A high number of finance professionals experience errors when they translate data from Record to report. It is troubling that it is so common, but it also explains why we see increased awareness and a consensus towards automation in finance. As digitalization enters the finance team, the current questions surround the software used and its integration possibilities. Boost efficiency and increase collaborative value creation for the group finance function by demanding a digital ecosystem. Furthermore, it enables easy integration between software, systems, and processes without unnecessarily duplicated data.
WORK WITH WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE IN PLACE
With an endless sea of software and systems to manage the entire workflow, it’s key to keep in mind your actual needs and current pain points when selecting software for your ecosystem. Consider:
- How much of this system will I use?
- Does it integrate well with other systems?
- Is it simple to use?
- Will it remove manual processes?
One finance process that teams across the world find challenging is the consolidation process. But with a well-built finance ecosystem supported by new, simple technology, it is also one of those you manage better. The complex process, prone to constant error-checking, is often demanding and time-consuming. Furthermore, it involves insecurities about the number of validations across the group and its subsidiaries. Of course, there is the element of strict compliance and governing regulations to think of too. The consolidation process only escalates in complexity, as the controller separates financial statements from subsidiaries, mergers and acquisitions, foreign currency translations, and intercompany transactions.
Time is money
The reality is that Excel and manual reporting are outdated methods taking unnecessary time out of the finance team’s calendar.
There is a better use of the finance team’s expertise, project management skills, and agile mindset elsewhere. For example, use these competencies to offer strategic advice to your departments, subsidiaries or pursue business developments. When you prepare the financial consolidation in a digital and streamlined format, you can decrease the time spent preparing numbers and increase profitability while avoiding the risk of common spreadsheet errors.
New digital technology allows you to automate manual work and data flows, but more importantly, it ensures standardized processes and has predefined control points, so errors are discovered early on. Cloud-based software allows you to integrate your systems quickly. In groups with subsidiaries in several countries and various ERP systems, using one software to standardize and automate the consolidation ensures everyone in your team, across borders, uses the same methodology in the review or preparation. Simply, it is a key to lower costs and greater accuracy. Konsolidator is a clear example of this.
Besides the abovementioned benefits, a valuable consolidation system can:
- Provide immediate access to all team members.
- Manage multiple exchange rates.
- Ensure correct elimination of investments in subsidiaries and subgroups.
- Create a transparent workflow.
STEP INTO 2022 WITH A FAST CLOSE
As we get closer to year-end, the increased pressure to identify risks in the consolidation process as early as possible is a constant before the audit. Step into 2022 with an accelerated and easy consolidation process and progress towards a fast close each month. That should be the goal, along with minimizing your time spent chasing errors and mitigating risks in your spreadsheet. If you then could add: simple process, easy interface, automation, and recognizable methodology, which the entire finance team can use – why haven’t you adopted cloud software for your consolidation?
Konsolidator is an easy-to-use consolidation software that helps you eliminate manual processes in Excel and automate the consolidation process in simple steps. The software works on three levels
- COLLECT: Customers do their bookkeeping in their ERP.
- PREPARE: Customers upload the numbers to Konsolidator for the consolidation.
- PRESENT: Customers extract the figures for reporting.
We need more front runners in finance to take the lead on simplifying processes, minimizing consolidation errors, and striving towards continuous business improvement. Additionally, it is a good idea to become digital before your peers.
EASILY COLLECT ALL DATA FROM YOUR SUBSIDIARIES IN KONSOLIDATOR
Everyone in the finance team and consultants can use the Konsolidator software to produce annual accounts or provide monthly financial reporting for groups. Konsolidator integrates to cloud ERP systems, like Microsoft Business Central 365, Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, and Exact, as part of the group finance ecosystem. Because the software is cloud-based, your group can still upload even if your group uses different ERP systems.
