: Accounts payable processing, Accounts receivable collections, General ledger postings, Reconciliations, Intercompany eliminations, Consolidation adjustments, Payroll close tasks, Other

Where the process fails when under pressure

• If the controller were unavailable during month-end, which activities would stop and for how long?
• List any roles or single-person owners who are the only ones able to close a ledger or approve significant reconciliations. Options: Controller, Senior accountant - GL, AP lead, AR lead, Payroll manager, Treasury lead, Other
• When was the last time a single-person dependency materially delayed a close, and what cost or consequence did it cause?
• Describe the most frequent exception types your team handles during the last three close cycles.
• Do you have documented backups and step-by-step procedures for those exception paths? Options: Yes, complete documented procedures, Partial documentation for most tasks, Only tribal knowledge, not written, No backups documented
• Name the one knowledge gap that, if unresolved, would halt the close for more than one business day.
• Is there any activity that currently has no documented backup and would stop the close if the owner were absent? Options: Yes, several activities, Yes, one critical activity, No, backups exist for core tasks, Unsure

Investor reporting and the private equity clock

• How much time does your CFO or controller spend prepping ad hoc investor or PE reports after close each month? Options: Less than a day, 1-2 days, 3-5 days, More than 5 days
• Within how many business days does your investor reporting need to be delivered after month-end, and which reports are highest priority? Options: Same day, 1-3 business days, 4-7 business days, 8-15 business days, More than 15 business days
• List the specific investor or PE deliverables that have mandated filing windows and the penalties or consequences for missing them. Options: Monthly financial statements, Management pack for investors, KPI dashboards, Cash flow forecasts, Ad hoc queries, Tax reporting, Other
• If reporting accuracy stayed the same, would faster delivery during monitoring periods change how investors view your finance function? Options: Yes, significantly, Somewhat, No change, Not sure
• What controls or reconciliation checks are non-negotiable for investor reporting acceptance?
• Would equal or better data quality from an outsourced team remove internal objections to running a pilot immediately? Options: Yes, it would remove objections, It would help but other issues remain, No, internal policy would still block it, Unsure

Designing a pilot that proves the numbers

• Assuming a pilot could shorten your close by three days and achieve 99 percent first-pass accuracy, what would prevent your team from running it this quarter?
• Pick the single process you want to pilot first from these options. Options: Accounts payable, Accounts receivable, General ledger and journal entries, Bank reconciliations, Month-end close package, Payroll, Other
• Who on your side would be the pilot sponsor, and who would be the day-to-day liaison? Options: CFO, VP Finance, Controller, Finance operations lead, Head of accounting, Other
• How long a parallel run do you consider acceptable before moving to full handoff? Options: 2 weeks, 1 month, 1 quarter (one close), 2 quarters, Other
• Provide the measurable acceptance criteria you need to see in the pilot, including target accuracy, processing time, and SLA thresholds.
• Identify the person or committee authorized to approve scaling the scope and signing the next phase when the pilot meets your acceptance criteria.

Operational readiness and gate checks

• Can your team provide ERP credentials, a representative sample dataset, and a named technical owner within ten business days? Options: Yes, within 10 business days, Yes, within 3 weeks, No, requires more time, We need to discuss
• Detail the ERP environments that must be connected for the pilot, note if you have single or multiple ledgers, and indicate whether API access is available. Options: Single production ERP instance, Multiple production ERP instances, Separate consolidation instance, Only spreadsheets, Other
• Name the internal owner for integrations and confirm whether they have bandwidth during your next close window. Options: Head of IT, ERP manager, Controller, Finance operations lead, External vendor, Other
• Are there compliance, legal, or internal approvals that must clear before access is granted, and how long do they typically take? Options: Yes, legal review, Yes, procurement, Yes, data privacy, No formal approvals, Other
• Estimate the quality of the data you will provide for piloting, on a scale from mostly clean to needs heavy cleansing. Options: Mostly clean, ready for pilot, Some gaps, needs light cleansing, Poor quality, needs heavy cleansing, Unknown
• Identify any vendor or contract constraints that could prevent our team from accessing test environments or data.
• Point to the single readiness gap that, if unresolved within two weeks of project start, would force you to delay the pilot.

