Accounting teams: Effectively handle the growing demands of month-end close

Credit unions everywhere are seeing an uptick in asset size. From 2020 to 2021, credit union membership increased by 23%. Whether through acquisitions, mergers or organic growth, this means a larger burden for the accounting team, specifically more reconciliations and month-end tasks. In the accounting world, “lean and mean” rings true for many teams. With this added volume, how can your accounting team keep up? Here are our five best tips for how to stay on top of your credit union’s month-end close.

1. Standardize everything

If five staff accountants are doing reconciliations, you’ll get back five different forms. Implementing standardization will minimize error and ensure each reconciliation is easy to understand and review. Another part of the month-end close that should be standardized is your close checklist. It’s always a challenge to define a clear order of operations for any process; doing so will take a bit of extra work up front. However, the payoff will be worth it the next time you close.

 

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