A July survey of 578 business leaders by RevenueRecognition.com and IDC found that 57% of public companies cannot finalize their revenue numbers within their monthly close process. Delays of up to three weeks are primarily caused by increasingly complex transactions, and an inability to gather the required revenue information in time. Respondents also reported that the two greatest challenges to ensuring revenue policies are implemented accurately and consistently are: managing accounting practices at multiple business units, and the use of spreadsheets.