For most finance teams, month-end means days of exporting data, pasting it into spreadsheets, checking formulas and chasing numbers before anyone can look at the results. Most of that work follows the same steps every month, which means it can be automated.
Here's how we approach it at Decision Lab, as accountants who have run month-end ourselves.
Step 1: Map where the time actually goes
Before building anything, write down every step of your current close: every export, every spreadsheet, every check, and who does it. Note how long each takes.
You'll usually find that a handful of steps take most of the time. Typically it's pulling data out of several systems, reconciling them against each other, and formatting the final report.
Step 2: Automate the data collection first
The biggest win is almost always getting data out of your systems automatically. Instead of someone exporting from Xero, MYOB, your bank and your operational systems each month, the data flows into one place on a schedule.
Tools like Power Query, Power Automate and Microsoft Fabric do this well, and most businesses already pay for them through Microsoft 365.
Step 3: Build the reconciliations into the process
Reconciliations are where manual processes break. A good automated process checks itself: totals match the ledger, balances tie out between systems, and anything that doesn't match is flagged for a person to review.
This changes your team's job from finding errors to fixing the few that matter.
Step 4: Produce the report automatically
Once the data is clean and reconciled, the report should build itself. A Power BI report or a standard Excel pack refreshes with the new month's numbers, ready for review.
AI can now take this a step further by drafting the variance commentary for your team to check and finalise.
Step 5: Run it side by side before you switch
Run the automated process alongside your manual one for a month or two. When the numbers match, switch over. This builds trust with your team and your auditors.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Automating a broken process: fix the process first, then automate it
- No checks: an automation without reconciliations just produces wrong numbers faster
- One person who understands it: document everything so it doesn't depend on one person
Need help automating your month-end?
Decision Lab is an Auckland-based data and analytics consultancy led by a qualified accountant. We help finance teams across New Zealand automate month-end reporting and reconciliations with Power BI, Microsoft Fabric and AI. See our AI & automation service or get in touch.