How moving towards live close will elevate CFOs from just ‘the accountants at the back’

Trimming the number of days taken to close the books at the end of each period is key to elevating the finance function. 

It’s 4.30pm on 30 December, and a Slack message is about to ruin my New Year. A budget owner just uploaded six months of crumpled receipts, “found at the bottom of my backpack”. Another ping announces that a manager forgot to log an entire supplier's invoices for Q4. My last landing has suddenly become outdated  – and the wider business can no longer trust my team’s numbers. 

As the year draws to a close, taking stock is natural. But I hesitate to spend too much time looking backwards – because that’s the mode that too many members of too many company finance teams operate in for most of their working lives: simply tallying up times past. As the still relatively new CFO of Spendesk, a key tool for everyone in our profession, I want to help free us all to think more strategically. My goal is for CFOs – and those who will one day join their ranks – to be seen as strategic assets to their businesses and not just the accountants at the back.

With that goal in mind, let’s look to the future instead. I want to set myself a challenge: Spendesk as a business currently is able to close its books about 5-6 days after period-end. I want to bring that down closer to two days. In fact, I’d like the whole process wrapped up in two pre-close days and 1-2 after-close days. I’ll keep you updated on our progress in the coming months. 

Like many roles, the finance team has changed almost beyond recognition this century. Twenty years ago, each finance team would still have a dedicated accountant just focusing on accounts payable – usually the most junior person on the team. Today, that entry-level role has basically disappeared as the function has been automated away. Although this may sound like technology taking jobs, it’s actually more exciting – it’s technology handling the more menial work and expanding the bounds of the finance function.

As we all know, the process of closing the books each month, quarter or year can sometimes seem menial indeed. In the earlier days of my career, we’d start about a week before the end of the period, chasing paper receipts and invoices, getting them digitised to push the data into the accounting systems, booking accruals for anything missing, etc. We wouldn’t be able to close until maybe five, maybe seven, maybe more days after D-Day. At which point all those key financial statements – P&Ls, revenue analysis, balance sheets and cash flow statements – would finally be ready to publish. 

While the finance team is hunting receipts, the business does not wait. Product launches new features. Sales closes deals. There’s a danger that finance is seen as out of the loop, still figuring out last month while everyone else powers ahead. 

There is hope, however. Modern digital financial tools – yes, including Spendesk’s suite of solutions – have already cut those pesky “minus day” activities like chasing paper receipts down from maybe seven days to more like two. They have also helped reduce the “plus day” tally, even for the smallest of businesses. 

These improvements are also helping businesses to close the books more regularly. Eight years ago, when I started as a CFO, monthly closes were a luxury for large enterprises only. SMEs did quarterly closes, flying blind for 60-90 days at a time, because the manual labour required was prohibitively expensive. As automation democratises financial accuracy, a five-person startup can have the same closing cadence as a Fortune 500. Monthly closes are no longer aspirational – they're affordable.

The tighter we as a profession can keep this period-end process, the better for everyone. Our employers can feel confident closing their books nearer to the end of the period – which means financial statements more accurately reflect the reality of the business. Meanwhile, more selfishly, cutting the days spent each period closing the books gives time back for thought and strategic action. It allows us in the finance team to be thought of as true business leaders. 

The next stage for finance teams will be moving to a “live close” world, where the whole convoluted process of closing the books is essentially automated away. 

As we enter 2026, I’m excited to see how technology can further elevate the finance function. The days of us just being seen as the accountants at the back are numbered. 

What's your period-end closing time? What's your 2026 goal? Let's raise the bar together!