In the highly regulated and data-intensive world of financial services, the financial close process is critical yet notoriously complex. Whether monthly, quarterly, or annual, it ensures financial statements are complete, accurate and compliant. Beneath the surface, however, lies a tangled web of siloed teams, disconnected systems, and the constant struggle to source consistent, reliable data across multiple capabilities. This ultimately compounds manual workarounds that slow, risk, and burden the close process.
NextWave has led initiatives to map current-state close processes, a powerful first step toward transformation. By visualising how work flows or stalls, firms can uncover inefficiencies, clarify responsibilities, and build a strong case for modernisation. This article examines common challenges and explains NextWave’s approach to mapping and why it’s essential.
Understanding the challenges of financial close
- Fragmented handoffs and ownership gaps
A frequent challenge is unclear hand-offs between Finance, Risk, Treasury, Operations, IT, and business units. Reliance on informal communication and outdated documentation creates confusion and inefficiency. Task ownership is often ambiguous, leading to duplication or tasks falling through cracks.
Unclear dependencies worsen the issue; delays by one team go unnoticed by the next, causing ripple effects without accountability. Version control suffers as critical documents circulate in multiple formats with no single source of truth. Late changes trigger cascades of rework, leaving teams dependent on individual knowledge to untangle impacts and decide how far back to revise. This misalignment causes duplication of effort, errors, and increases strain on a time-pressured process.
- Invisible delays and growing pressure in the working day Timetable
Most firms operate with a "Working Day Timetable"; a schedule outlining activities by close of day. These timetables are usually static spreadsheets or PDFs, rarely updated to reflect actual progress. This leads to a disconnect between plan and reality; tasks scheduled for Day 2 may slip to Day 4 without formal revision or consequences.
Without dynamic tracking, visibility into real-time status, bottlenecks, or downstream impacts is limited. This pressure-cooker environment causes last-minute work, errors, and burnout, undermining reliability and efficiency.
- A complicated web of applications and spreadsheets
The close relies on a fragile mix of legacy systems, custom solutions, and thousands of spreadsheets used for data manipulation, reconciliations, journal entries, and tracking — despite being error-prone and lacking controls.
Orchestration tools are often absent. Tasks are assigned through emails or shared drives, making progress monitoring and deadline enforcement difficult. Core systems like general ledgers, subledgers, and consolidation platforms often lack seamless integration, forcing manual data transfers that increase risk and delay the close.
Unlocking clarity and control with process mapping
Mapping the current-state close process delivers a clear view of how work flows and breaks down. It uncovers inefficiencies such as duplicated tasks and unclear roles, visualised through swim ane diagrams aligned with the Working Day Timetable to highlight delays and bottlenecks. It also exposes technology gaps, particularly overreliance on spreadsheets, helping quantify risk and build a case for automation or orchestration platforms. Mapping strengthens governance by identifying control points and gaps.
NextWave applies standardised process taxonomies to align teams and classify activities, systems, and controls. Engaging cross-functional stakeholders and validating maps uncovers deeper insights, laying the groundwork for a streamlined, controlled, modernised close.
Turning insights into action
Mapping is just the beginning. With a clear view of workflows and breakdowns, NextWave helps firms automate manual tasks using workflow tools and low-code platforms like Alteryx; streamlining reconciliations, validations, and journal entries to improve speed and accuracy. Improvements are guided by data-driven optimisations, focusing on automating for known benefit and building business cases on objectively measured, deliverable outcomes.
NextWave also supports orchestration platforms that centralise task tracking, status reporting, and controls, giving teams real-time visibility and accountability. Improved system integration and replacing spreadsheets with automated workflows reduce risk and tighten control. Dynamic, data-driven Working Day Timetables replace static schedules, enabling teams to adjust based on actual progress.
Agentic AI takes this further by adding intelligence and adaptability. Acting as a digital co-pilot, it monitors tasks, identifies delays, and initiates corrective actions like reassigning work, escalating issues, or updating timelines in real time. It also provides ‘auto-assurance’ by validating outputs and data, flagging anomalies before they propagate, ensuring results remain accurate and reliable. Applied to the Working Day Timetable, agentic AI helps coordinate Finance, Risk, and IT tasks, making the close more responsive, resilient, and self-correcting.
Closing thoughts
The financial close process is critical yet complex, demanding clarity and control. Fragmentation creates risk, delays, and inefficiencies that ripple through the organisation. Working with NextWave to map the current state provides insight to break down silos, identify bottlenecks, and reveal technology gaps, laying the foundation for meaningful transformation. This transformation delivers faster, more accurate closes, reduces errors and manual rework, and empowers teams to work with greater confidence and agility.
Beyond operational gains, these improvements support wider organisational goals: improving compliance, strengthening risk management, and enhancing stakeholder trust; all essential for staying competitive in today’s market. To help teams move from insight to impact, NextWave collaborates with organisations to pilot targeted improvements, allowing them to test new approaches in practice and build confidence before broader rollout. Process mapping is a strategic first step to reduce risk, accelerate growth, and build resilience in the financial close.
Tags:
Digital & Automation
August 19, 2025