Sales reports on calendar months; finance cuts on close—days in transit in between. Misaligned review and close dates fight over the same revenue. Disputes look like attitude; root cause is calendar. Performance plans must state pull dates, close dates, and adjustment windows. Misaligned calendars make detailed KPIs two sets of books.
Misaligned cycles give everyone evidence. Aligned cycles leave one evidence set.
Lock Calendar Before Metrics
Review month equals finance month. Corrections allowed N days post-close; locked after window. Cross-period returns and allowances follow rules—not verbal deals. Sales and plants share one close calendar.
- Ban reviews on pre-close snapshots.
- Bonus calculations use official post-close numbers.
- Calendar changes follow policy—not ad-hoc email.
One Calendar for the Whole Company
The XYN digital intelligence system pulls performance data from post-close operating numbers. Aligned cycles discuss contribution; misaligned cycles discuss calendars. Calendars are cheap; disputes are expensive.
Line up this year's review cutoffs and close dates. Fix misaligned months in the plan before next quarter targets.
