Restructuring the Financial Calendar

The timing of the end of the financial year is a much more complex issue than might at first appear. Tying it into the calendar or tax year might often prove less neat and tidy than initially anticipated.

This is particularly true for retailers whose trading is disproportionately loaded into the final quarter of the calendar year. Soon after the rush of Christmas and New Year sales is not the ideal trading time to be trying to reconcile year-end accounts. The need to measure like for like sales creates a further headache as a four week or calendar month reporting cycle will never allow for true like for like reporting.

Moving the year-end to a quieter trading period or changing the accounting cycle to improve the accuracy of like for like trading figures makes great business sense. Implementing such changes can be very complex however for it impacts considerably on the way merchandising and finance applications are configured.

Astech Consultants has the commercial and application experience to effect calendar year changes smoothly. In one recent project Astech managed the restructuring of Thresher’s financial year moving the year-end from the end of February to the end of June. As well as being a quieter trading period, a year-end in the summer also ensures the availability of very accurate Christmas trading figures. As part of the same program Astech changed Threshers reporting cycle from a 13 period financial year (four weekly reporting) to a 12 period financial year (a 4,4,5 quarter reporting cycle). This enables meaningful quarterly financial reporting.