By Hiran de Silva.
The Nightmare Scenario
In my decade-long career at the top of finance and accounting departments, one fear loomed over me constantly:
Was there something in the reports I was publishing—something I was presenting to the board and management team—that I had no idea about? Something my team didn’t know or couldn’t have known, rendering the entire financial statement unreliable? Could this unknown factor lead to massive negative press, undermining the credibility of the finance function and questioning its very existence?
A particular incident from my time as Head of Accounting and Finance at the UK publisher of Penthouse magazine highlights this nightmare. During an unexpected paper shortage in the UK, my finance team was unaware of how the issue was resolved. The next edition still made it to bookshelves on time—a critical achievement in the publishing industry, where missing a deadline is disastrous.
At the time, I was out of the country dealing with our German subsidiary. This particular issue had been handled secretly, and nobody knew about it. Fortunately, my boss, Richard Desmond (now a billionaire), recognized this as a secret operation and decreed that its omission from financial reporting was to have been expected. However, the fear remained—what if there were operational realities known to the board and managers that were not reflected in the monthly reports simply because the finance team had no visibility into them?
The Dream: Eliminating the Nightmare
Finance teams, CFOs, and controllers live in fear that their reports—representing a month’s worth of work—could be fundamentally flawed due to a single unknown variable. Aggregated financial data is fragile; a single incorrect figure among thousands can significantly impact the final totals.
The ideal scenario is clear: the elimination of this nightmare. The only way to achieve this, short of divine intervention, is by ensuring that draft reports are reviewed by those who possess the relevant operational knowledge.
This requires a feedback loop where raw draft reports are easily accessible to operating managers, also known as budget holders. They must be able to quickly review and confirm that the data reflects actual performance—or flag discrepancies for correction. By integrating this process, finance teams can make necessary adjustments before reports are finalized, ensuring accuracy and consensus.
The Challenge: Accessibility and User Experience
While all relevant financial data exists within ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems, providing budget holders with access to these systems has historically been a challenge. Decades of experience have shown that getting non-financial managers to engage with accounting software is about as easy as passing an elephant through the eye of a needle.
Therefore, a more user-friendly, intuitive approach is necessary—one that integrates seamlessly into existing workflows and is virtually invisible to users who aren’t finance professionals.
The Benchmark Solution
The solution we’ve developed—rooted in my initial concept from nearly 30 years ago—has been continually refined through multiple client implementations. It has evolved based on real-world demands and industry best practices.
At a high level, this benchmark solution is simple yet effective. A quick demonstration showcases its efficiency in addressing the nightmare finance teams face. The methodology is structured around:
- Practical usability
- Seamless integration into existing operations
- Ease of implementation
- Scalability and adaptability
Comparing to Alternatives
This benchmark serves as a practical standard for evaluating alternative solutions. The IT industry, particularly ERP vendors, often claims their systems are superior to spreadsheet-based solutions. Similarly, the recently emerged FP&A (Financial Planning & Analysis) tools industry, with its cloud-based offerings, makes similar assertions. These solutions promise to manage accounting and finance challenges better than spreadsheets.
Our approach provides a way to objectively test these claims. It transforms a finance team’s worst nightmare into a manageable, streamlined process while serving as a benchmark for comparison against ERP and FP&A solutions.
Conclusion
Every finance team’s dream is the elimination of uncertainty in financial reporting. By implementing a structured review process with operational managers and leveraging a user-friendly tool, we can eliminate reporting nightmares. This benchmark solution not only works but provides a reliable, scalable, and adaptable framework for finance teams worldwide.
The nightmare is over—the dream is now a reality.
Podcast narrated by Bill.
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Watch the video of a functional demonstration and explainer. (TBA)
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