Patent ID: 8296200

Claim:
One or more non-transitory machine-readable storage mediums storing one or more sequences of instructions, which when executed by a processor, cause: sending, to a client, first display data, which when rendered by the client, depicts a collaborative financial close portal, wherein the collaborative financial close portal supports a plurality of workspaces used by a set of users to perform activities related to a financial close process, and wherein the plurality workspaces are arranged in a hierarchical relationship; and in response to receiving identification data that identifies a user of the client, sending, to the client, second display data, which when rendered by the client, depicts a particular workspace, of the plurality of workspaces; wherein in the particular workspace, multiple users including the user are granted access to financial data associated with the financial close process; wherein the depiction of the particular workspace includes a depiction of status information about a particular financial close activity, said particular financial close activity comprising a set of financial close activities associated with a set of workspaces lower in the hierarchal relationship than the particular workspace; wherein the status information about the particular financial close activity depicts a particular state in a sequence of possible states, the particular state corresponding to a least successful status associated with any financial close activity in said set of financial close activities; wherein the financial close process is performed on the particular workspace subsequent to performance of the financial close process on said set of workspaces; and wherein the financial close process of each workspace covers a specific period of time.