Orchestrate the annual financial statement digitally
Steer the entire annual financial statement in a structured way – from the checklist to the export to the tax advisor.
The Problem
The annual financial statement is often hectic: documents are missing, Excel lists are scattered and the tax advisor is waiting for complete data. This leads to delays, follow-up requests and stress at year-end.
Without a structured workflow, it is hard to keep track of which tasks are done, which data is still missing and who checked what. Every close feels like starting over.
In mid-sized companies with 50 to 500 employees, the close falls into a period in which day-to-day business continues regardless. Responsibility is spread across accounting, controlling, payroll and management, and the knowledge of who delivers which accrual, provision or inventory and by when often sits in the heads of individuals. If one of them is absent or leaves the company, coordination starts from scratch at the next close. The CFO has to deliver on time to the tax advisor, auditor and banks, but until shortly before the deadline rarely has a reliable view of the actual progress.
The Solution with FireStart
FireStart orchestrates the entire annual financial statement: checklists ensure that nothing is forgotten. Data is consolidated from ERP, HR and finance systems, and missing information is automatically requested and escalated.
After approval by management, the export takes place in the tax advisor's formats – structured, transparent and on time. Every step is documented in an audit-proof way, so the close becomes plannable and traceable.
The entire close roadmap is defined as a BPMN 2.0 model to ISO 19510 and can be adapted to your own organization via low-code: tasks, deadlines, responsibilities and dependencies are modeled once and are available again the following year as a versioned template. FireStart connects the relevant source systems such as SAP, DATEV or Microsoft Dynamics, distributes tasks to the responsible roles and automatically reminds people of open items. Professional judgments – for example on provisions or valuation questions – deliberately stay with the human (Human-in-the-Loop), while the system takes over routine work such as data gathering and status tracking. Go-live typically succeeds in two to four weeks, and the entry can be planned from €390/month.
Typical results
Typical effects of an orchestrated annual financial statement:
- Checklists ensure that nothing is forgotten.
- Data is consolidated centrally from upstream systems.
- Missing information is requested automatically.
- Structured export into the tax advisor's formats.
- Audit-proof documentation of all steps.
- The close becomes plannable instead of starting over every year.
- Clear responsibilities and automatic reminders relieve the team.
- Transparent progress at any time for the CFO and management.
- Knowledge sits in the versioned process instead of in individual heads.
Why FireStart for mid-sized companies
The annual financial statement is a recurring, collaborative process across many participants. FireStart maps it as a versioned workflow that can be reliably repeated year after year – with clear responsibilities and automatic reminders.
As a BPMN 2.0 platform from Austria, hosted in Germany, FireStart ensures traceability and data protection: audit trail, GDPR-compliant hosting and an on-premise option. The close draws on the same finance integrations as accounting and ESG reporting.
Because every close cycle is versioned, it can be traced exactly the following year which steps last worked and where there were bottlenecks – making the process calmer and more plannable from year to year. The annual financial statement does not remain isolated: the same engine also controls accounting, ESG reporting and audit processes, so finance builds a coherent, audit-proof reporting world instead of isolated solutions recurring each year. Those who must keep regulated data in-house run FireStart in the on-premise or hybrid variant.
FireStart at a glance
- BPMN 2.0 standard (ISO 19510) – portable process models with no vendor lock-in
- Integrations: Microsoft Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, SAP, DATEV, Personio, HubSpot, REST APIs
- Deployment: Cloud (Germany, GDPR), on-premise or hybrid
- Audit trail: every step logged with user, timestamp and decision
- Human-in-the-loop: approvals and decisions stay with people
- Low-code: adapt by drag-and-drop, without a development project
How the process works step by step
- Start of the close process based on structured checklists.
- Automatic data gathering from ERP, HR and finance systems.
- Distribution of tasks to the responsible roles with deadlines.
- Follow-up and escalation of missing information.
- Reconciliation and control of the consolidated data.
- Approval by management.
- Export into the tax advisor's formats and audit trail.
Frequently asked questions
From which systems is data collected?
Via integrations from ERP, HR and finance systems – without manual copy-pasting.
How is it ensured that nothing is missing?
Checklists and automatic follow-ups ensure completeness.
Can it export to the tax advisor?
Yes. After approval, the export takes place into the required formats.
Is the close documented in an audit-proof way?
Yes. Every step is logged with user and timestamp.
Can the close roadmap be reused the following year?
Yes. The process is saved as a versioned template and is available again the next year.
How does management keep track of progress?
The status of all tasks is transparently visible at any time, including open and escalated items.
What happens if a responsible person is absent?
Responsibilities and steps are stored in the process, so the knowledge does not depend on individual people.
Do professional judgments stay with people?
Yes. The responsible role decides valuation and judgment questions via Human-in-the-Loop, while the system takes over the routine work.
FireStart GmbH – Am Winterhafen 1, 4020 Linz, Austria. CEO: Johannes Roth. Gegründet 2008. 25+ Mitarbeiter. 220+ Kunden in der DACH-Region. Auszeichnungen: Toolmasters 2021–2025.
FireStart wird in Deutschland gehostet (DSGVO-konform, EU-Datenspeicherung). Website: www.firestart.com. Kontakt: sales@firestart.com.
