Fast Closing of Financial Accounts Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Financial Controllers, Management Accountants and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-A-099

Before you join: Participants should understand double-entry bookkeeping, trial balances, journals, accruals, prepayments and the purpose of financial statements.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Month-end and year-end closing can become a recurring pressure point when ledger entries arrive late, reconciliations remain unresolved, intercompany balances disagree, and reviewers receive incomplete evidence. A delayed close reduces management’s confidence in reported results, restricts time for variance analysis, and increases the risk of avoidable adjustments. Finance teams need a disciplined close process that produces accurate financial statements quickly without weakening financial control.

This course examines the operating model behind a reliable fast close. Participants learn to map the record-to-report process, set a close calendar, assign ownership through RACI, and use materiality to focus effort on significant risks. The programme covers balance sheet reconciliations, accruals, prepayments, revenue and expense cut-off, fixed assets, inventory, intercompany accounting, consolidation inputs, management review, and year-end reporting requirements. Participants also assess spreadsheet dependencies, workflow controls, automation opportunities, and root causes of recurring close delays.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with financial close cases, reconciliation reviews, group analysis of reporting bottlenecks, and simulations of late adjustments and review queries. Participants work with realistic close documentation from corporate, public-sector, banking and NGO finance functions. They leave with a practical Fast Close Improvement Pack containing a close calendar, responsibility matrix, reconciliation standard, issue log, dashboard design and 90-day implementation plan that can be adapted to their own reporting cycle.

The course is suited to accounting and finance professionals responsible for producing, reviewing or improving monthly and annual financial reporting. It is particularly relevant where teams are reducing close days, preparing for audit, introducing a new ERP system, standardising reporting across entities, or addressing repeated audit findings.

What you will be able to do

  • Design a risk-based close calendar with milestones, dependencies and escalation points
  • Apply RACI analysis to assign close activities, reviews and approval accountability
  • Prepare balance sheet reconciliations using defined evidence, ageing and resolution standards
  • Calculate and post accruals, prepayments and cut-off adjustments using supporting schedules
  • Resolve intercompany differences through matched transactions, confirmations and elimination entries
  • Use materiality and variance analysis to prioritise review effort and reporting adjustments
  • Assess close controls using COSO principles, control evidence and exception reporting
  • Produce a 90-day fast close improvement plan with measures and ownership

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Reduce time spent chasing unclear close actions and missing support
  • Improve judgement over accruals, cut-off and material reporting adjustments
  • Produce clearer reconciliations that withstand manager and auditor challenge
  • Build practical evidence for progression into controller or finance manager roles
  • Lead a structured close improvement discussion with finance and operational colleagues

For your organisation

  • Shorter monthly close cycle with visible ownership and escalation routes
  • Fewer late journals, unreconciled balances and repeated audit findings
  • Earlier management reporting for decisions on performance, cash and risk
  • More consistent close procedures across entities, departments and reporting locations
  • Better control evidence supporting external audit and financial statement sign-off

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can diagnose the main causes of delay and define a controlled fast close model.

  • Record-to-report process mapped from transaction capture through financial statement approval
  • Close duration measured using elapsed days, effort hours and rework rates
  • Critical path analysis identifies dependencies between subledgers, journals and reviews
  • Fast close principles balance reporting speed, accuracy, evidence and control
  • Close risks classified by timing, valuation, completeness, ownership and systems
  • Baseline maturity assessment compares current close practices against target-state requirements

Participants can build a close timetable with clear responsibility, review and escalation arrangements.

  • Close calendar sequences daily, monthly, quarterly and annual reporting activities
  • RACI matrix assigns preparer, reviewer, approver and escalation responsibilities
  • Milestone gates prevent downstream work starting before prerequisite evidence arrives
  • Service-level agreements define deadlines for operational and finance data submissions
  • Daily close meetings track completion, blockers, decisions and overdue actions
  • Escalation protocols address missed deadlines, unavailable reviewers and disputed balances

Participants can improve source-data readiness and reduce avoidable late close entries.

  • Master data controls maintain valid accounts, cost centres, suppliers and customers
  • Source-to-ledger interfaces reconciled through record counts, totals and exception reports
  • Cut-off schedules identify goods received, services consumed and revenue earned
  • Transaction processing deadlines align purchase orders, invoices, payroll and expense claims
  • Data quality checks detect duplicate entries, missing codes and invalid dates
  • Exception logs assign correction owners before ledger close and reporting review

Participants can prepare and review reconciliations that identify and clear balance sheet risks.

  • Reconciliation policy defines frequency, preparer evidence, reviewer standards and sign-off
  • Balance sheet accounts ranked by materiality, volatility, judgement and fraud risk
  • Bank reconciliations investigate timing differences, unidentified receipts and stale items
  • Control account reconciliations compare general ledger balances with subledger totals
  • Ageing analysis categorises outstanding reconciling items by cause and resolution date
  • Account certification confirms balance validity, evidence sufficiency and action ownership

Participants can process period-end adjustments with sound accounting support and review evidence.

  • Journal entry standards require purpose, calculation, evidence, approval and reversals
  • Accrual calculations use consumption evidence, contractual terms and reasonable estimates
  • Prepayment schedules allocate costs systematically across relevant reporting periods
  • Revenue cut-off tests transfer of control, performance obligations and billing status
  • Expense cut-off identifies received goods, delivered services and unrecorded liabilities
  • IAS 10 events assessed for adjusting entries and disclosure requirements

Participants can manage intercompany close activities and prepare accurate consolidation submissions.

