How long should a year-end close take?

The time required for a year-end close varies based on the company's size, accounting complexity, transaction volume, reporting requirements, and condition of its financial records. A company with consistent monthly closes and well-defined processes may be able to complete its year-end close relatively quickly, while businesses with unresolved reconciliations or inconsistent accounting practices may require significantly more time.

What is the difference between a month-end close and a year-end close?

A month-end close reviews and finalizes financial activity for a single month, while a year-end close completes the accounting cycle for the full fiscal year and typically involves additional reviews, adjustments, reporting, tax preparation, audit support, and planning for the next year.

How can an outsourced CFO help with year-end closing?

An outsourced CFO can provide strategic financial oversight before, during, and after the year-end close. Preferred CFO can help improve monthly closing processes, financial reporting, forecasting, cash flow management, internal controls, and financial systems. This can help businesses identify problems earlier and enter year-end with more accurate and reliable financial information.

What should a company do after completing its year-end close?

After the year-end close, leadership should review the completed financial statements, analyze financial and operational performance, update budgets and forecasts, identify areas for improvement, and establish priorities for the upcoming year. Preferred CFO can help businesses turn year-end financial information into a strategic plan for the year ahead.

How can a company prepare for its next year-end close?

The best preparation starts immediately after the current close. Establish a recurring monthly close process, maintain accurate supporting documentation, reconcile accounts consistently, monitor financial controls, automate repetitive tasks where appropriate, and maintain a current financial forecast. Preferred CFO can help establish these processes so the next year-end close is more predictable, efficient, and accurate.

Who should manage the 13-week cash flow model?

While a financial controller or staff accountant can update the weekly inputs and actuals, a strategic CFO should review the trends, test variances, and align operational cash trends with the company’s capital structure.

How often should a 13-week cash flow be updated?

A 13-week forecast should be updated weekly. At the start of each week, replace the prior week's projection with actual cash movements, analyze variances, and extend the model out by one additional week.

Can SaaS and recurring revenue businesses use a 13-week cash flow?

Yes. SaaS companies rely on 13-week models to monitor collection churn, timing differences between annual contract billings and monthly usage revenues, and runway burn before their next funding milestone.

What should be included in a 13-week cash flow forecast?

A 13-week cash flow forecast should track beginning cash, expected cash inflows, cash outflows, and ending cash for each week. Common inputs include customer collections, payroll, vendor payments, debt obligations, taxes, capital expenditures, and other significant expenses.

What is the difference between a 13-week cash flow forecast and a budget?

A budget typically looks at expected revenue and expenses over a longer period, while a 13-week cash flow forecast focuses specifically on when cash is expected to enter and leave the business. This shorter-term view helps leadership identify upcoming cash gaps and make timely decisions about spending, collections, financing, and other cash management priorities.

Kent Jarvi Bio

Known for his entrepreneurial spirit, Kent has successfully guided startups and high-growth companies through strategic planning, capital raises, successful exits, and various M&A transactions.

He excels in optimizing financial processes, developing business models, and driving sustainable growth. Throughout his career, Kent has demonstrated expertise in corporate finance, revenue recognition and compliance, while also managing investor relations and international operations across multiple industries.

Kent’s leadership and analytical skills make him a trusted strategic partner to CEOs and boards alike, fostering collaboration and building high-performing teams that achieve strong financial outcomes.