Make your month-end a joy.
Month-end processes are notorious for driving finance teams crazy. They require an immense amount of effort and analysis in a very short space of time if the reporting is to be timely. If you’re still doing your month-end processes in spreadsheets then you’re well aware of the shortcomings and challenges that come with version control, collaboration, last-minute corrections and the like.
It’s time to look for a new system that’s as dynamic as your company is, giving you the agility and accuracy you need to deliver great month-end results time and time again – like clockwork.
Common challenges
Mundane routines
Running that same process again and again manually eats up valuable time, especially during crunch periods.
Wasted time
Many month-end processes are routine tasks that remain the same every month. When tasks are performed manually that could be done in an automated fashion, you waste your finance team’s valuable time. Plus, there’s always the risk of human error creeping in.
Suboptimal resource deployment
Not only do manual processes suck up time, they can have a detrimental effect on team morale. During crunch periods you want to maximise the resources your business has at its disposal. That means prioritising the high-value tasks that need the time and expertise of your team, not the tedious workflows that are repeated every month.
Nuanced automation
IBM Planning Analytics / TM1 enables sophisticated automation of key month-end processes, freeing up your team to focus on more important tasks, such as reconciliations, analysis and even reporting. Leveraging Cubewise can help you unlock this power and forever change how your finance team allocates its valuable time at month-end.
Poor transparency
If you can’t effectively drill down into your consolidated financial information, you’re walking in the dark.
Lack of granularity
It’s often said that ‘the devil is in the detail’. If you can’t drill down to the level of granularity you need, your month-end analysis won’t be up to scratch. A lack of transparency in the numbers hides errors, insights and other key information that should be driving your decision making.
Commentary is less useful
Without being able to drill down, your commentary on management reports and other key deliverables will simply not be as nuanced or sophisticated. This can lead to poor decision-making over time and errors that could have been foreseen if only you had transparency over your financial information.
Infinite drill-down capabilities
Cubewise and IBM Planning Analytics / TM1 allows you to drill all the way down to journal level so you can look at your data any which way you like. Full visibility makes for more accurate reporting, better error detection and more valuable insights for management decision-making.
Version control hell
Collaborating on month end financials can be infuriating if you aren’t sure that you’re dealing with the latest and most accurate information.
Spreadsheet silos
When your team is passing around spreadsheets to complete month end, there is plenty of room for error and it requires a Herculean effort to maintain robust version control. You can never be sure that the information is the latest that is possible, and this results in a lot of duplicated effort.
Information is out of date
Numbers are constantly changing during month end as further analysis is completed, so effective collaboration relies on everyone working on the most up-to-date results possible. When this data is siloed and not housed in a single place, you get the situation where there is a lot of time and effort wasted when team members are not looking at the same state of affairs.
Single source of truth
Cubewise and IBM Planning Analytics / TM1 offer a dynamic functional database solution that creates a single source of truth that is always up-to-date. You can re-consolidate numbers within a matter of minutes and have those changes flow through to every other part of your reporting system. Say goodbye to version control nightmares and have your whole team pulling in the same direction.
Saving you time, energy, and grey hairs
IBM Planning Analytics / TM1 offers a revolutionary new way to handle month-end reporting by automating routine tasks, creating a dynamic collaborative workspace and allowing for nuanced and complex analysis. We can completely change how your finance team deals with crunch periods and allow them to make the most of their limited time and energy. If you’re tired of creating endless (not-quite final) versions of your reporting spreadsheet, it’s time to give Cubewise a call.
Talk to us today and let’s overcome the challenge together.
When a system is unable to adapt to changing business circumstances, it can be tremendously frustrating for all who work with it. Things must go on, of course, and so users will resort to building tedious workarounds, simplifications and shortcuts that only serve to kick the can down the road.
Don’t accept that your business processes are incapable of adapting to fast-moving market changes. Contact us to find out how easy it can be to implement efficient and practical planning, reporting and forecasting workflows.
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