Audit Friendly MONTH END CLOSERS
FRI · SEP 25 · FRIDAY TIE-OUT

Three days to quarter end - here's what landed this week

 

A quarter-end close is three business days out, and the week brought two sizable funding rounds, a pointed stat on Excel dependency, and a B2B payments dynamic that shows up in every AR and AP conversation. Five items worth your five minutes.

THE CLOSE AHEAD

3 business days to September month end and quarter end

September month end is also a quarter end - Wednesday, September 30, with day one of the close on Thursday, October 1.

Wed Sep 30 September month end, quarter end Day one of the close is Thu Oct 1. CLOSE

Federal holidays per OPM; filing and deposit dates per IRS Publication 509 and the SEC's Form 10-Q and 10-K instructions; weekend due dates shown on the rolled business day.

THE TIE-OUT

Five things from the week, reconciled

 
Buyers Want to Pay Later. Suppliers Want Cash Earlier. Who Funds the Difference?
Sep 25, 2026 · pymnts.com
PYMNTS frames the B2B working capital problem cleanly: a dollar cannot arrive early for suppliers and stay late for buyers without a third party financing the gap.
Confido raises $55M Series B to unify finance, accounting, and operations for CPG brands
Sep 22, 2026 · alleywatch.com
Confido raised $55M Series B led by Insight Partners - total equity now $77M - for a platform aimed at unifying finance, accounting, and operations for CPG brands.
Sixthfin UK Financial Close Management Software Evaluation Criteria Released
Sep 19, 2026 · globenewswire.com
Sixthfin's vendor scorecard adds eleven evaluation criteria for close software, anchored by a stat from the release: 67% of CFOs still use Excel to analyze and justify accounts.
Guinness owner Diageo hires WPP CFO with cost-cutting bonafides
Sep 24, 2026 · cfodive.com
Diageo hired WPP CFO Joanne Wilson - a chartered accountant and KPMG alum with a cost-cutting record - though she won't take the seat until next year.
IRS finalizes increase in estate tax closing letter fee
Sep 24, 2026 · journalofaccountancy.com
The IRS finalized an estate tax closing letter fee increase to $76 from $56, adopting the June proposed regulations without change.

WEEKEND READ

One long read worth the time

 
Accrual Launches AI Agent Platform Arc
Sep 24, 2026 · cpapracticeadvisor.com
Accrual's Arc platform is positioned as an AI agent layer for accounting firms, handling multi-step work across existing systems. Worth reading if you're evaluating whether agent-based automation belongs in your close stack or your firm's.

THREE ROLES

Close roles paying above market this week

 
Fund Controller, Private Equity Secondaries at Apollo Global Management
athene.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
$225K to $315K, 2.0x the $135K median for the title across 4,179 postings, New York.
Deputy Controller | Accounting at Aera Technology
jobs.lever.co
$240K to $265K, 1.9x the $135K median for the title across 4,179 postings, Mountain View, CA, USA.
Senior Accountant at Swarm Aero
jobs.ashbyhq.com
$130K to $200K, 1.8x the $90K median for the title across 4,518 postings.

ONE NUMBER

Director of Accounting postings pay a median of $185K

Remote US medians by close role, from postings that disclosed a range, counted September 25, 2026.

Director of Accounting
 
$185K
Controller
 
$150K
Senior Accounting Manager
 
$150K
Accounting Manager
 
$128K
Assistant Controller
 
$127K

4,829 live remote roles on the board; 58% disclose pay.

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GO DEEPER

Go deeper

Accounting and finance job board → The Audit Friendly job board, every posting verified live
The insights wire → Cross-dataset findings, refreshed hourly
Skills that pay → Which named tools move the number
AF Stack Designer → Design your accounting stack in ten minutes

Next issue: the week's close-software releases and roles worth a look.

Forward this to the controller still tying out by hand. They will owe you an hour back.

Items are reported from the linked source pages as published on the dates shown. Calendar dates come from OPM, IRS Publication 509 and SEC form instructions; confirm your own filer status and deposit schedule. Pay figures are measured from live postings on jobs.auditfriendly.co.

Audit Friendly's flagship weekly for the people who run the close: the tools, the workflows, what the roles pay and who is hiring.

Accounting Stack · Audit Friendly Data · Accounting & Finance Jobs

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