Does Your Finance System Dictate the Timing of Your Board Meetings?

Having worked with 100’s of mid-sized businesses over very many years, we think that Board Meeting dates are a great indicator of business system health.

We don’t know anyone who has meetings in week one. Week two is outstanding. Week three (with flash results in week one or two) feels like the minimum that everyone should be seeking to achieve. We’d suggest that week four (or later) is off the pace. 

Why Does Timing Matter? 

We believe that the timing of Board Meetings has a big impact on the quality of discussion that you will have within those meetings. Board Meetings that take place in weeks two or three just feel more current - closer to real time. The conversation will be of a higher quality as a result. Meetings that take place in week 4 feel abstract because the last month is already a long time ago.  The Board will try to satisfy their desire for more current information by focussing on the forecast – which may not support a fact-based discussion. 

What Factors Determine Board Meeting Timing? 

1. How long it takes to close your books and compile a forecast (our real focus here) 

1. How long it takes senior leadership to write the narrative to accompany the numbers – some months are easier to write than others! 

1. Your ability to do 1) and 2) to a deadline repeatably and consistently 

Why Does Closing Your Books Take Longer Than You Would Like? 

Our favourite excuses are: 

• Short-handed finance team 

• Lots of spreadsheets 

• Late timesheet submission/approval 

• Poor stock control 

• Surprise invoices – because there was no requisition 

• “Elastic” revenue recognition rules 

• Sales teams forecasting orders in – rather than delivery dates for product or service delivery days 

• Subsidiary finance team diligence 

How TSG Can Help  

If your Board Meetings are in week 4 – let’s talk.  Let’s explore the issues that are standing in the way of you having better discussions in week 3 and then week 2.  If your Finance/ERP system are creating those issues – we can help.  Modern business systems can help you:- 

• engage a broader population of employees in their use – providing you with earlier visibility of timesheets/requisitions/expenses 

• automate the repetitive and enable your team to focus on reporting not recording 

• provide “in month” visibility of key performance indicators