Case Study: Cutting Month-End Close Time by 70% in One Week

The Challenge

An accounting team at a B2B financial services firm was spending significant time each month on manual, repetitive tasks during their month-end close process. Despite having capable systems in place, the team was manually pulling data, reconciling figures, and preparing reports - tasks that consumed hours of skilled professional time each month.

Why did this happen? The month-end process had evolved organically over years, with each step added as the business grew. What started as manageable manual tasks became a significant burden at scale. The team knew automation was possible but lacked the bandwidth to step back and redesign workflows whilst keeping up with daily demands.

Our Solution

This engagement exemplified our Smart First Steps approach: identify the highest-impact opportunity, prove value quickly, and build confidence for future transformation.

We reviewed the incumbent manual process and identified that 90% of the repetitive tasks were prime candidates for automation. Using n8n, we built a workflow that automated data extraction, reconciliation, and report preparation - whilst ensuring human-in-the-loop review for the final validation step.

The entire implementation took just one week, with minimal disruption to the team's existing work patterns.

Results

Time Savings:

• 70% reduction in time spent on month-end close activities
• Accounting team freed to focus on analysis, exception handling, and strategic tasks

Business Impact:

• Month-end close now faster and more predictable
• Human oversight preserved for final review, maintaining control and accuracy
• Foundation established for automating additional finance processes
• Team morale improved as tedious manual work was eliminated

ROI: The engagement paid for itself within the first month-end cycle, with ongoing savings compounding each month.

Key Takeaway

You don't need a six-month transformation programme to start seeing AI and automation benefits. A focused one-week engagement targeting the right process can deliver immediate, measurable value - and build the confidence to tackle bigger opportunities next.