Companies have invested a lot of time and money in efforts to improve financial reporting and related processes, but a recent survey suggests they've still got a long way to go.
Of the more than 1,100 finance executives worldwide surveyed by Oracle and Accenture, 82% say they've made significant changes to their financial close, reporting and filing processes in the last three years, and 47% say they've made substantial investments within the last year. Despite those investments, 67% continue to use spreadsheets.
Still, executives are not satisfied with the current state of reporting, with 68% saying they lack visibility into at least one phase of the process. Eighty-eight percent say they have experienced a delay in closing the books or filing financial report, and 70% of those delays reflected issues with data, such as collection and integration or validation.
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In fact, 42% of the companies say they have missed internal deadlines for closing or filing financials, while 22% have missed formal reporting deadlines.
Finance executives also have a hard time putting a price tag on the financial close and financial reporting, with 60% saying they don't know what the processes cost their company.
To read about a survey that shows companies are taking longer to close their books, see Financial Close Takes Longer.
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