Close-Ready: Summer Sessions

Close-Ready: Summer Sessions brings finance and accounting teams three focused sessions built around a single objective: a close that runs faster, with fewer people managing exceptions and stronger control over what matters. Join us in these practical sessions where we’ll identify where AI delivers measurable efficiency, show you how to build the connected workflows that sustain it, and show the full end-state in a live product demonstration.

Most finance teams arrive at AI with the same two questions: where do we start, and how do we apply this without creating new control risks? This session answers both. Niall McLean will show where AI delivers its most significant impact across the complete close: autonomous reconciliation, exception handling, anomaly detection, variance analysis, and broader EPM workflows. He will map each use case to the right type of AI, rule-based automation, RPA, machine learning, generative, and agentic, so finance teams leave with a clear view of which tools apply where and which workflows to prioritise first. The session addresses what most AI conversations in finance avoid: how to reduce manual effort without weakening the approval structures, confidence scoring, accountability, and audit trails that enterprise finance depends on. If your team is deciding where AI belongs in your close process, this session gives you the framework to move forward. What you'll learn:

• Which close workflows produce the fastest reduction in manual effort when AI is applied

• How different types of AI and automation map to real finance processes, from matching to exception handling

• How autonomous reconciliation shortens close cycle time without compromising controls

• How to maintain approvals, accountability, and audit trails while driving efficiency

• How AI strengthens broader finance functions, including forecasting, anomaly detection, and variance analysis

Strong reporting does not guarantee a fast close. In session 2 of the Close Ready Summer Sessions seires, Calen Keene and Sue Maloney will show Controllers, Accounting Managers, and close process owners exactly where time is being lost and what to do about it. Built around a practical diagnostic framework, this session gives teams an immediate way to identify where their close is stalling and prioritise the changes that deliver the fastest results. You will see what changes when reconciliation runs continuously throughout the month: how exceptions surface earlier, how risk and status become visible before month-end arrives, and how the final days shift from manual clean-up to controlled review and approval. Every takeaway in this session is actionable on the same day. What you'll learn:

• How to identify the reconciliation issues adding days, rework, and risk to your close

• Immediate changes that reduce manual matching, follow-up, and spreadsheet dependency

• How to connect reporting and reconciliation so exceptions and risk are visible well before month-end

• How continuous reconciliation turns month-end from a manual exercise into a faster, more controlled process

• How to sequence quick wins now while building momentum toward a more controlled close

The first two sessions define where the close breaks down and what needs to change. This session shows what the other side looks like. Calen Keene will walk you through a real customer story: a finance team that eliminated its manual reconciliation backlog, resolved the disconnect between reporting and exception management, and moved month-end from a reactive scramble to a controlled, reviewable process. You will see what changes when matching, exceptions, and status tracking run as one connected workflow: fewer people managing the same recurring issues, fewer days lost to rework, and stronger control over the sign-offs that matter. If your team is building the internal case for a more connected close, this session gives you the outcome story and the evidence to support it. What you'll learn:

• How consolidating matching, exceptions, and status tracking eliminates the spreadsheet dependency slowing your close

• How continuous reconciliation surfaces issues earlier, resolves exceptions faster, and removes month-end bottlenecks

• How real-time visibility into risk, ownership, and sign-off strengthens control across the team

• How greater visibility shortens audit preparation and reduces the risk that comes with a manual, disconnected close

• How to use the customer story and outcome evidence to build a stronger internal case for connected reporting and reconciliation