The Challenge
Manual work, multiplied by five.
Across five regions, renewals forecasting, revenue recognition, and month-end close each ran on different logic, assumptions, and templates — reconciled by hand every month.
The Starting Point
5 regions,
5 versions of close, manual consolidation,
every month.
One close on paper. Five in practice.
One national close on paper. In practice, five regional versions that never agreed.
Across five Canadian regions, renewals forecasting, revenue recognition, and month-end close each ran on its own logic, assumptions, templates, and level of detail. Every region a different version of the truth. Each lead submitted actuals, accruals, forecasts, and reporting in their own format.
Nothing tied out until someone reconciled it by hand.
Regional FP&A leads burned the close chasing variances, re-mapping lines, and rebuilding reports, producing the numbers instead of explaining them. Corporate finance then had to stitch five formats into one executive-ready close.
Every month, the same manual rebuild, from scratch.
Five submissions. None aligned to the ask.
Region AOvertime
Region BOvertime
Region COvertime
Region DOvertime
Region EOvertimeEach region used different:
Logic · Assumptions · Levels of detail · Outputs
All of it landed with corporate finance
Corporate finance then had to
manually rebuild the close, every month
Consolidate
Reconcile
Reformat
Report
Automation:
none — every step by hand
~300 hrs / cycle
≈ two full-time analysts — inside a 7-day close
Finance was spending the close producing the numbers, not interpreting them.
The Redesign
Manual end, connected.
One continuous cycle. Renewals forecast, revenue recognition, close, and reporting, each feeding the next with no hand-offs.
Same systems. One flow.
URTM designed the full cycle: the monthly renewals forecast, with status commentary gathered through the month, then invoicing and revenue recognition, then month-end close, variance analysis, and the working-forecast roll-forward.
Every stage feeds the next automatically and lands in reporting decks and dashboards, with no manual re-keying and every reconciliation point matching across the systems involved.
Timing is built into the cycle: revenue deferred to a later period, revenue recognized in-period, and lost business are each analyzed automatically, with retention and rollover cleanly calculated every close.
FP&A no longer rebuilds the pack. The team reviews one connected model, investigates exceptions, and updates only what needs judgment.
Everything Feeds The Model
- Renewals forecast & commentary
- Invoicing & revenue recognition
- Source-system actuals
- Accruals
- Working-forecast updates
One Source of Truth
Now
One governed model
Same mappings & variance logic
Timing, retention & rollover
Same reporting & executive view
The Monthly Cycle, Connected
Close & variance analysis
Standardized across every region
Working forecast
Rolls forward from close variances
Reporting decks & dashboards
Live for each role
No longer part of the flow
Manual consolidation
no longer part of the standard flow
Finance now spends the close interpreting the numbers, not producing them.
The Outcome
A week's work, ready overnight.
The same month-end, now finished before the team logs in.
One governed close. Live.
All five regions now close on one model, with actuals, accruals, variance, forecast, and reporting aligned to a single set of logic.
The pack that once took a week is ready the morning after cutoff, and executive reporting updates as the numbers move. Finance spends the cycle on commentary, exceptions, and decisions, not consolidation or re-keying regional files.
A week of manual consolidation is now ready overnight, with every region on the same logic.
Close Report
94%
Reduction in close-prep effort
Standardization
100%
Regional close packages aligned
Forecasting
88%
Less manual forecast-update work
Consolidation
96%
Less manual consolidation effort
Per close cycle
~300 hrs
~15 hrs
Close-prep time
7-day prep
Overnight
Measured across the first three close cycles after go-live.
URTM didn't replace the finance stack. It connected the close across the systems already in place: same logic, one source of truth, a live view of performance.