Configuration, mappings, and integration details

• Describe your chart-of-accounts structure, including any segmentation layers, profit center or cost center rules the outsourced team must follow.
• Select the mapping outputs you already have documented. Options: Account mappings completed, Automation rules documented, Report templates documented, Invoice routing logic documented, None of the above
• Do you have secure credential handoff processes and a vault or SSO mechanism for external access? Options: Yes, SSO or vault in place, Yes, but manual process, No secure process, we will create one, Not sure
• Choose from the following items that will require custom connectors or one-time scripts during integration. Options: Bank connectors, Payroll interfaces, Tax engine, Custom AP/AR integrations, None expected, Other
• How frequently do your accounting teams run batch automations or nightly jobs that the outsourced team must align with? Options: Multiple times per day, Daily/nightly, Weekly, Monthly, Ad hoc
• Is there any configuration or customization that your ERP vendor prohibits external teams from performing? Options: Yes, core modules restricted, Yes, some modules restricted, No prohibitions, Unsure

Knowledge transfer, exceptions, and the phased handoff

• Imagine parallel processing shows a 25 percent exception rate, what governance decision would pause the handoff?
• Provide the role or title enabled to halt a handoff if acceptance criteria or SLAs are not met. Options: CFO, VP Finance, Controller, Finance operations director, Steering committee, Other
• Select the training formats that work best for your team for handoffs. Options: Live workshops, Recorded walkthroughs, Process maps and SOPs, Shadowing and paired processing, Office hours, Other
• Explain your escalation path for accounting exceptions that require senior approval within a 48-hour close window.
• Supply a sample ticket or exception log example you would share during the pilot, or note if none exist. Options: We can supply examples, We have partial examples, No examples available, Need help extracting examples
• Identify the team or role that will own continuous improvement requests after handoff, and describe how prioritization will be decided.

Alternatives you're weighing and what keeps you with them

• Tell us the alternatives you are evaluating, including internal fixes, the incumbent, and other vendors.
• What would have to be true about your current approach for you to keep it instead of changing?
• Has anyone internally proposed solving this without an outside vendor, and if so who is pushing that idea? Options: Yes, finance team proposed, Yes, IT proposed, A hybrid approach proposed, No internal proposal, Unsure
• Point out the incumbent's strengths you respect and the weaknesses forcing you to consider change.
• State the single condition that would keep you with the incumbent or an internal approach rather than running a pilot.
• Choose from the following alternatives that are under active consideration. Options: Keep work internal, Extend incumbent contract, Run a pilot with another vendor, Run a pilot with an external provider, Delay decision, Other

Decision levers, approvals, and the timeline to commit

• Assuming the pilot meets agreed targets, what internal approvals and signatories would be required to execute a phase two SOW within seven business days?
• Point to the approvals that sit on the critical path, for example budget holder, legal, procurement, or executive sponsor. Options: Budget holder, Legal, Procurement, Executive sponsor, IT/security
• Pick the realistic earliest decision window. Options: Immediately after pilot, Within two weeks, Within one month, More than one month, Unsure
• State the single decision step that currently limits you from signing within your preferred window even if the pilot delivers the agreed KPIs.

• Solution Experience — Close Acceleration Using Your Scenarios

• You confirm that the demonstrated workflow shortens the close steps that currently drive the fifteen-plus day timeline.
• Confirm the current state and its cost
• Deliver a written pilot proposal that includes scope (processes and pilot boundaries), success metrics, timeline, and preliminary commercial outline.
• Run your real close scenario end-to-end
• You accept the shown data quality controls and exception handling as sufficient to preserve accuracy during and after transition.
• Provide three weeks of recent, anonymized close-period sample data covering AP, GL, and reconciliations for the proof run.
• You agree on the remaining evidence required before a pilot decision, including sample data scope, pilot SLAs, and success metrics.
• Demonstrate data quality and exception handling
• Identify the internal named process owner and available weeks for the parallel-processing pilot.
• Walk the governance and phased handoff model
• Confirm a follow-up decision review date after the pilot evidence is collected.
• Validate the future state

• Solution Experience — Close Acceleration Using Your Scenarios
• Solution Experience Deck
• Solution Brief — Close Acceleration

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Accounts Payable Processing and Invoice Automation
• Accounts Receivable Processing and Cash Application
• General Ledger Accounting and Journal Entry Posting
• Month-End Close Execution and Cutoff Management
• Quarter-Long Parallel Close Support
• Bank and Cash Reconciliations
• Account Reconciliations and Exception Resolution
• Intercompany Transactions and Eliminations
• Fixed Asset Accounting and Depreciation Management
• Management and External Financial Reporting Packages
• Tax Compliance Support and Filing Preparation
• Payroll Processing and Remittance Support
• Treasury Operations and Payment Execution
• Chart of Accounts Mapping and Posting Rules

