# 1: Automate

If you want to simplify the financial close, you automate!

Although the work behind each and every account reconciliation still needs to be completed, it’s the steps behind the work that can often be simplified, if not eliminated, by account reconciliation software.

Here are five ways automation simplifies account reconciliations and the month-end close:

Visibility – knowing the status of the reconciliation process as well as to being able to identify exceptions or unusual balances provides you and your team with an opportunity to address red flags early in the close process. Automation software provides real-time dashboards and reports to pull this information with just one click.

Accountability – It’s challenging to fix workflow problems when ownership is not clearly defined. An account reconciliation automation solution assigns accounts to preparers and reviewers, and with ART, backups for each role. Ownership assignments accompany new accounts as they are added to the system ensuring that nothing gets missed.

Standardization – We all have our way of reconciling accounts, and reviewers bear the brunt of our differences. Automation solutions standardize the way accounts are reconciled. This makes it easy for reviewers.

Audit Trail – Financial close automation systems, like ART, build simplicity into the process by automatically capturing the audit trail.

Electronic Archive – Digging through binders looking for supporting documentation, although not challenging, takes time. With automation what is referred to or included as part of the reconciliation is uploaded and electronically attached to the reconciliation. This supporting documentation will carry forward to subsequent periods never to be lost again.

The efficiencies automation brings to account reconciliations and how it simplifies the financial close are often considered substantial improvements to internal controls. For a quick look on how an automation system works, check out this brief demo.