I recently attended a presentation that spotlighted the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)’s broader Rethinking Financial Reporting initiative and its focused effort to help governments reduce the time it takes to close the books and issue their Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR).
A key theme was why this work matters right now. From a user perspective, the presentation emphasized that different audiences value different pieces of the ACFR; elected officials tend to focus heavily on the audit outcome (e.g., a clean opinion), while the public often finds ACFRs too technical, and the bond market’s value declines as reporting timeliness slips.
At the same time, the preparer reality is intensifying. Implementing and maintaining complex standards adds significant workload, while staffing constraints inside finance departments can compound delays and raise stress.
Against that backdrop, the presentation connected directly to GFOA’s research on accelerating ACFR issuance, highlighting the report, “The Speed We Need: Unlocking the Secrets of the Accelerated ACFR.” As described on the GFOA resource page, the paper frames ACFR production as a process and encourages governments to apply proven efficiency approaches (including Lean and Six Sigma) to improve both speed and quality while reducing strain and burnout on public finance teams. The research features three practical process principles that can reduce bottlenecks and last-minute surprises:
- Modularization and continuous flow
- Visualizing the process
- Standardizing to minimize variation
An especially useful takeaway was how the presentation tied speed to smarter decision-making. It underscored how financial reporting value can show diminishing returns as precision increases, while costs can rise steeply, suggesting organizations should aim for the “biggest value-cost difference” and prioritize information that truly is useful in the decision-making process. Timeliness does not mean abandoning accountability; rather, accountability should be viewed as understandable, accessible, timely and accurate.
To support quality assurance and decision-relevant reporting, preparers can use practical levers, like investing in automation and templates to reduce cycle times and exploring emerging tools, including artificial intelligence. By utilizing the right tools, governments can achieve faster, less painful closings without compromising their core responsibilities.
Your Guide Forward
Cherry Bekaert’s Accounting Advisory Services team helps governments rethink how financial reporting gets done. Combined with the deep industry experience of our Government & Public Sector professionals, we offer practical guidance on tasks like reengineering year-end close through end-to-end process design, removing bottlenecks, and implementing standardization and automation tools.