Accounts Payable Processing and Invoice Automation

• Does your AP process accept both purchase order (PO)-based and non-PO invoices, and what percentage of monthly invoices are non-PO? Options: Less than 10%, 10-30%, 30-60%, More than 60%
• Specify the invoice receipt channels you use (examples: vendor email inbox, scanned paper, supplier portal, EDI). Options: Email inbox, Scanned paper / PDF, Supplier portal / vendor portal, E-invoice / EDI, Other
• List the three vendor groups that account for the largest share of monthly AP volume and any special payment terms tied to each group.
• Identify the ERP matching rules in place for invoices (for example: 2-way PO match, 3-way PO match with goods receipt, no-match tolerance thresholds). Options: 2-way PO match, 3-way PO match, Invoice-only posting allowed, Tolerance thresholds configured, Other
• Specify the remittance file formats and payment rails your treasury requires for pay runs (examples: NACHA/ACH, SEPA, wire, virtual card, check). Options: ACH / NACHA, SEPA, Wire / SWIFT, Check, Virtual Card / Card Payment, Other

Accounts Receivable Processing and Cash Application

• How many unapplied cash items does your AR ledger average at month end and which customer segments drive most exceptions? Options: Less than 50, 50-250, 250-1,000, More than 1,000
• Provide the payment methods customers use and the formats of remittance advice you receive (examples: lockbox, electronic remittance, ERA files). Options: Lockbox, Electronic remittance (ERAs), Direct bank transfer, Card payments, Paper checks, Other
• Describe the cash application rules you currently employ (for example: auto-match by invoice number, amount-only match, short-pay logic, unapplied cash aging thresholds).
• Identify your credit hold and collections escalation thresholds (for example: days past due buckets and automatic holds in the ERP). Options: 0-30 / 31-60 / 61-90 / 90+, Custom aging buckets, No automatic holds
• Are there customer accounts requiring non-standard cash application (for example: lockbox deposit exceptions, electronic remittance only, or payment truncation)? Options: Yes, No

General Ledger Accounting and Journal Entry Posting

• Identify the monthly journal types you expect us to post (examples: recurring accruals, manual adjusting journals, FX revaluations, month-end allocations). Options: Recurring accruals, Manual adjusting journals, Foreign exchange revaluations, Intercompany allocations, Other
• Provide the current cadence and owner for the trial balance and who reviews reconciliations before close sign-off.
• Specify any automated posting rules or upload templates your ERP requires (examples: CSV import layout, API payload fields, batch header requirements).
• Confirm whether multi-book or multiple accounting basis are maintained (for example: local GAAP book plus consolidated book) and name the books. Options: Single statutory book, Multiple books (statutory and management), Other
• Describe any month-end journal approval workflow constraints (for example: monetary approval thresholds, approver matrices tied to department codes).

Month-End Close Execution and Cutoff Management

• How many calendar days after period-end does your current team typically finish the close to a published trial balance? Options: 0-3 days, 4-7 days, 8-14 days, More than 15 days
• Specify the hard cutoff events in your close calendar (examples: AP invoice cut-off, payroll cutoff date, bank statement receipt deadline).
• Describe the top three single-person dependencies that risk continuity during close (for example: one person owning foreign entity allocations, spreadsheets with undocumented logic).
• Indicate the reporting package recipients and deadlines for internal and external stakeholders (examples: CFO draft by day 5, board pack by day 10).
• Confirm whether you require us to operate in your time zone during close windows or if a documented handoff window is acceptable. Options: Operate in your primary time zone during close, Handoff windows with documented escalation, Hybrid model

Quarter-Long Parallel Close Support

• Describe the scope for the parallel close pilot you want to run for one quarter (for example: AP only, full close, or AP+GL). Options: AP only pilot, AR only pilot, Full close pilot (AP+AR+GL+reconciliations), Custom scope
• Provide the sample datasets and months you will make available for parallel processing (examples: prior two closed months, current open month, historical sample of exceptions).
• Identify the acceptance criteria that will confirm the parallel pilot is successful (be specific and measurable, for example: reduce close days by X, first-pass AP accuracy >= 99%).
• How will you validate transactional parity during parallel processing (examples: matched invoice counts, reconciliation balances, variance thresholds)?
• Are there blackout dates during the pilot when access to source systems or sample data is restricted (for example: audit fieldwork week, payroll tax filing window)? Options: Yes, No

