Reclaiming the strategic value of financial closing
Financial closing
Restoring control and clarity through accurate, timely and smooth financial closing.
Financial closing, as an annual legal requirement, can sometimes feel like a routine, causing businesses to lose sight of its broader utility as a decision-making tool.
Beyond fulfilling regulatory requirements, financial close should serve as a decision-making tool—offering timely and reliable financial data that supports internal stakeholders, enhances forecasting accuracy, and reassures investors.
When financial closing is merely a rushed reporting task, companies miss out on strategic opportunities to drive long-term growth.
At Altesia, we aim to restore meaning and order to financial closing by:
- Focusing on its objective: who it is for, why it is necessary, and how often it truly needs to be done.
-
Implementing structured systems for documentation and procedures.
What a well-structured financial closing enables
Many companies still experience financial closing as a rushed, chaotic and stressful task, leading to mistakes and inaccuracies. But when properly managed, financial closing can fulfill key business needs.
-
-
-
-
Finding the right level of reporting
A key aspect of good financial closing is to find the right level of reporting: enough to ensure transparency and satisfy stakeholders, but avoiding excessive documentation to maintain agility.
Regain control of your financial closing process
Regain control of your financial closing process
Altesia’s consultants are bilingual: they speak both accounting and business languages.
This capability allows them to turn all financial procedures, including financial closing, into operations that serve the business effectively.
We begin by analysing the company’s specific closing needs, current procedures, and tools, while clarifying the purpose of the closing: why it’s done and for whom.
From there, we design a financial closing approach that is both structured and adapted to your organisation, delivering practical improvements.
-
Rigour and precision
Higher accuracy and discipline in financial closing, leading to better business decisions.
-
Faster closing times
Accelerated closing processes improve efficiency and professionalism, boosting the company’s image and investor confidence.
-
Process optimization
Processes are optimised for accurate documentation, reducing stress and promoting smoother daily operations.
Financial closing deliverables
We tailor our deliverables to meet each client’s specific needs. Some of the concrete outcomes we can provide include:
1. Annual closing:
Presentation of the accounts to the General Shareholders Assembly and formal submission to the Belgian National Bank (BNB), as legal requirement.
2. Quarterly closings:
Altesia can assist with quarterly financial closings, advising on the best approach, like partial closings to inform and reassure investors about the company’s financial status.
3. Checklists and written procedures
explaining how things were implemented; this includes items such as reconciling accounts, verifying inventory, etc. It serves as a guide and a handy reference for accountants.
4. ERP implementation:
If needed, Altesia can support the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to meet financial closing requirements.
What we don’t do
Our approach to financial close is based on precision, efficiency, and ethical practices. Here is what we don’t do:
-
No unnecessary complications:
We don’t add complexity where it’s not needed. Our goal is to simplify and clarify the process for you.
-
No routine work:
Altesia does not engage in routine and copy-paste practices without a critical perspective. We constantly evaluate to optimise and improve the financial procedures implemented by the finance department.
-
No unnecessary consultancy hours:
We do not sell unnecessary consultancy hours for non-essential operations. Our pragmatic approach means we only advise on processes that meet your specific financial close objectives.
What our clients say
-
CEO in the healthcare sector” Thanks to Altesia’s approach, we managed to reduce our quarterly closing time from three months to one month or less. The game-changing move was Altesia’s identification of the crucial elements allowing faster intermediate closings, which are vital for informing and reassuring Board members and external partners.
We realized that certain details were only critical for the final annual closing, rendering them unnecessary for the interim stage. This insight had a significant impact on our operations. By focusing on the essential elements for financial closing, Altesia helped us improve efficiency and meet our objectives, allowing us to move forward with more confidence.”