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Case study · Corporate finance

A month-end close measured in days

Many finance teams on Dynamics 365 Finance still close in spreadsheets around the ERP. This is how we moved close tasks, accruals, allocations and reporting into the system, so the close is shorter, controlled and repeatable.

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Project overview

Close and reporting optimisation on D365 Finance.

Industry
Corporate finance
Client
Confidential
Solution
Close and reporting
Platform
D365 Finance + Power BI
Timeline
12–20 weeks
Team
4 people
Close tools
Financial period close workspace
Automation
Accruals, allocations, reconciliations
Reporting
Financial reports and Power BI

Expected business outcomes

What the client set out to achieve

Close duration and reliance on spreadsheets are the measures.

  • 30–50% Shorter close

    Close tasks, dependencies and owners managed in the system.

    Target range; depends on automation achieved

  • Fewer Manual journals

    Recurring accruals and allocations run automatically.

    Measured by count of manual journals per close

  • Day 1–3 Management reporting available

    Reports refresh from closed periods automatically.

    Target after close automation

Business challenges

How the close worked before

The ERP is modern; the close process around it isn't.

Checklist

A spreadsheet checklist emailed around the team.

Journals

Accruals and allocations prepared in Excel and uploaded.

Reconciliations

Balance sheet reconciliations in separate workbooks.

Consolidation

Group figures assembled from entity exports.

Reporting

Management packs built manually after the close.

Proposed solution

What the build covers

Standard Finance features used fully, plus Power BI for reporting.

  • Close workspace

    Close tasks, owners, dependencies and status in one workspace.

  • Automated journals

    Recurring accruals, allocations and reversals set up in the system.

  • Reconciliations

    Balance sheet reconciliations tracked with evidence.

  • Consolidation

    Consolidation and eliminations run in Finance.

  • Financial reports

    Statutory and management reports defined once and reused.

  • Power BI

    Management dashboards refreshed from the closed ledger.

Project requirements

What the client asked us for

The request was a shorter close. The biggest gains come from removing manual journals and making dependencies visible so nobody waits unknowingly.

We measure the close before and after, task by task, so improvement is real, not anecdotal.

What the project had to deliver

  • 01A visible close calendar
  • 02Automated recurring journals
  • 03Tracked reconciliations
  • 04Reports on day one to three

Key challenges & considerations

What made it harder, and what we did

  1. Allocation rules nobody has documented

    What we did

    Allocation rules were documented with the people who ran them, then automated.

  2. Entities with different close habits

    What we did

    One close calendar with task owners was introduced for all entities.

  3. Auditor expectations for evidence

    What we did

    Evidence standards were agreed with the auditors, and sign-offs were recorded in the system.

  4. Reporting requirements that change often

    What we did

    Reports were built on a governed model, so new requirements became changes to a report rather than rebuilds.

What we watched for

  • Measure the close before changing it
  • Automate the biggest manual journals first
  • Document allocation rules
  • Agree evidence standards with auditors

Development process

Measure, automate, report

We start by timing the current close.

  1. Stage 1

    Close assessment

    Current close tasks, durations and dependencies measured.

  2. Stage 2

    Close workspace

    Tasks and owners moved into Finance.

  3. Stage 3

    Automation

    Journals and allocations automated one by one.

  4. Stage 4

    Consolidation and reports

    Consolidation and financial reports rebuilt.

  5. Stage 5

    Power BI and review

    Dashboards launched and the close re-measured.

Technology stack

Dynamics 365 Finance, used fully

Mostly standard features that were never switched on.

Finance

  • D365 Finance
  • Financial period close
  • Allocation rules

Consolidation

  • Consolidation
  • Eliminations

Reporting

  • Financial reporting
  • Power BI

Controls

  • Workflow approvals
  • Audit trail

Quality assurance & deployment

Rehearsed until cut-over was routine

Finance and supply chain systems cannot be tested in production. Processes were proved end to end in test environments, and the cut-over was rehearsed until it held no surprises.

  • End-to-end process tests across finance and operations
  • Automated regression tests for standard and extended processes
  • Data migration rehearsals, reconciled entity by entity
  • User acceptance testing by business process owners
  • Performance tests at real transaction volumes

Deployment

  • 01Consolidation and reportsConsolidation and financial reports rebuilt.
  • 02Power BI and reviewDashboards launched and the close re-measured.
  • 03Rehearsed cut-overA timed cut-over plan, rehearsed at least twice, with a go or no-go decision by the business.
  • 04Hypercare and warrantyOn-site or remote support through the first period close, and six months of free bug fixing.

Final deliverables

A close the team can predict

The close runs from a shared calendar in Finance, recurring journals post themselves and reconciliations are tracked with evidence.

Management reports are ready days earlier, and the team spends the time saved on analysis.

  • Close managed in the ERP
  • Fewer manual journals
  • Tracked reconciliations
  • Earlier management reporting
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Handed over to the client

  • 01Configured Dynamics 365Production and test environments
  • 02Extensions and integrationsSource code and documentation
  • 03Migrated dataReconciled entity by entity
  • 04Process documentation and trainingBy business process
  • 05Six-month warrantyFree bug fixing after delivery

Success metrics

How success is measured

MeasureOutcomeHow it is measured
Shorter close 30–50% Target range; depends on automation achieved
Manual journals Fewer Measured by count of manual journals per close
Management reporting available Day 1–3 Target after close automation

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