TYPICAL FINANCIAL REPORTING PROCESS

An important barrier for Business Offices is that they’re often dependent on the already over-taxed resources of IT. Extracting the right data out of the ERP system can be IT intensive, and even when systems are in place to reduce the complexities, modifying which account numbers or ledgers they pull from can be difficult. The problem is that Business Offices aren’t in full control, and they need to be to do their job. Aside from IT constraints, a whopping 80% of institutions are doing financials in spreadsheets. Just to get the data they need, either IT is downloading the general ledger information or accounting personnel are manually keying information into spreadsheets. Once there, reports multiply in complexity as they spawn countless formulas and supporting sheets, needing only the slightest touch to corrupt balances. This is why Business Offices usually have many people checking for errors before financials are published. But research shows that even after all this, significant errors are found in 90% of financial reports.

Aside from IT constraints, a whopping 80% of institutions are doing financials in spreadsheets. Just to get the data they need, either IT is downloading the general ledger information or accounting personnel are manually keying information into spreadsheets. Once there, reports multiply in complexity as they spawn countless formulas and supporting sheets, needing only the slightest touch to corrupt balances. This is why Business Offices usually have many people checking for errors before financials are published. But research shows that even after all this, significant errors are found in 90% of financial reports.