Bank and Cash Reconciliations

• Specify the bank statement formats you receive and their delivery cadence (examples: daily MT940, weekly CSV export, PDF statements from treasury portal). Options: MT940 format, CSV export, PDF statements, Direct bank feed / API, Other
• Identify the average number of bank accounts and their owners that must be reconciled each period. Options: 1-5 accounts, 6-15 accounts, 16-50 accounts, More than 50 accounts
• Describe typical reconciliation exceptions (for example: uncleared deposits, bank fees not posted, timing differences from virtual cards).
• Outline any corporate cash pooling or sweeping arrangements that affect reconciliation steps and intercompany settlements.
• Do you require an automated bank feed connector for reconciliation, or will we ingest statements via secure file transfer? Options: Automated bank feed / API, Secure file transfer (SFTP) of statements, Manual PDF uploads, Combination

Account Reconciliations and Exception Resolution

• How many balance-sheet accounts require monthly reconciliation and what percentage are currently marked 'completed' at first pass? Options: Less than 25, 25-75, 76-200, More than 200
• Provide the reconciliation templates or tools you use today (examples: templated spreadsheet, reconciliation module in ERP, third-party reconciliation software). Options: Spreadsheet templates, ERP reconciliation module, Third-party reconciliation tool, Other
• Identify the top recurring exceptions that delay close (for example: unapplied cash on AR, suspense clearing on GL, fixed asset capitalizations pending).
• Describe the evidence you require to clear a reconciliation exception (examples: vendor remittance, signed receiving report, intercompany settlement proof).
• Are there regulatory or audit documentation requirements we must preserve for reconciliations (for example: supporting schedules for statutory auditors, retention windows)? Options: Yes, No

Intercompany Transactions and Eliminations

• Identify the number of legal entities and the typical intercompany transaction types (examples: management fees, intercompany sales, shared services recharge). Options: 1-3 entities, 4-10 entities, 11-25 entities, More than 25 entities
• Specify your intercompany settlement policy and timing (examples: netting monthly, gross settlement monthly, quarterly netting). Options: Monthly netting, Monthly gross settlements, Quarterly settlements, Ad hoc
• Describe your current intercompany invoice format and any required cost-allocation logic (examples: percentage allocation by revenue, headcount-based allocation).
• Are there pre-existing intercompany clearing accounts that need specific mapping to eliminate during consolidation? Options: Yes, No
• Indicate whether transfer pricing documentation or intercompany service agreements will be provided for review during scope setup. Options: Provided upfront, Provided on request, Not available

Fixed Asset Accounting and Depreciation Management

• Provide the fixed asset register format you maintain and the number of active asset records currently tracked. Options: Less than 500 assets, 500-2,000 assets, 2,001-10,000 assets, More than 10,000 assets
• Specify the depreciation methods and useful-life policies in use (examples: straight-line by asset class, accelerated methods for tax books).
• Describe your capital vs expense policy thresholds and any tagging required for leased vs owned assets.
• Identify common capitalization exceptions or adjusting entries that occur at period end (for example: capitalization of R&D spend, reclassification entries).
• Do you require depreciation book reconciliation to fixed asset schedules as part of month-end deliverables? Options: Yes, monthly, Yes, quarterly, No

Management and External Financial Reporting Packages

• Provide the templates or sample reports for your management pack and external reporting (examples: P&L by segment, consolidated balance sheet, KPI pack).
• Specify the distribution list and delivery cadence for each reporting package (example: CFO draft day 3, board pack day 10).
• Indicate the data sources and reconciliations that must underpin each report (examples: trial balance mapping, subledger tie-outs, revenue schedules).
• Describe any regulatory or covenant reporting formats that require specific calculations or notes (examples: debt covenant ratios, statutory disclosures).
• Specify the verification or sign-off evidence required before sending external reports (examples: reconciled TB, auditor-reviewed schedules, CFO approval).

