As the calendar year comes to a close, many finance and leadership teams face the same annual challenge: closing the books accurately, on time, and with confidence. But when your internal accounting staff is already stretched thin or behind on monthly reconciliations, the year end accounting process can quickly become overwhelming.
If you’re already behind now, year-end won’t fix itself — but the right outsourced accounting partner can.
That’s where Greenwood Ohlund Accounting comes in.
WHY YEAR-END CLOSE FEELS SO OVERWHELMING
Even with a capable internal team, accounting departments often operate in “catch-up mode” throughout the year. Between managing payroll, AP/AR, reporting deadlines, and supporting other departments, there’s rarely time for strategic review or clean-up. When December arrives, the backlog becomes impossible to ignore.
Common warning signs include:
- Reconciliations not completed monthly or reviewed timely
- Financial statements delayed beyond 15–20 days after month-end
- Missing documentation or unclear support for audit schedules
- Adjusting entries made late in the process — or not at all
- Leadership teams receiving inconsistent data across reports
These small timing issues compound throughout the year, leading to major delays and inaccuracies when it matters most. Year-end close is stressful not because it’s complex — but because it magnifies every process gap that went unaddressed during the year, especially when organizations lack a structured year end accounting checklist.
HOW GREENWOOD OHLUND CAN HELP
Greenwood Ohlund’s Outsourced Accounting and CFO Services are designed to support your organization at every level of financial management — from routine month-end closes to year-end audit readiness and board reporting.
We don’t just provide accounting services; we deliver structure, consistency, and accountability to your financial operations.
1. Timely, Accurate Monthly Financial Delivery
We help organizations establish a dependable monthly close calendar — ensuring that financials are completed, reviewed, and delivered on time each month.
This includes:
- Reconciling all balance sheet accounts monthly
- Reviewing income and expense trends against budget
- Preparing management reports and KPI dashboards
- Holding monthly close meetings to review variances and cash position
When the monthly cycle runs smoothly, year end accounting becomes a formality — not a scramble.
2. Year-End Close and Audit Readiness
Our team of experienced accountants understand the standards auditors expect.
We ensure your general ledger is audit-ready by:
- Cleaning up and reconciling all accounts
- Preparing audit lead schedules and supporting documentation
- Drafting adjusting journal entries for review and posting
- Coordinating directly with your auditor to streamline fieldwork
- Ensuring 1099s, payroll reconciliations, and financial statements are complete
This preparation not only saves your auditors time (and fees) but gives your management team confidence in the accuracy and reliability of your financial data.
3. Scalable Support When You Need It Most
Whether you need temporary year-end assistance or ongoing outsourced accounting support, Greenwood Ohlund tailors our engagement to fit your needs. We work alongside your internal team — not in place of them — to strengthen your processes, add capacity, and ensure consistency across the year.
Clients rely on us for:
- Full-service monthly accounting
- Backlog reconciliation and cleanup
- Budgeting, forecasting, and cash flow projections
- Board-ready reporting and narrative analysis
- Controller or CFO support
THE GREENWOOD OHLUND DIFFERENCE
Our approach blends technical accounting precision with strategic financial insight. Because our firm serves a diverse portfolio of businesses, schools, and nonprofit organizations, we understand both the compliance expectations and the operational realities of managing complex financial systems.
What sets Greenwood Ohlund apart:
- A dedicated accounting team — not a revolving door of contractors
- Cloud-based systems for secure and efficient collaboration
- Standardized reporting for consistency and transparency
- CFO-level oversight and proactive communication
- A culture built on accuracy, timeliness, and client trust
We view each engagement as a partnership — not a project — and our success is measured by how confident your leadership team feels when reviewing financial reports.
Take Control of Your Year-End (and Next Year)
If your internal accounting team is behind or overwhelmed heading into the year-end, now is the perfect time to get help. Greenwood Ohlund’s outsourced accounting services will bring your books current, establish timely monthly reporting, and prepare your organization for a clean audit and confident start to 2026.
Let’s turn your year-end dread into year-end confidence.
Diem Bui – CPA, EA, MBA, Tax Manager
