Know your number before you pick a tool.

GAAPx Score (nine areas)

• Spend · Accounts payableSupplier invoices, card spend and expenses checked, approved and paid on time.

  Covers procure-to-pay (P2P), also called accounts payable (AP), along with company credit cards and employee expenses: adding a supplier, receiving the invoice, matching it to what was ordered and received, approving it and paying it, and checking card spend and expense reports before they are paid or booked.

• Billing · Contract to cashAccurate invoices out, payments collected and matched to the right invoice.

  Covers order-to-cash (O2C), also called accounts receivable (AR) or contract to cash: setting up the customer and the billing terms from the signed contract, building and sending invoices, chasing payment and applying the cash. When and how revenue is recorded is in RevRec.

• RevRec · Revenue recognitionRevenue booked in the right period and amount, with support ready for the auditor.

  Covers revenue recognition under ASC 606 (IFRS 15 outside the US): reviewing each contract, finding the performance obligations, setting the transaction price, allocating it on standalone selling price (SSP), building recognition schedules, handling contract changes (modifications), writing the revenue disclosures and keeping audit evidence. Sending invoices and collecting cash are in Billing.

• Payroll · Payroll and benefitsPaying people correctly and on time, with the journal ready for the close.

  Covers payroll and benefits, in-house or through a payroll provider: preparing and checking each pay run, handling benefits and deductions, approving changes such as new starters, pay changes and bank details, and getting the payroll journal, accruals and reconciliation into the close. The close itself is in The Close.

• The Close · Month-end closeClosing the books: accruals in, accounts reconciled, period signed off.

  Covers record-to-report (R2R), the period-end close: posting entries and accruals, reconciling accounts and signing off the period. Producing reports from the closed books is in Reporting.

• Budget vs Actual · Budgeting and FP&ABudgets and forecasts built, kept current and checked against what actually happened.

  Covers plan-to-perform, also called financial planning and analysis (FP&A): the yearly budget, the rolling forecast, and the budget-versus-actual review, including working out and explaining why actuals differ from plan (variance analysis). Putting those numbers into a management pack or board pack is in Reporting.

• Cash Ops · Treasury and cashKnowing where your cash is today, where it is heading and what you owe lenders.

  Covers treasury and capital: daily cash balances, the cash forecast and burn, and tracking loans and the terms lenders set (covenants). Lender compliance reports are in Reporting.

• Controls · Internal controlsProving your controls work, and deciding who approves what AI may do with finance data.

  Covers controls, risk and assurance, also called governance, risk and compliance (GRC): control testing and audit evidence, who signs off on AI use in finance, who can access finance systems and where finance data goes.

• Reporting · Financial reportingThe numbers managers, the board, investors and regulators rely on, sent on time.

  Covers financial reporting: internal reporting (management packs, board packs, dashboards) and external reporting (statutory and regulatory filings, investor, lender and audit-facing reports, and disclosures).

Readiness score (five dimensions)

Talent

How many people on your team use the main tools beyond the basics.

Operating model

Whether each finance process has a clear owner.

Technology

Whether your finance systems pass data to each other.

Data

Whether your finance numbers can be relied on as they leave the source system.

Support and time

Whether the change has backing and room to happen.