August's numbers arrive in October, the investor report rests on estimates, and the cash forecast works with old bank balances. We provide the specialists who clear the backlog – without letting the current month slip in the process.
The month-end close is a company's early-warning system. When it is weeks late or does not happen at all, every decision is made on old numbers: budget, hiring, conversations with the bank and investors.
Typical signs: receipts pile up unprocessed, bank accounts are not reconciled, open items with customers and suppliers do not match, and the VAT return is based on incomplete data. Common causes are someone leaving the accounting team, fast growth without an extra hire, a system change or a new entity in the group.
The mistake made most often at this point: the team works through the old months – and creates the next backlog, because the current month is left lying.
First, the stock-take: which months and accounts are open, which receipts are missing, which deadlines are fixed – investor report, bank reporting, VAT? In the first week this becomes a work plan with a realistic duration.
Then two separate tracks. Interim bookkeeping works through the open months in clearly defined packages: bank reconciliation, receivables, payables, accruals. The in-house team keeps the current month running. Where priorities, approvals or someone who owns the close are missing, an interim head of finance takes over close management.
The result is not just a cleared backlog but a close calendar with fixed dates and named cover – so the next backlog never builds up.
Record open months, accounts, receipts and reconciliations for each entity. Work through a sample, extrapolate the effort, note the fixed deadlines. Result: a work plan with duration and roles.
Work packages by month and account area. The current month stays separately staffed. Missing receipts are requested, open questions tracked in a decision log.
Once opening balances are right, the most recent month takes priority over the oldest – so investors and management see current numbers again quickly.
Close calendar with working days, responsibilities and cover, ongoing account reconciliation, handover to the in-house team.
When a month's numbers are only available after several weeks or not at all, bank accounts are not reconciled, and reports to investors or the bank rely on estimates.
It depends on the number of open months, the quality of the receipts and the number of entities. The sample in the first week gives you a reliable range instead of a hope.
If receipts and approvals are in place and only capacity is missing, yes. If decisions, priorities or someone who owns the close are missing, you also need a leadership role.
They continue and must be filed on time. If catching up shows that figures were wrong, the return is corrected – in agreement with the tax adviser.
At nugrow, bookkeeping starts at EUR 850 per day excluding VAT, a head of finance is EUR 1,300 and CFO support EUR 1,800. Three days of bookkeeping a week over eight weeks makes 24 days, or EUR 20,400 excluding VAT.
With a close calendar that assigns every task to a working day and a person, and with named cover for every key task.
The service: Interim Accounting & FP&A. If close management is missing as well, see interim head of finance; day rates by role are on the pricing page.
Terms in the glossary: Head of finance and 13-week cash flow forecast.
Related articles: Closing backlogs and fast close, Month-end close calendar in ten working days and Building a finance team: roles and order. In a PE portfolio company, a punctual month-end close is the precondition for every measure in EBITDA levers after the buyout.
Related situations: Annual accounts overdue and Interim bookkeeping or tax adviser?
All triggers for an interim CFO engagement at a glance: triggers overview.