Break the Year-End Stress Cycle
Why do we put ourselves through it every year?
As year-end approaches, you're probably feeling quite overwhelmed and stressed. The workload increases, deadlines loom, and the pressure to get everything right can be intense. The meticulous process of ensuring the accuracy of financial data and reviewing financial statements and reports can be tedious and time-consuming. All the while, there is a nagging sense of anxiety that a mistake could be made, or something could be missed, causing further delays and stress. It can be a rollercoaster of emotions, but with the right tools, support, and team, the stress can be minimised.
Why is Year-End so stressful?!
Increased workload
As the year draws to a close, you are often faced with an increased workload due to the need to close out the year, reconcile accounts, and prepare financial statements and reports.
Tight Deadlines
Year-end financial reporting often comes with tight deadlines, which can add pressure to the already heavy workload.
Data Accuracy
Ensuring the accuracy of financial data is crucial for year-end reporting, but it can be a time-consuming and meticulous process, adding to the stress levels.
Compliance requirements
You may have to comply with various financial and tax regulations at year-end, which can be complex and require a significant amount of time and effort to navigate.
Financial statement review
Financial statements and reports need to be reviewed thoroughly for accuracy and completeness, and any discrepancies or errors can cause delays and further stress.
Planning for the next year
Along with closing out the current year, you must also plan for the next fiscal year, which can add to the workload and stress levels.
Watch Now
Financial Transformation Live: Breaking the year-end stress cycle
Watch our on-demand Financial Transformation Live session where we share useful insights and practical tips for businesses to prepare for year-end financial planning and reduce stresses during this critical period.
Blog: 10 spreadsheets you shouldn’t have in your finance teams
Webinar: Shift to a continuous close with Sage Intacct
On average, it takes businesses
0 Days
to complete their Year-end
How can you reduce Year-end stress?
Prep Well
If you are well prepared then year-end comes a lot easier. Some of this is about getting things done early and some of it is about planning.
Reduce Uncertainties
Uncertainty is a major cause of stress so look at ways to reduce them. Think about what things have variables and what things can be planned for.
Automate where possible
Automation can be an absolute godsend. Whether it is automating the bank rec, PO matching or depreciation journals.The more you automate, the quicker your year-end will go.
Do it earlier
There are some tasks you can get done way before the year-end.Each task you do early means that you have more time at year-end to do the ones that can’t be done in advance.
Do it more regularly
If you only do a task once a year not only does it mean that you are unfamiliar so it takes longer but also that it will be a much larger task.
Clear your desk
Not literally but figuratively. Don’t take on any extra projects or get involved in stuff that you really don’t need to be involved in. Dedicate yourself to year-end so that you don’t get distracted.
Recognise what is going well
Make sure that you and your team celebrate things that are going well.Have a task chart up on the wall and cross things off. You’ll find it’s a great motivator when you're deep in year-end.
Delegate tasks
Don’t take everything on yourself otherwise, you’ll soon feel alone and overwhelmed.Make sure you break up the tasks and get others involved otherwise the stress could become unbearable.
Constructively say no
We always want to please people but sometimes you just have to say no.
Tell them why you can’t help and either suggest someone else who can help or book the meeting but for two months' time.
Prioritise your time
Give your time to the things that are important and urgent.If you have tasks on your to-do list that are unimportant or not urgent then forget them until you have the capacity.
Does your year-end process look something like this?
Manually working through the below process is not just stressful but costly in both time and money, not to mention the risks of human error and inaccuracies too.
Data Collection
Data Entry
Reconciliation
Financial Reporting
Compliance
You could swap it for something like this
Sage Intacct's automated workflows and checklists can help guide you through the year-end close process, ensuring that all necessary tasks are completed on time, in the correct order, are compliant and are tracked in the built-in audit trail.
Prep & Checks
Automated workflows & checklists
Sage Intacct helped Human Services achieve a 50% faster year-end audit:
Now that we’re so much more productive with Sage Intacct, my team can serve as strategic partners and leaders in the agency by providing more forward-thinking information. Rather than spending time on historical data, we’ve been able to flip our focus forward, and do things like reforecast our budget as needed. To see where the organization was five years ago and how it’s performing now with modern automation and insight has been very gratifying. Sage Intacct made it very easy to absorb our rapid growth in transactions, and we did it efficiently while maintaining internal controls. We’re now realising economies of scale.
Shift to stress-free with Sage Intacct
Sage Intacct is a cloud-based financial management solution designed to streamline accounting processes and provide real-time visibility into financial data. With features like automated workflows, customisable dashboards, and advanced reporting capabilities, Sage Intacct can help you simplify your year-end and reduce stress. By eliminating manual tasks and reducing the risk of errors, Sage Intacct allows you to focus on higher-value tasks and strategic decision-making. Additionally, its multi-dimensional chart of accounts and powerful analytics tools provide deep insights into financial data, enabling finance teams to make more informed decisions and improve their overall performance.
Explore Sage Intacct
25-minute on-demand Demo Webinar
See Sage Intacct in action in our short overview demo
Gain a better understanding of Sage Intacct's capabilities and how it can help you streamline your finance processes. This demo showcases Sage Intacct's features and functionality, giving you a firsthand look at how it can simplify your year-end, improve financial management and gain valuable insights.
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Why choose itas as your Sage Intacct partner?
At itas, we believe in working in partnership with you to deliver the perfect solution that you want and need for your business. As a multi-award winning Sage Partner and the Sage Intacct Partner of the Year, our approach is to help you maximise technology to transform the way you work.
The change to any new platform is a journey, and we will be on that journey with you, every step of the way.
