Using "flash" reports to gain an early indication of financial performance.(Communique)

Only 46 percent of senior executives in Europe say their company uses "flash" reports to gain an early indication of financial performance before their books are dosed, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. In the U.S., 75 percent say their company uses such indicators.

An additional 26 percent of European executives say they must make do with "draft" numbers at various points throughout the closing, compared with only 12 percent in the U.S.

Twenty percent of Europeans report they do not have any sort of advance indicators--that the first number they see is the final number after the closing process is completed. This compares to only 10 percent in the U.S. "While more U.S. companies now use 'flash' reporting, significant numbers of senior executives on both continents still would benefit from faster, more reliable availability of key data that can bc readily tied to final results," said Holger Herbert, global leader of PricewaterhouseCoopers' SmartClose practice.

A majority of business leaders on both continents (53 percent in Europe, and 55 percent in the U.S.) want to increase the quality of their financial information by improving their closing and reporting procedures. Among the benefits they cited: more time for analysis and review of reported information, increased quality of financial information, a more timely and accurate decision-making process, better information from existing systems, process alignment and improvement, improved credibility in the market and within the organization, improved staff awareness and satisfaction and improved shareholder confidence.

While Americans are more focused ...