What is Financial Consolidation?
Financial consolidation is the process of aggregating and consolidating trial balance data contained in the various general ledgers of subsidiaries to create financial reports. These include things like income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow
What about the Financial Close?
The financial close is the whole accounting process cycle, including data gathering, creating financial statements and closing the books on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis. And the financial close remains an essential activity for finance teams. Also, as financials need to act more and more as business partners within their organization, the focus for finance professionals is also more towards strategic business development than general financial stewardship. As a result, labor intensive and error-prone activities (like financial consolidation is in a lot of cases…) need to be minimized and/or automated.
Blogs & How to’s
Blog
5 Steps to a fast(er) close!
With these five steps, every organization is able to improve the financial close process (with a little help).
Case
TriFinance
Find out how TriFinance benefits from Board International.
How To
Short movie about Cash Flow
Cash is still king. Not only in actuals, but also in the future. Learn how to make a reliable cash flow forecast.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Financial Close?
The financial close is the whole accounting process cycle, including data gathering, creating financial statements and closing the books on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis. And the financial close remains an essential activity for finance teams. Also, as financials need to act more and more as business partners within their organization, the focus for finance professionals is also more towards strategic business development than general financial stewardship. As a result, labor intensive and error-prone activities (like financial consolidation is in a lot of cases…) need to be minimized and/or automated.
What is a Fast Close?
Actually, it is what is says, the financial close, but fast(er). While the process of fast close consolidation isn’t new, achieving it often remains a pain point for many organizations. Organizations seeking to improve their financial consolidation are usually either handling this process using outdated legacy systems, separate applications that are loosely integrated, and/or many Excel spreadsheets. In nearly all cases, they are not taking advantage of newer technology.
What is Financial Consolidation?
Financial consolidation is the process of aggregating and consolidating trial balance data contained in the various general ledgers of subsidiaries to create financial reports. These include things like income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow. The process requires adherence to statutory rules and guidelines (including IFRS and U.S. GAAP) and incorporates various complex processes such as currency translation, intercompany eliminations, journal entry adjustments, and partial ownership considerations.
Why is Financial Consolidation important?
Consolidated financial statements are a requirement for most large companies and are used for a variety of purposes. Firstly, auditors use them to ensure an organization’s compliance with the latest legislation and regulations. They also provide a top-level overview for companies and investors looking to make informed decisions about acquisitions and investments.
Vitally, they act as a valuable internal resource to inform decision-making at the very top of a company. They place accurate and actionable information at business leaders’ fingertips, provide a view of the best and worst-performing business units, and help to identify risks and opportunities
Where do I start?
By answering questions like:
- What do you want to achieve and why?
- Is it about reducing errors? More insights? A faster close? Or all of the above?.
Cases & Events in Financial Consolidation
Hamilton Bright
Hamilton Bright Improved forecasting, Consolidation and reporting in one solution! hamilton bright ‘connects hearts to brands’. hamilton bright believes in the power of real human contact. By creating desire in people at every touchpoint during the customer journey,...
TriFinance
TriFinance adding value to the financial processes with Board international At TriFinance, we care about the professional growth of our people. This often leads to new paths, new destinations and new ideas. We offer our consultants projects that are aligned with their...
5 Benefits of Disclosure Management
5 Benefits of Disclosure Management What is Disclosure Management? And what are the benefits? What is Disclosure Management? Disclosure Management, as a process, is also known as the “last mile of finance”, where all steps in the financial processes – financial close,...
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