A need to drill down to transaction-level data because balances don’t provide the required level of information

The use of spreadsheets to make final adjustments – such as statutory reallocations, intercompany eliminations, or currency revaluations – not easy to make in the ERP system

Central Repository of all Accounting Transactions

Group auditors often have very little direct access or visibility into the transaction history of remote subsidiaries. While balance detail may be considered sufficient in some cases when reporting, having access to the actual transaction data provides an additional level of corporate security.

Groupwide GL Reporting Chart of Accounts

Group-level controllers often have to contend with group companies using disparate charts of account. This presents difficulty when reporting as different account structures have to be mapped accurately in order to produce accurate financial statements.

Multi-Currency Reporting Transactions

Sometimes, overseas subsidiaries can only store data in their own operating currency, and so reporting in the currency of the parent presents challenges. Often times junior accounting staff spend hours or days manually translating local transactions into accurate reporting currency figures in spreadsheets.

GAAP-Compliant Consolidated Reporting

When reporting in different countries, or to different authorities, different accounting treatments are often required for the same transaction or account. Corporate controllers often need to use spreadsheets to track the adjustments required to produce accounts in multiple GAAP formats.

Cross Company Reporting Templates

Reports created in one company often have to be manually replicated in each company that wishes to use the same layout. Business Analyst or ERP Support staff often spend many hours configuring and reconfiguring reports for each subsidiary operation.

Charts of accounts that are misaligned and different from each other

Operations across the group in different base currencies

Calendar periods that differ in structure

Financial year ends that are not common to all companies

The need to produce reports using both IFRS and local-GAAP

A need to revalue accounts in the currency of a parent company

The use of multiple ERP systems, different versions of the same ERP system, or ERP systems hosted in multiple locations

A need to report in real-time