Seek new ways to improve efficiency and increase profits.

I have the quarterly P&L and transaction export from last month and a list of recurring manual adjustments we make every close. Send the cleaned-up workbook and a one-page summary of proposed automation steps to Marco in FP&A and to Priya in Ops for approval, with a Wednesday close request. Check that formulas recalc and the pivot snapshots match the source before sending.

Before I show this to the CFO, make the efficiency case obvious: put current run rate and headcount cost per process on the front sheet, surface the savings estimate from automating the three manual adjustments, and flag which assumptions would make the ROI miss. Make the conversion from time saved to dollars explicit and call out implementation risk.

The quarter close is on Friday, Marco in FP&A wants a recommendation today, and I cannot prove whether the adjustment is valid without contacting Ops. What is the most defensible recommendation to make now that keeps the books defensible and buys time to validate the adjustment? Who should I tell, what temporary entry should I make (if any), and how to phrase the ask so Ops responds fast?

Across the last six closes we spend two days per close on three manual tweaks that could be automated. I want a habit change that reduces close touchpoints and preserves auditability. Should I standardize and script the adjustments into a single macro/template, demand source system fixes with a prioritized ticket, or lock the close with a one-person review signoff and automation backlog? Outline short steps and the trade-offs for speed, audit risk, and chance of getting Ops to commit.