This article first appeared on the OneStream blog by John O’Rourke
The end of the calendar year is an interesting time for those working in the Accounting and Finance departments. Of course, there’s a general excitement and rushing around to get ready for the December holidays. But for most organizations, it’s also the end of the fiscal year. That means the end of the annual budgeting process and the start of the year-end financial close and reporting process. Both of those year-end closing procedures can account for bringing a lot of extra work and stress to layer on top of the holiday-related stress.
Many of us here at OneStream came from the Accounting and Finance profession and have experienced the complexity and stress of annual budgeting, completing the year-end checklist for accounting, close, and other time-consuming tasks during this period. And we have made it our life’s work to help ease the pain and stress of these year-end closing processes for our customers through the OneStream platform and our MarketPlace of productivity and business solutions.
So for those of you who haven’t made the leap from pulling data from spreadsheets, year-end closing checklists, and legacy CPM applications to OneStream’s unified platform, here’s a little year-end closing gift. This is a song written by one of our staff team members, Terese Wylie, that will hopefully lift your spirits in your office as you start the year-end closing process.
The 12 Days of Year-End Close (sung to the tune of The 12 Days of Christmas)
On the first day of Year-End Close, my CFO said to me “We should have licensed OneStream.”
On the second day of Year-End Close, my CFO said to me, “We have Two more topside entries and we should have licensed OneStream”
On the third day of Year-End Close, my CFO said to me, “Three subs have not submitted, we have Two more topside entries and we should have licensed OneStream”
On the fourth day of Year-End Close, my CFO said to me “Four managers are leaving, Three subs have not submitted, we have Two more topside entries and we should have licensed OneStream”
On the fifth day of Year-End Close, my CFO said to me “Five Irritating Auditors! Four managers are leaving, Three subs have not submitted, we have Two more topside entries and we should have licensed OneStream”
On the sixth day of Year-End Close, my CFO said to me “Six IT supports are ignoring me, Five irritating auditors! Four managers are leaving, Three subs have not submitted, we have Two more topside entries and we should have licensed OneStream”
On the seventh day of Year-End Close, my CFO said to me “Seven spreadsheets are not linking, Six IT supports are ignoring me, Five irritating auditors! Four managers are leaving, Three subs have not submitted, we have Two more topside entries and we should have licensed OneStream”
On the eighth day of Year-End Close, my CFO said to me “Eight formulas are causing errors, Seven spreadsheets are not linking, Six IT supports are ignoring me, Five irritating auditors! Four managers are leaving, Three subs have not submitted, we have Two more topside entries and we should have licensed OneStream”
On the ninth day of Year-End Close, my CFO said to me “Nine accounts are out of balance, Eight formulas are causing errors, Seven spreadsheets are not linking, Six IT supports are ignoring me, Five irritating auditors! Four managers are leaving, Three subs have not submitted, we have Two more topside entries and we should have licensed OneStream”
On the tenth day of Year-End Close, my CFO said to me “Ten accountants are crying, Nine accounts are out of balance, Eight formulas are causing errors, Seven spreadsheets are not linking, Six IT supports are ignoring me, Five irritating auditors! Four managers are leaving, Three subs have not submitted, we have Two more topside entries and we should have licensed OneStream”
On the eleventh day of Year-End Close, my CFO said to me “Eleven reports are not tying, Ten accountants are crying, Nine accounts are out of balance, Eight formulas are causing errors, Seven spreadsheets are not linking, Six IT supports are ignoring me, Five irritating auditors! Four managers are leaving, Three subs have not submitted, we have Two more topside entries and we should have licensed OneStream”
On the twelfth day of Year-End Close, my CFO said to me “Only 12 months to our next year-end close, Eleven reports are not tying, Ten accountants crying, Nine accounts out of balance, Eight formulas are causing errors, Seven spreadsheets are not linking, Six IT supports are ignoring me, Five irritating auditors! Four managers are leaving, Three subs have not submitted, we have Two more topside entries and WE SHOULD HAVE LICENSED ONESTREAM!”
