Fragmented data across many systems makes it challenging to gain a holistic view of an organisation’s financial performance. And yet, this is how most companies operate. Many FP&A processes are initiated in Excel, and most finance teams have to deal with disconnected data sources, creating significant bottlenecks that hinder the ability to generate reliable insights. In addition, many finance teams are still shackled by manual processes for data movement and processing.

This situation can lead to inconsistencies in reporting, hindering the finance team’s ability to track trends, analyse variances, and identify areas for improvement. Reconciliation efforts at closing periods become a laborious task, potentially leading to missed deadlines and delayed financial reporting.

Any company relying on manual processes is essentially paying its finance professionals to spend precious hours meticulously transferring data between spreadsheets and legacy systems. This time-consuming and tedious task not only consumes valuable hours, but reduces overall productivity while creating openings for errors.

Furthermore, basing budgets and forecasts on inaccurate or incongruent data from multiple spreadsheets or other data silos can cause problems with disclosure management. Ensuring the accuracy and consistency of information across financial reports and disclosures becomes difficult, leading to delays in filing and increasing the risk of errors that could result in regulatory penalties or damage to the company’s reputation.

Spreadsheet Hell

One of the biggest culprits causing these challenges is Excel. As financial process components expand, managing Excel becomes more complex. In an Excel-supported environment, data is often dispersed across multiple spreadsheets and workbooks that need to be updated, managed, and consolidated by each user. It’s decentralised, which can lead to inefficiencies, inconsistencies, and a lack of transparency, hindering budgeting and reporting processes.

Version management in Excel can also be a daunting task, as is managing multiple spreadsheets. As the number of spreadsheets grows, so does the complexity of managing and consolidating data. This can lead to errors, duplication, and a lack of visibility across different data sets.

In other words, Excel is a poor tool for organisations that require scenario planning, in-depth reporting, or rolling forecasts. While Excel allows for scenario planning, it can be difficult to manage and compare multiple scenarios. Creating what-if scenarios in Excel often involves manually changing input values and recalculating results, which can be tedious and error-prone.  Similarly, creating rolling forecasts in Excel can be a complex and time-consuming process. It involves manually updating data and recalculating forecasts, which can lead to errors and inconsistencies.

An Effective Solutions

While data silos and manual processes can create significant bottlenecks, a powerful solution exists: Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) software. EPM acts as a game-changer for the finance team, streamlining data management and reporting processes, enabling the delivery of the insights needed for successful strategic decision-making.

EPM eliminates data silos by establishing a centralised platform for all financial data, empowering finance teams with real-time information feeding seamlessly into forecasting models and disclosure documents. EPM empowers you to make data-driven decisions with greater confidence, leading to improved financial performance, increased efficiency, and better overall financial governance.