Mitigating Close Risks: Transforming Manual Processes into Audit-Ready Workflows
Course Description
The traditional month-end close is often bottlenecked by fragmented workflows, especially when tracking accrued and prepaid expenses throughout their lifecycle. Relying on manual spreadsheet entries not only drains your team’s valuable time but also exposes your business to human error, distorted financial reporting, and higher audit fees.
We’re hosting a webinar to help you tackle these challenges head-on. Our experts will demonstrate how replacing manual processes with automation and AI-assisted data extraction can give your team total visibility, ensure compliance, and significantly streamline your close period. We’d love to have you join the conversation.
Learning Objectives
- Establish a structured, document-driven approach to capturing unbilled expenses, moving away from informal flux analysis and “best guess” estimates to mitigate high-risk judgment calls.
- Define the standard accounting treatment of prepaids and identify the functional requirements—like automated amortization schedules and single-click journal entries—needed to eliminate manual rollforward headaches.
- Learn how to use invoices and contracts as a single source of truth to connect procurement with accounts payable, ensuring expected schedules are established and “blind approvals” are eliminated.
- Discover how purpose-built subledgers and AI can automate the entire lifecycle of contracts and invoices—from data ingestion to flagging missing records, automating true-ups and generating journal entries and seamless rollforwards.
On-Demand CPE Credit Eligibility Requirements
- Answer the 3 review questions presented throughout the webinar
- Complete the final assessment with a grade of 80% or higher
- You have 3 attempts to pass the final assessment and until April 30, 2026 to complete it
If you meet all these criteria you will see a green check mark inside the CPE tool icon that indicates your CPE certificate is ready to be downloaded.
Prerequisites
- None
Who Should Attend
Accounting, finance professionals, and consultants involved in month-end/ year -end activities, decisions, and reporting related to managing accrual and prepaid expenses.
Advanced Preparation
None
Presenter
Taylor Guthrie
Taylor Guthrie is an Accounting Manager at FinQuery. Prior to FinQuery, Taylor earned a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Lynchburg College and then transitioned to a public auditor role at Brown Edwards. As a former audit senior, he assisted in the audits of various entities in various niches. This background includes implementation and maintenance of ASC 842, GASB 87, and GASB 96. Today Taylor helps FinQuery’s customers understand and implement the new lease standards as well as navigate intricacies of the software.
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On-Demand |
Course Information
| COST | FREE |
| CREDITS | 1.00 hours |
| SUBJECT AREA | Accounting |
| EXPIRES | November 3rd, 2027 |
| COURSE LEVEL | Basic |
| DELIVERY METHOD | Self Study |
Register Below
SPONSOR STATEMENT
FinQuery LLC is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: NASBAregistry.org.
For more information regarding administrative policies such as complaints, please contact CPEinfo@finquery.com.
PROGRAM CANCELLATION POLICY
If a program is cancelled, FinQuery will notify registrants via the email address that they used to register for the program.
CPE On-Demand Webinar
Mitigating Close Risks: Transforming Manual Processes into Audit-Ready Workflows
- Establish a structured, document-driven approach to capturing unbilled expenses, moving away from informal flux analysis and "best guess" estimates to mitigate high-risk judgment calls.
- Define the standard accounting treatment of prepaids and identify the functional requirements—like automated amortization schedules and single-click journal entries—needed to eliminate manual rollforward headaches.
- Learn how to use invoices and contracts as a single source of truth to connect procurement with accounts payable, ensuring expected schedules are established and "blind approvals" are eliminated.
- Discover how purpose-built subledgers and AI can automate the entire lifecycle of contracts and invoices—from data ingestion to flagging missing records, automating true-ups and generating journal entries and seamless rollforwards.
CPE Requirements & Eligibility
- Instant Certificate: Answer the 3 review questions presented throughout the webinar, and score an 80%+ on the final evaluation to download your certificate.
- Flexible Learning: Pause and resume at your convenience.
- Earning Window: Complete your assessment anytime before November 03, 2027 to claim your 1.0 CPE credit.
Register Now
Learning Objectives
The traditional month-end close is often bottlenecked by fragmented workflows, especially when tracking accrued and prepaid expenses throughout their lifecycle. Relying on manual spreadsheet entries not only drains your team’s valuable time but also exposes your business to human error, distorted financial reporting, and higher audit fees.
We’re hosting a webinar to help you tackle these challenges head-on. Our experts will demonstrate how replacing manual processes with automation and AI-assisted data extraction can give your team total visibility, ensure compliance, and significantly streamline your close period. We’d love to have you join the conversation.
Presenter
Taylor Guthrie is an Accounting Manager at FinQuery. Prior to FinQuery, Taylor earned a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Lynchburg College and then transitioned to a public auditor role at Brown Edwards. As a former audit senior, he assisted in the audits of various entities in various niches. This background includes implementation and maintenance of ASC 842, GASB 87, and GASB 96. Today Taylor helps FinQuery’s customers understand and implement the new lease standards as well as navigate intricacies of the software.
Course Details
| Cost | Free |
| Credits | 1.00 hour |
| Subject Area | Accounting |
| Expires | November 03rd, 2027 |
| Course Level | Basic |
| Delivery Method | Self-study |
Who Should Attend
Accounting, finance professionals, and consultants involved in month-end/ year -end activities, decisions, and reporting related to managing accrual and prepaid expenses.
FAQ
Where do prepaid processes typically break down during the month-end close?
Prepaid processes often break down because accounting doesn’t get contract details early enough. Common issues include: – Accounting learns about the contract only after the invoice arrives – Contract terms live in disconnected places (shared drives, inboxes, contract systems) – Accounts payable (AP) codes invoices based on the invoice alone, not the contract terms – Accounting must build amortization schedules under deadline pressure Action item: Create a standard handoff from Legal or Procurement to Accounting so contract terms (service dates, payment terms) reach Accounting before close.
What are the most common spreadsheet errors that lead to prepaid misstatements?
The most common spreadsheet-driven issues include: – Copying and pasting the wrong formula across rows – Incorrect service period dates (which shifts expense into the wrong months) – Amortizing beyond the end of the contract (driving the prepaid below zero) – Missing short-term versus long-term reclassifications for multi-year agreements – Manual journal entry mistakes (wrong amount, wrong account, wrong entity) Action item: Add a monthly check that flags any prepaid schedule with negative ending balances or service periods that have already ended.
How can manual accrual processes create inconsistencies month over month?
Manual accrual processes often depend on detective work and multiple inputs, such as vendor confirmations, internal confirmations, open purchase order reviews, and historical averages. When those inputs change—or when different people apply different assumptions—accruals can become inconsistent and harder to support. Action item: Standardize your accrual methods by category (for example, utilities use a rolling average; professional services use hours incurred; payroll uses the payroll subsystem report).
Disclaimer
Sponsor Statement
FinQuery LLC is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: NASBAregistry.org.
For more information regarding administrative policies such as complaints, please contact CPEinfo@finquery.com.
Program Cancellation Policy
If a program is cancelled, FinQuery will notify registrants via the email address that they used to register for the program.