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Year-end group cut-off: who is the swiftest in the land?

German companies are much slower than their American couterparts in posting year-end accounts. A joint survey conducted by the IFB consulting group and the BPM International European Network, revealed that German companies come last in publishing their accounts. While American companies take an average of 30 days, DAX-, Mdax-, TecDax- and Sdax-listed companies take up to 74 days. Certification is only marginally quicker. First prize for rapid posting goes to SAP (23 days from fiscal year-end).

The difference in posting time between German and North American companies is mainly due to a difference in company tradition. German companies very rarely publish their numbers before certification, while only 10% of published American accounts are certified beforehand.