Best Practice Financial Processes - General Ledger.ppt

Best Practice Financial Processes: General Ledger General Ledger - Best Practice Objectives General Ledger - Best Practice Features General Ledger - Best Practice Features General Ledger - Measures/Cost Drivers General Ledger -Trends General Ledger - Critical Success Factors These are a summary of the key business requirements, which must be met to achieve the objectives. Authority levels clearly defined for journals/accruals General Ledger procedures and guidelines documented Staff trained in GL process and have clear roles and responsibilities Period closing and reporting calendar established and communicated to all staff Chart of Accounts and cost centres defined Statutory accounting requirements understood Budget responsibilities communicated to staff Reconciliation procedures in place General Ledger - Level 0 Context Diagram General Ledger - Level 1 Overview General Ledger - Notes - Carry out period end routines and reporting Best practice features (Carry Out Period End Routines) Single ledger Single calendar Procedures for interfaces (both internal and external) Eliminate manual entries as much as possible to avoid reconciliation problems Automatic journals for recurring documents (see GL01) to minimise the manual data input Journals with automatic reversal postings Balance sheet accounts allocated to GL staff (integration with related subledgers) At maximum 5 days for closing Automatic downloads available for efficient external report processing. Best practice features (Reporting) Calendar/report schedule Minimum necessary number of reports to eliminate duplication of information provided Automatic report processing enabled by flexible report writer Regular contact with auditor to minimise ad hoc queries Same data for management and statutory reports Flash report within 1 day, monthly/preliminary year end reports within 5 days. General Ledger - Notes (cont …) Internal Control Requirements All the interface data and underlying documentation