Reporting practices: few do it all.

Cisco Systems has long been known for its approach a "virtual close." Now, it's being recognized along with six other major corporations as being in the vanguard of corporate reporting practices.

An analysis by Hyperion Solutions Corp. found that seven of the Fortune 100 post a schedule of quarterly earnings and an updated fact sheet to their Web sites, and issue an income statement, cash flow statement and a balance sheet concurrently with their quarterly earnings statement. Besides Cisco, this "magnificent seven" includes Verizon Communications, Target Corp., Microsoft Corp., UnitedHealth Group, FedEx Corp. and Caterpillar. Hyperion, a leading provider of business performance management software, did the analysis as part of its Quarterly Report on Quarterly Earnings.

According to Hyperion's analysis:

* 41 percent of the Fortune 100 posted a schedule of earnings reports on their Web sites, down from 52 percent in the previous quarter.

* 44 percent issued a cash flow statement concurrently with quarterly earnings statement, no change from the previous quarter.

* 73 percent reported a balance sheet concurrent with their quarterly earnings statement, up from 68 percent in the previous quarter.

* 61 percent posted an updated fact sheet on their Web sites.

For the first time, Hyperion reviewed disclosure of corporate governance practices by the Fortune 100. Seventy-six percent posted guidelines on their Web site, and nearly all--96 percent--reported insider filings in either a proxy statement or Edgar report.

The Hyperion analysis also revealed that it takes these companies an average of 22.15 days to report earnings, with a high of 44 days and a low of 8 days.

In fact, how close are companies getting to the fabled virtual close?

In some cases, very close. Take Lockheed Martin Corp., the giant aerospace and defense firm that had $26.5 billion in revenue last year. Mike Gabaly, Lockheed's director of enterprise performance management, says the company has improved its closing time by 85 percent in the past few years--a fact he attributes to an enterprise-wide program running on Longview Solutions software.

"The success we've achieved is exceeding expectations," Gabaly said in an interview. "Our average close was 14 to 16 days. Now, we're down to one to two days. We're also able to increase the perception that this data is accurate and complete. We've gone a long way with our internal audit organization to meet those certifications."

CIMCO already had a customer satisfaction program in which it surveys every new customer, but Capraro gives the CAB program only raves: "Customers are amazed we're doing this. I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier,"