Therese Tucker, CEO and Founder of BlackLine Systems, won the Stevie® Award for Executive of the Year in The 2011 American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. Therese will chair the committee for final judging of the management awards categories in The 2012 American Business Awards. (The final entry deadline for the 2012 ABAs is April 25, request your entry kit now.)
We asked Therese to share some tips with us on how managers can improve their end of year financial close processes.
What are your top 3 tips for senior managers looking to improve and streamline their account reconciliation and financial close processes?
Technology can automate repetitive, boring job functions and give your accounting staff more time to analyze and focus on strategic initiatives.
- Get organized: The best of tools won’t clean up a mess for you.
- Get executive sponsorship/buy-in early: Make sure that your CFO supports the initiative by understanding that a better process will give him/her confidence in the results. This will help garner the necessary time and resources to make meaningful changes and improvements.
What item of news recently caught your eye and why?
Another plane crash, in Siberia. Regulations can be onerous, but as a frequent traveler I’m thankful that I mostly take the safety of flying for granted!
Do you have a favorite app?
The Sudoku app on my iPad.
If you could choose another profession, what would it be?
I would be either a yoga teacher or a chef.
What quality or qualities do you most value in your business associates?
Honesty, intelligence, and heart.
As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?
As the business keeps growing, the job keeps changing. Being CEO of a company with five people is very different than having 105 employees and almost 500 customers. It stays interesting!
About Therese Tucker, CEO and Founder, BlackLine Systems:
After 25 years at SunGard Treasury Systems where she served as Chief Technology Officer and head of development for SunGuard's Global Trader system, Therese Tucker was ready for a new business venture using emerging technology. Wanting to combine her two talents, technology innovation and finance, Therese started BlackLine in 2001 to address the technology needs of financial organizations. Therese successfully launched BlackLine by developing an automated solution for account reconciliations which tapped into a previously un-served market. In recent years, Therese has led the company’s shift to a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) business model which has allowed to company to experience revenue growth of more than 50% in 2009, 2010, and 2011. In addition to her automated solution, Therese has developed other software including Tax Answer Scenarios, a tax planning product that has been marketed to over 1,000 tax preparers and CPAs annually since 1998.
About BlackLine Systems:
Founded in 2001, BlackLine Systems was the first to develop and offer a commercially available Balance Sheet Account Reconciliation solution. BlackLine provides quick-to-implement, scalable, and easy-to-use applications that automate the entire financial close process to help improve financial controls for companies of all sizes. BlackLine software applications complement existing Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Governance Risk and Compliance (GRC), and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. BlackLine offers clients its enterprise-class software in a simple and secure OnDemand/SaaS platform. With a proven track record and a commitment to customer success, BlackLine seeks to reduce the burden the financial close places on accounting and finance professionals. For more information, please visit www.blackline.com.