  • Intercompany agreements specify charging bases, currency, settlement terms and documentation
  • Matched transaction reporting compares counterparties before each entity closes
  • Difference resolution separates timing, coding, foreign exchange and dispute causes
  • Confirmation procedures document agreement of balances, transactions and outstanding disputes
  • Elimination entries remove intragroup balances, income, expenses and unrealised profit
  • Consolidation reporting packs validate mapping, ownership changes and submission completeness

Participants can apply close controls that produce traceable evidence for management and auditors.

  • COSO control activities applied to journals, reconciliations, estimates and approvals
  • Segregation of duties separates transaction preparation, posting, review and release
  • Control evidence retained through signed schedules, system logs and approvals
  • Management review controls challenge trends, ratios, estimates and unusual transactions
  • Exception reporting highlights overdue reconciliations, unsupported journals and control failures
  • Internal control deficiencies documented with cause, impact, remediation and owner

Participants can perform focused analytical review and explain material reporting movements.

  • Materiality thresholds guide investigation of balances, transactions and disclosure changes
  • Variance analysis separates volume, price, mix, timing and foreign exchange effects
  • Trend analysis compares current results with budget, forecast and prior periods
  • Ratio analysis tests liquidity, margins, working capital and asset utilisation
  • Analytical review questions challenge unexpected movements before report release
  • Management commentary links financial variances to operational drivers and corrective actions

Participants can identify process and technology changes that remove manual close effort safely.

  • Standard chart of accounts reduces mapping effort and reporting inconsistency
  • Workflow tools route close tasks, approvals, evidence and overdue reminders
  • ERP close functions manage posting periods, recurring journals and validation rules
  • Spreadsheet risk assessment identifies critical files, manual links and version conflicts
  • Robotic process automation suits repetitive reconciliations, downloads and status updates
  • Automation business cases compare implementation cost, control impact and time saved

Participants can prepare for year-end reporting and establish a practical fast close improvement plan.

  • Year-end timetable integrates statutory reporting, audit requests and governance approvals
  • Audit preparedness organises lead schedules, evidence files and query ownership
  • IFRS disclosure checklists identify required notes, judgements and accounting policy updates
  • Post-close review captures delays, errors, rework and effective control responses
  • Root cause analysis uses five whys and fishbone diagrams for recurring issues
  • Ninety-day action plan prioritises quick wins, owners, measures and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Risk-based close calendar template
  2. RACI close responsibility matrix
  3. Balance sheet reconciliation standard
  4. Period-end journal support checklist
  5. Close performance dashboard design
  6. Ninety-day fast close improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Financial Controllers — reduce close duration while retaining evidence and review discipline
  • Management Accountants — deliver timely reporting packs and credible variance explanations
  • Chief Accountants — standardise accounting entries, reconciliations and close documentation
  • Finance Managers — identify bottlenecks, assign ownership and manage late close risks
  • Senior Accountants — improve journal support, cut-off decisions and balance sheet reviews
  • Internal Auditors — assess close controls and test recurring reporting weaknesses

Skills and tools covered

Close calendar designBalance sheet reconciliationIntercompany eliminationCut-off accountingFinancial control testingClose process improvement

Tools and standards

IFRS Accounting Standards, COSO Internal Control Framework, RACI matrix, Five Whys analysis

How the course runs

Training methodology

The instructor uses short briefings to introduce close disciplines, IFRS requirements and control methods. Participants analyse close calendars, reconciliation packs, journal support and management reporting extracts drawn from realistic finance scenarios. Group work tests decisions on accruals, cut-off, intercompany disputes and late adjustments. Simulations examine how teams respond when evidence is incomplete or material variances emerge. Each participant develops an application plan using their own close constraints, reporting timetable and improvement priorities.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand double-entry bookkeeping, trial balances, journals, accruals, prepayments and the purpose of financial statements. Experience in a month-end close, management reporting, audit support or account reconciliation is expected. Participants should be able to read a balance sheet and income statement and work confidently with spreadsheet-based schedules. Knowledge of a particular ERP system is not required, and the course does not assume prior experience of consolidation software, process automation tools or formal internal control qualifications.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants need working knowledge of double-entry bookkeeping, journals, trial balances and basic financial statements. Prior involvement in month-end reporting, reconciliations or audit support is expected, but specialist consolidation or ERP knowledge is not required.

Participants should bring a laptop if attending online and may bring a copy of their current close timetable or reconciliation format if organisational policy permits. No confidential financial data is required.

The course is designed for accountants, controllers, finance managers, management accountants and internal auditors involved in monthly or annual reporting. It is most useful for teams seeking to reduce close days while improving evidence and review quality.

Financial reporting courses focus mainly on accounting standards and financial statement preparation, while consolidation courses focus on group reporting mechanics. This course focuses on the operating process, controls, people, timetable and evidence required to produce results faster.

Participants can assess their current close cycle against the course model and identify specific bottlenecks in ownership, data quality, reconciliations or review. The Fast Close Improvement Pack provides practical documents for a 90-day implementation programme.

The five days provide approximately 32.5 contact hours, with teaching progressing from close design and scheduling through accounting adjustments, controls, analysis, automation and year-end planning. Time is divided between instructor input, finance cases, group analysis, simulations and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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