Business Solutions case study: 

Automating consolidation within an accounting system

The problem:

Manual processing

Our client was using a combination of accounting systems to complete their monthly consolidation exercise for a management pack. They wanted to move away from manual processing to a more up-to-date, automated accounting system.

The Group comprised of companies across six countries, as well as branches in three locations. The new system would need to automate their day-to-day bookkeeping, be able to operate in  various currencies, and also prepare the group consolidation reports without the need for any manual intervention. 

Their current monthly reporting process for the Board was tailored to include KPIs and an executive summary. The new report would need to prepare this information automatically with the same tailoring options at a touch of a button. 

They asked us for:

• Advice on the most appropriate automation software and the conversion options available
• Technical help with the transition process
• Integration of consolidation software to streamline the process
• Tailoring the reports to reflect current KPI’s required to be reported upon
• Training and support with the new accounting software.

Our response:

Streamlining their consolidation processes

After listening carefully to our client’s needs and analysing their existing processes, we recommended moving from their current accounting system to Xero, as a first step towards automation. Xero has various functionality within it which aids automation, such as bank feeds and daily revaluation, as well as having a seamless integration with Spotlight, which is the software our client chose for  automated consolidation and reporting.

We discussed their conversion options, which would be dependent on how much data they wanted to be transferred into their new system –  ie, whether to move only the balances across, or if they needed any historical transactional data also moved and replicated. The client decided to upload two years of balance data to Xero but didn’t require the transactional data behind it. As such, we proposed to use the Xero conversion toolbox option.

Once Xero was set up, we linked it to Spotlight. This not only automated the consolidation process, but it also allowed our client to tailor  reports to suit their needs and satisfy all relevant stakeholders.

To ensure a smooth transition, we arranged training sessions for the accounting team, showing them how to use Xero and Spotlight to their full potential.

Benefits to the client:

Focusing on the future

Automating the accounting function has significantly improved the efficiency of our client’s month end procedures. With more time available, management are now free to focus on other key business initiatives and on the future.