Question 1

What is the month end close process?

Accepted Answer

It is the set of tasks a finance team completes after each month, such as reconciliations, accruals and reporting, to close the books. Close Cascade Monitor watches that process daily, flags late tasks and shows which later tasks they put at risk.

Question 2

How do I make my month end close faster?

Accepted Answer

Catch slips early. Close Cascade Monitor checks your close checklist every working morning, reminds owners of late tasks the same day and shows the controller the projected finish against target, so delays are dealt with before they reach the last day.

Question 3

What checklist format does it need?

Accepted Answer

Any layout. Upload Excel or CSV, paste a table, or use a live Excel workbook or Google Sheet. It needs a task name, owner, due date and status for each task. Dependencies, start dates and owner ETAs are optional but improve the analysis.

Question 4

What if my checklist has no dependencies?

Accepted Answer

It still flags late tasks and late starts. To show what a late task holds up, it can suggest likely dependencies from task names, areas and dates. It saves only the ones the controller confirms, and you can add more at any time.

Question 5

How does it remind people?

Accepted Answer

Each affected owner gets at most one message per run, by Slack direct message, email or a Teams channel, using wording the controller approved. If an owner has no contact detail, it lists them in the controller summary and never guesses an address.

Question 6

Does it change my checklist?

Accepted Answer

No. It never writes to your checklist or any finance system. It keeps its own log in your Autohive workspace, or in a separate Excel workbook or Google Sheet if you choose one. When your checklist has a column meant for the agent, such as At Risk, that information goes in its own log.

Question 7

How is it different from other financial close management software?

Accepted Answer

A lot of financial close software asks you to move your close onto a new platform. Close Cascade Monitor works from the checklist you already keep and focuses on one job: spotting delays and the tasks they hold up, every working day.

Question 8

What happens between closes?

Accepted Answer

It sends an end of close summary, then follows your own close playbook to find next month's checklist. It checks the dates, statuses and owners and asks you to confirm before monitoring the new close. No reminders go out until you do.

Question 9

Does it send anything outside the finance team?

Accepted Answer

Only owner reminders using your approved template go out automatically. Escalations to managers, changed finish dates and anything shared outside the finance team wait for the controller's approval, and approvals expire when the close ends.

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