Professor Abdullahel Kafi

What is Progressive Accounting?

A modern, data-driven approach to finance that goes beyond compliance to predict, automate, and advise. It blends GAAP/IFRS rigor with analytics, workflow automation, and continuous improvement to drive decisions—not just report them.

Core Pillars

1. Automation & Controls

• Auto-journals, auto-recs, e-invoicing, OCR for AP, bank feeds, rule-based approvals

• Tools: BlackLine/FloQast, Power Automate/UiPath, ERP workflows

2. Real-Time Data & Analytics

• Live P&L, cash, WCR, variance bridges; self-serve dashboards

• Tools: Power BI/Tableau, Generic Inquiries (ERP), SQL

3. Predictive Finance

• Rolling forecasts, driver-based models, scenario/Monte Carlo

• Use cases: cash runway, margin sensitivity, FX/price elasticity

4. Business Partnership

• Finance as co-pilot: product costing, pricing, deal desk, ops KPIs

• Cadence: weekly performance huddles; monthly value reviews

5. Governance by Design

• Segregation of duties (SoD), audit trails, policy-as-code, continuous close

Operating Model (RACI-lite)

• Record-to-Report (R2R): Ops prepare, Accounting owns, Controller approves, Internal Audit reviews

• Order-to-Cash (O2C): Sales ops initiate, AR automates, Treasury monitors DSO

• Procure-to-Pay (P2P): Reqs via portal, 3-way match, touchless payments, vendor risk checks

90-Day Launch Plan

Days 1–30 (Stabilize)

• Map processes; baseline close time, DSO/DPO, error rate

• Quick wins: bank feeds, AP OCR, auto-post rules, close checklist in PM tool

Days 31–60 (Digitize)

• Build core dashboards: Executive (Revenue, GM, OPEX), Cash, AR Aging, Inventory

• Implement recurring journals, auto-recs for top 10 accounts

• Start 13-week cash forecast; switch to rolling 12-month P&L forecast

Days 61–90 (Predict & Partner)

• Driver tree for revenue/COGS/OPEX; scenario “Base/Stretch/Downside”

• Weekly KPI huddle with Ops & Sales; root-cause and action owners

• Policy-as-code: thresholds for approvals, exceptions, alerts

KPI Set (target ranges depend on industry)

• Close Cycle: ≤ 5 business days

• Forecast Accuracy (60–90d): Revenue ±5–8%, EBITDA ±10%

• DSO/Inventory Turns: DSO −10–20%; turns +10–25% after initiatives

• Auto-match Rate (AP/AR/Bank): ≥ 85%

• Touchless Invoice %: ≥ 60% within 6 months

Sample Tech Stack (swappable)

• ERP: Acumatica, NetSuite, D365, SAP S/4HANA (by size/fit)

• Close & Controls: BlackLine, FloQast, Workiva

• FP&A: Datarails, Adaptive, Anaplan, Pigment

• Integration: Power Automate, Make, dbt, Fivetran

• Analytics: Power BI/Tableau; warehouse (BigQuery/Snowflake)

Progressive Practices (ready-to-use)

• Rolling Forecast Rhythm: Update weekly; freeze only for board packs

• Variance Storytelling: Bridge by price/volume/mix/rate/efficiency

• Cash First: 13-week cash, daily liquidity dashboard, auto alerts

• Standard Cost & ABC: Reveal true margin by product/customer/channel

• Continuous Close: Reconcile daily; no end-of-month pileups

Finance OKRs (example)

• O: Become a proactive decision engine

  • KR1: Cut close from 9→5 days

  • KR2: Lift forecast accuracy to ±7%

  • KR3: Hit 70% touchless AP; 90% auto bank-recs

  • KR4: Reduce DSO by 8 days; free $X working capital

Governance & Risk Quick Checklist

• SoD matrix enforced in ERP

• Evidence trails on approvals & postings

• Quarterly role/access review

• Exception dashboards (policy breaches, manual JEs > threshold)

• Disaster recovery & backup drills (semiannual)

Playbook Artifacts (copy/paste templates)

• Close Checklist: owner, SLA, dependencies, evidence link

• Policy-as-Code Snippet (pseudocode):

  • If vendor > $25k and not in whitelist → route CFO approval

  • If manual JE > $10k → dual approval + explanation required

  • If AR > 60 days → escalate to Sales Ops + credit hold

FAQ (fast)

• Is this just automation? No—automation + analytics + governance + partnership.

• Where to start? Map pain points; automate reconciliations; build cash & margin dashboards; launch rolling forecast.

• How to show ROI? Track saved hours, error reductions, cash unlocked, margin lift from pricing/cost insights.

Contact Us

Get in touch for inquiries or support.

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+1-555-1234

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