Pre-Close & Continuous Close — Finish Early, Close Fast

Stop saving everything for Day 0 (tea is still allowed, panic isn’t).

The “save it all for Day 0” habit is why close week feels like a heist: frantic emails, last-minute journals, and status meetings about—well—status. A pre-close and continuous close rhythm flips that script. Move predictable work earlier, run dry-runs, and treat consolidation as a flow, not a batch. In this playbook you’ll see exactly what to shift upstream, how to orchestrate weekly checkpoints, and where automation and validations earn back hours. By the end, Day 0 becomes a tidy confirm-and-compile, not a rescue mission (cape not included).

Day-in-the-life: before → after

Before: Entities sit on issues until Day 0. Intercompany breaks appear when time is gone. FX rates arrive late. A “temporary” account sneaks into the TB. Reviewers triage emails while the pack slips. People work hard; the process makes them work harder.

After: Weekly rhythm. Every Thursday, entities run pre-close validations; every Friday, group reviews a lightweight “exceptions only” report. Treasury publishes the rate pack with a timestamp. Intercompany confirms balances on Day −1. A dry-run consolidation executes on Day −2 so Day 0 is mostly confirmation. The close flows because the heavy lifting moved upstream (gym membership optional).

So what? Early visibility converts surprises into small tasks with owners and due times.

What to move early (table)

So what? If it’s predictable, pre-close it; Day 0 is for confirmation, not discovery.

Before vs After switches

• From once-a-month sprint → weekly checkpoints with exceptions-only reporting.
• From inbox rates → published pack with timestamp and archive (see FX guide).
• From IC cliffhanger → rolling confirmations and Day −1 settlements (see IC playbook).
• From late journals → recurring accrual models with evidence attached (see adjustments guide).
• From slide status → live cockpit with tasks, owners, SLAs (see workflow cockpit).

Make these switches and end-loading shrinks fast. So what? A calmer Day 0 is the natural output of earlier work.

Stakeholder talk tracks

CFO: “We need speed without risk.” — Move predictable work earlier; measure the variance between dry-run and final. The smaller the gap, the safer the close.

Group Controller: “I want fewer late surprises.” — Weekly exceptions with owners; Day −2 dry-run; Day −1 IC confirmation. Day 0 becomes a to-do list, not a to-discover list.

Ops/Entity Leads: “Tell us exactly what to do when.” — Publish a rolling two-week calendar with three recurring checkpoints; nudges only on exceptions (humane by design).

Audit: “Show me consistency.” — Same steps, same evidence, same timestamps every month. Sampling speeds up when the rhythm is boring (in the best way).

So what? Clear talk tracks win time, trust, and adoption across teams.

Objections & responses + real-world moments

• Objection: “Weekly reviews add meetings.” — Response: Exceptions-only, 20 minutes, three metrics. Fewer emergencies later.
• Objection: “We’re different each month.” — Response: Keep a lane for true one-offs; standardise the 80% you repeat.
• Objection: “It shifts work earlier.” — Response: Yes—by minutes, saving hours. Early beats urgent.
• Objection: “Systems are fragmented.” — Response: Start with templates and a cockpit; integrate as you go (vintage is great for wine, not ledgers).

• Late shipment, early revenue: Cut-off test flags it pre-close; fix before Day 0.
• FX jump mid-week: Rate pack republishes with timestamp; dry-run shows impact; CTA note updates.
• IC pricing dispute: Ticket opened on Wednesday; owners attach rate card; true-up scheduled.
• “TEMP” account appears: Governance form blocks it; mapping updated or account retired.

So what? Most “gotchas” are visible earlier when you look earlier.

Pitfalls → fixes

Pitfall 1: Pre-close treated as “optional”.
Fix: Put it in the calendar with owners and SLAs; show it in the cockpit.

Pitfall 2: Validations that cry wolf.
Fix: Tier checks: hard fail (missing rate, unmapped code), soft warn (format); tune monthly.

Pitfall 3: Evidence scattered.
Fix: Attach proof to tasks/journals; if it isn’t in-tool, it didn’t happen (future-you approves).

Pitfall 4: One team carries the load.
Fix: Share responsibilities across entities and functions; publish the RACI and rotate reviewers.

Pitfall 5: Dry-runs that don’t mirror reality.
Fix: Use the same templates, rates, and mapping as Day 0; otherwise you’re rehearsing a different play.

So what? These guardrails keep pre-close valuable, not performative.

30–60–90 plan

Days 0–30 — Stabilise: Define a weekly 20-minute exceptions review. Publish the pre-close checklist (IC, rates, mapping, recurring accruals). Add simple validations to your TB template. Pilot with two entities and one region.

Days 31–60 — Streamline: Introduce a Day −2 dry-run consolidation and a Day −1 IC confirmation deadline. Wire the routine into your workflow cockpit. Connect the rate pack and CTA walk from the FX playbook.

Days 61–90 — Scale: Roll out across entities. Add automated nudges for aged exceptions. Link pre-close outcomes to your disclosure management so narrative refreshes after the dry-run. Formalise the governance hand-offs from master data.

So what? Three sprints turn “we’ll fix it later” into “we fixed it last week.”

So what? A tiny weekly cadence prevents a massive monthly scramble.

Metric that matters

% of adjustments identified before Day 0 (target > 80%). Pair with variance between dry-run and final (absolute £/€/$ and count) and exceptions ageing > 3 days. When pre-close works, early-found adjustments rise, variance shrinks, and ageing falls. If the KPI stalls, check rate pack timing, IC confirmations, and validation coverage first.

So what? What you finish early can’t derail the close later—measure early finish.

Make the close a flow, not a cliff.

Publish a weekly pre-close rhythm, run a Day −2 dry-run, and lock Day −1 IC confirmations. Tie the routine to your close acceleration playbook and workflow cockpit. Within one cycle, Day 0 stops being a cliff and becomes a formality—pleasantly so.

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