How a Best Practices Assessment Works
A finance-focused assessment normally starts by defining the process under review and establishing the criteria against which it will be evaluated. Reviewers then gather documentation, observe workflows, analyze transaction samples, and compare actual practices with the selected standards.
- Scope definition: Establish the processes, business units, systems, periods, and controls included in the assessment.
- Evidence collection: Review policies, workflow records, financial data, approval histories, reconciliations, and supporting documentation.
- Practice comparison: Compare current procedures with internal standards, accounting requirements, industry practices, and control objectives.
- Gap identification: Document differences between current practices and the desired operating model.
- Improvement planning: Prioritize actions according to financial impact, control relevance, process efficiency, and implementation value.
Assessing Finance and Accounting Processes
Finance teams can apply a Best Practices Assessment across the transaction lifecycle. For accounts payable, the review can examine invoice capture, data extraction, validation, matching, GL coding, approval, and posting. The chart of accounts is particularly important because consistent coding supports accurate reporting, appropriate classification, and reliable financial analysis.
Accrual processes can be evaluated using criteria such as cutoff accuracy, supporting evidence, approval responsibilities, reversal procedures, and reconciliation. Accrual Best Practices provide a useful framework for assessing whether accruals are recorded consistently and supported by appropriate documentation.
Reconciliations can similarly be assessed for frequency, completeness, exception handling, review evidence, and timely resolution. Reconciliation Best Practices help establish consistent expectations for maintaining accurate balances between accounting records and supporting sources.
Procurement and Payment Controls
Procurement is another important area for assessment because requisitions, approvals, supplier selection, purchase orders, receiving records, invoices, and payments should operate as connected controls. Reviewing the use of a purchase order can reveal whether spending is properly authorized before commitments are made and whether procurement records provide sufficient spend visibility.
Payment processes should be assessed for authorization levels, segregation of duties, payment methods, vendor validation, timing, and supporting documentation. Organizations can also evaluate whether approved payment terms are used consistently and whether opportunities such as an early payment discount are captured accurately in financial records and cash flow reporting.
ERP and Technology Practices
Best Practices Assessment should consider how finance processes interact with the ERP environment. Reviewers may evaluate system configuration, role permissions, integration points, workflow design, master data, auditability, and the consistency between system controls and documented policies.
For organizations operating cloud or hybrid environments, ERP Security Best Practices for Finance Teams (2026) provides relevant considerations for assessing security controls and evaluating how AI-enabled tools interact with ERP systems.
A strong technology assessment connects system capabilities with finance objectives rather than evaluating technology in isolation. The goal is to determine whether the ERP supports accurate transaction processing, controlled approvals, reliable reporting, and efficient financial workflows.
Scoring and Prioritizing Findings
A Best Practices Assessment can use a qualitative or quantitative scoring model to make findings easier to compare. For example, each process can be evaluated against criteria such as control maturity, documentation quality, data accuracy, process consistency, automation level, and reporting effectiveness.
Findings should then be prioritized according to their business relevance. A control affecting financial reporting or payment authorization may warrant earlier attention than a documentation improvement with limited financial impact. Clear prioritization helps management allocate resources toward improvements that strengthen financial performance and operational efficiency.
Consolidation Best Practices can also inform assessments involving multiple entities by establishing consistent expectations for intercompany transactions, eliminations, reporting structures, close procedures, and consolidated financial statements.
Best Practices for Conducting the Assessment
A useful assessment should be evidence-based, repeatable, and connected to measurable business outcomes. Finance teams should avoid treating the exercise as a checklist alone; each finding should explain the current practice, expected practice, supporting evidence, business relevance, and recommended improvement.
- Use consistent criteria: Apply the same assessment standards across comparable processes and business units.
- Prioritize evidence: Support conclusions with transaction data, system records, policies, and documented control activity.
- Connect findings to outcomes: Explain how improvements can affect accuracy, cash flow, reporting, compliance, or operational efficiency.
- Assign ownership: Give each improvement action a responsible owner and measurable completion objective.
- Reassess periodically: Repeat the assessment after significant process, system, organizational, or regulatory changes.
Summary
Best Practices Assessment provides a structured way to compare finance and business processes with established standards and identify practical improvement opportunities. By examining accounting, procurement, payments, reconciliations, ERP controls, and reporting practices together, organizations can strengthen financial controls, improve process consistency, and support better business performance.