Many companies are taking longer than ever to complete their monthly and quarterly accounting closes due to complex Excel macros and legacy systems. This delays regulatory reporting and makes joint venture accounting more difficult. Finance teams often delay upgrading systems until deadlines are missed. When selecting consolidation software, companies should consider implementation time, training needs, and total cost of ownership. TCM software provides a multidimensional solution for consolidations, reporting, and analysis within Excel to help streamline the financial close process.

1. Accelerated Consolidation with TCM
Briefing note

2. Many companies are reporting that it takes longer than ever before to complete their monthly
accounting close, which in turn, slows the quarterly close.
This issue becomes more acute for companies required to comply with regulatory and/or statutory
reporting, prepare statements for Joint Ventures or manage eliminations at both intra-group and
inter-group levels.
A recent report by Ventana research reveals that a large percentage of finance teams have
created customised and complex macros in Excel, and use these to support their specific
reporting requirements. These are often used in conjunction with other legacy systems, resulting
in further frustration, as staff struggle with broken links and formula errors.
Many finance teams struggle with these issues, but delay the discussion and decision about
investing in dedicated software to address the problem for a number of reasons. It’s often not until
a critical deadline is almost missed that senior finance managers and the executive team realise
that their system and process are flawed and in desperate need of review and replacement.
Selecting consolidation software
Part of the reluctance to invest in financial software is due to the perceived cost and length of time
to implementation. On top of that, busy finance managers are wary about the length of time
required for training. And with a plethora of software products on the market, buyers need to be
very clear about the functionality that they need and the specific aspects of the software under
consideration.
Key points of comparison
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Is the system easy to use, easy to maintain, and how much training is required?
What level of consultation will be provided by the vendor to determine current and future
business requirements?
What’s involved with the implementation process and what length of time will be required?
Does the solution run on a multidimensional (OLAP) base for superior, detailed analysis
and increased functionality?
Does the system have the ability to link spreadsheets and combine data from multiple
sources?
Does the software provide drill down functionality to the lowest input level?
Will the system provide intercompany balancing capability?
Will the software give you the ability to consolidate based on legal, geographic or industry
structure?
What is the subscription versus purchase cost and ultimate total cost of ownership?
TCM Infosys Ltd.
info@tcminfosys.com | +44 (0) 845 50 50 350 | www.tcminfosys.com

3. It’s time to consider a new consolidation system when:
 Your consolidation process is becoming increasingly cumbersome
 Your data is not validated and you’re struggling to get an enterprise perspective
 You have no historical records or history of past performance
 You have no way to query your data and drill down for details
 You cannot provide a full and complete audit trail
 Your system has been modified multiple times to incorporate needed functionality
 You are having difficulty making informed decisions, because your spreadsheets don’t provide
the level of accuracy or detail you need
About TCM
TCM is multidimensional software to give you complete functionality for consolidations,
budgeting, forecasting and management reporting.
TCM provides full business intelligence functionality in a familiar, easy-to-use Excel environment.
Users can drill down to see historical data, and gain real insight into their operations.
In TCM you can include Joint Ventures, appropriate equity adjustments, eliminations and
consolidation adjustments. If TCM’s Inter Company Balancing module is being used, the
consolidation process can take care of all eliminations at both intra-group and inter-group levels.
TCM software is flexible and scalable and offers multiple consolidation paths.
TCM Infosys Ltd.
info@tcminfosys.com | +44 (0) 845 50 50 350 | www.tcminfosys.com