Rishi Oberoi
Photo courtesy of Rishi Oberoi

Long financial closes are expensive. They steal leadership attention, push decisions into the second half of the month, and turn finance into a historian instead of a co-pilot. Decisions that should be made in week one often slip to week three, finance spends more time explaining the past than shaping the future, and operational energy gets trapped in reconciliation cycles.

Rishi Oberoi argues that a fast, reliable close is one of the highest-leverage operating systems a CFO can install. When designed well, a financial close process protects governance, frees week two for forward work, and gives executives enough runway to adjust course while the month is still young. His model, when applied correctly, can deliver a hard close in four days or less. The method scales without adding bodies because it relies on design, not heroics.

At the center of his approach are five key principles. These are not steps on a calendar. They are the structure that enables a financial organisation to move quickly with integrity as it scales.

1. Build the foundation during the month

Speed at close begins long before the calendar turns. Oberoi suggests a "no surprises" environment that people across the company can see and plan around. Cutoffs are defined, communicated, and respected. A shared close calendar is published across the stakeholders so upstream data lands on time and in a consistent shape. During the month, a regular month-to-date flash routine highlights unusual movements early. The chart of accounts is trimmed to fewer, clearer buckets, which shortens reconciliations and makes flux narratives more precise. The aim is a clean signal. With this foundation in place, the count of entities or accounts stops being the main driver of effort because work is standardised and exceptions are visible.

2. Automate first so people can use judgment

Human attention is scarce. Machines should carry the volume so finance professionals can focus on exceptions and business context. In Oberoi's model, recurring journals post lights-out. High-volume reconciliations on cash, AR, AP, and intercompany match at high rates without manual intervention. Sub-ledgers close on a clock, and data flows into the ledger in a predictable format. Controllers spend their time on breaks and unusual patterns rather than reperforming routine steps. The result is faster and more consistent, and the audit trail strengthens because repeating items are handled the same way every period.

3. Use process discipline because structure creates speed

A four-day close relies on a rhythm that everyone understands. Teams run to a published T-calendar with clear ownership at each step. Materiality thresholds are agreed in advance and applied consistently. Low-impact items move into a controlled backlog rather than slowing down day four. Roles are explicit. Preparer, reviewer, and approver are named and accountable. Templates and narratives follow a standard format, so each activity is executed the same way every time. Reviews focus on drivers such as volume, price and mix, rate, and timing. Flux reads like a business story, and management discussions focus on actions. This discipline holds up when volumes spike.

4. Strengthen governance without creating gridlock

Controls and speed work well together when traceability sits at the source. Recurring journals are templated and approved in advance. Cutoffs are documented. Reconciliations carry clear sign-offs. A lean, centralised, close center of excellence maintains methods, templates, and calendars and provides surge capacity when needed. The result is audit-ready by default. When someone asks, "How do we know?" the evidence is already in the workpapers. Governance serves the work rather than slowing it.

5. Review, reflect, and rebuild every month

A four-day hard close becomes routine when it improves incrementally each cycle. Oberoi suggests ending each month with a short after-action list. What slipped, what automated, what can retire, and what needs a clearer owner? The Controller should keep a small, visible backlog of improvements and work it down. Over several cycles, this becomes an institutional rhythm. Finance earns time in week two for forward-looking and other decisions that might shape the next set of results.

How a four-day close feels in practice

When these principles are active, T+4 feels ordinary. Sub-ledgers lock when they should because upstream teams respect real cutoffs. Recurring entries post on their own. Controllers review the handful of exceptions that matter. Material reconciliations and consolidation finish early because the chart is simpler, and intercompany follows a predictable cadence. Flux analysis explains movements in business terms and points leaders to the few areas that warrant action. The package issued on day four is a hard close that stands up to review. Week two becomes planning time, not archaeology.

Final Words

On the surface, this 4-day close may seem like a simple finance process, but it really is a leadership philosophy in general, creating systems that communicate, empower, and most importantly, can be repeated. With clarity-driven action, speed follows naturally. Rishi's method not only takes you to the finish line faster but also makes sure you arrive with your team intact, your vision clear, and your decisions grounded in both logic and trust without chaos, without compromise, and with defined purpose.