Close cycle cut from 18 days to 7
60-person services firm with a chaotic close. We rebuilt the close workflow, automated reconciliations with AI, and trained the internal team to run it.
The challenge
- Monthly close routinely slipped past day 20; board pack arrived after the board met.
- Three reconciliations done in spreadsheets, owned by one analyst who was the single point of failure.
- No documented close calendar; revenue recognition policy lived in tribal knowledge.
- Project margin reporting took two weeks after close, too late to act on overruns.
- Intercompany reconciliations across three entities took 4 days alone.
Our approach
Close calendar & ownership
Documented every close task with owner, predecessor, and SLA. Visible on a single dashboard.
AI reconciliations
Auto-match for bank, payroll, and intercompany feeds. Human review on exceptions only.
Revenue policy
Wrote and trained the team on a defensible IFRS 15 policy with worked examples.
Internal handover
Trained the existing analyst and controller to run the new close, CapMaven exited the day-to-day after week 8.
Context
A 60-person digital agency headquartered in Berlin with delivery teams in three cities. €14M revenue, project-based billing, a mix of fixed-fee and T&M engagements. Strong P&L, but the close routinely slipped past day 20 and the board pack was arriving after the board met. The founder was preparing to hire a second controller until we showed her the process was the bottleneck, not the headcount.
Timeline
- Week 1
Process map
Every close task captured with owner, predecessor, and current cycle time. 47 tasks identified; 19 were redundant.
- Week 2–3
AI reconciliations
Bank, payroll, and intercompany feeds auto-matched. 99.7% hit rate after two close cycles.
- Week 4–5
Revenue policy
IFRS 15 policy documented with worked examples for fixed-fee, T&M, and milestone contracts.
- Week 6
First clean close
Month-end closed on day 9. Two known issues isolated and assigned.
- Week 8
Handover complete
Internal team running the close. CapMaven exits day-to-day; retains a monthly review touchpoint.
Before · After
Outcomes
- Close compressed from 18 days to 7 within one quarter.
- Avoided a €140K controller hire the founder had budgeted for.
- Board pack now lands 48 hours before every board meeting, without exception.
- Project margin reporting now available on day 8, fast enough to course-correct mid-quarter.
- Single point of failure resolved; close runbook works whether the analyst is on leave or not.
What we learned
- 01
Most close problems are workflow problems, not headcount problems.
- 02
AI reconciliation only works on top of a clean chart of accounts, fix the foundation first.
- 03
A documented runbook is the only artifact that survives the analyst's two-week holiday.
"We didn't need more people. We needed better process and the AI assist to make it stick. The close runs itself now."
Engagement stack
Frequently asked
Does this work for firms without a controller?+
Yes. We've implemented the same close discipline at companies as small as 15 people. Below that scale, monthly close becomes quarterly close and the runbook adjusts accordingly.
Which tools did you implement?+
We are tool-agnostic. This client stayed on their existing ERP, the win was process and AI-assisted matching, not migration. We have implemented similar improvements on NetSuite, Xero, and QuickBooks Online.
How sticky is the improvement after you leave?+
Sticky in the firms that adopt the cadence. We schedule a 60-day post-handover review and a quarterly health check to keep drift in check.
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