Tax Compliance Support and Filing Preparation

• Identify the tax filings you expect support for and their filing cadence (examples: monthly VAT/GST, quarterly corporate tax provision schedules, annual filings).
• Provide the list of tax jurisdictions where your entities file and any special tax regimes in place.
• Describe the tax working papers and schedules you currently prepare for provision or filing (examples: temporary differences schedule, transfer pricing worksheets).
• Are there existing tax authority correspondence items or open audits we must be aware of during the engagement? Options: Yes, No
• Do you require the seller to produce tax-ready files for external advisors or will in-house tax review the prepared schedules? Options: Seller prepares tax-ready files for external advisor, Seller prepares and in-house tax reviews, Other arrangement

Payroll Processing and Remittance Support

• Specify payroll run frequency and the payroll cutoff rules we must observe (examples: semi-monthly with pay period end on the 15th and last day).
• Provide the payroll tax jurisdictions and any multi-country payroll considerations (examples: withholding rules, statutory benefits).
• Describe the payroll deliverables you expect us to handle (examples: payroll posting to GL, payroll tax remittance support, payroll journal uploads).
• Are payroll source files available via a secure feed to the ERP or do we receive payroll journals as flat files for upload? Options: Secure feed / API, Flat file (CSV) uploads, Manual journal entry by payroll admin
• Identify any special payroll reconciliations required at month end (examples: benefits accruals, PTO liability reconciliation).

• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Commercial Terms & Order Form
• Data Access Authorization
• Data Processing Agreement (DPA)
• Regulatory Compliance Addendum
• Transition Risk Mitigation Plan
• Service Level Agreement (SLA)
• Pilot Acceptance Form
• Change Order Agreement
• Termination & Exit Terms

• Go-live Health Check (weeks 1-4)
• First Measurement Review (weeks 4-10)
• Acceptance Gate — 90-day Outcome Review
• Quarterly Operational Review (ongoing)

• Schedule the next quarterly operational review and circulate the pre-read metric packet.
• Restate acceptance criteria and numeric targets from Solution Scope
• Produce a documented pass/fail per acceptance criterion recorded in Solution Scope and capture the named signatory for the outcome.
• Confirm incumbent wind-down status and data archival or read-only retention as appropriate.
• Agree remediation tasks, timelines, and a verification checkpoint for any conditional or failed items.
• Publish the acceptance decision record including pass/fail table and signatory details.
• Execute the incumbent decommissioning or read-only retention plan and confirm archival completion.
• Review trend data since acceptance for named metrics
• Confirm whether named metrics remain within the thresholds recorded in Solution Scope and identify any regressions.
• Agree remediation for the top operational issues and a prioritized enhancement backlog for the next quarter.
• Verify closure and effectiveness of outstanding remediation items from prior meetings.
• Update and publish the quarterly metric dashboard with source data and calculation notes.
• Close or re-prioritize the top operational tickets and record expected metric impact and timelines.
• Re-confirm success criteria and named owners
• Confirm deployment artifacts and access required for operations are in place and validated.
• Produce a prioritized list of blockers with remediation actions and due dates.
• Confirm cadence and owners for the first measurement meeting and data delivery format.
• Publish a deployment validation report including confirmed ERP instances, data samples, and open access gaps.
• Capture and circulate the prioritized blocker list with remediation dates for the next review.
• Confirm the dataset and calculation method that will be used for the first KPI measurement.
• Present first measurement data against targets recorded in Solution Scope
• Determine whether primary KPIs are trending toward the targets recorded in Solution Scope and identify gaps.
• Agree a timebound corrective action plan that closes gaps before the acceptance gate.
• Confirm dataset and calculation methodology for acceptance reporting.
• Publish the measurement dataset, definitions, and dashboard used in the review for auditability.
• Execute the prioritized corrective actions with documented completion dates and validation steps.
• Schedule the acceptance gate meeting and circulate pre-read outcome reports two weeks in advance.
• Open remediation tickets for any failed criteria with resolution dates and verification steps.
• Deployment and data access validation
• Diagnose root causes for any gaps
• Present outcome data against each acceptance criterion
• Operational issues and SLA adherence
• Early adoption and process signals
• Enhancement requests and prioritization
• Document pass/fail and capture formal acceptance decision
• Agree corrective actions and timeline to acceptance gate
• Confirm data integrity and measurement method
• Open issues, blockers, and immediate remediation plan
• Close outstanding remediation items and verify effectiveness
• Incumbent wind-down and data disposition
• Agree remediation items and resolution timeline for any failed criteria