For decades, Excel has been the backbone of financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting and reporting. But the world has changed and while spreadsheets will always be an essential tool, they are no longer adequate on their own for multidimensional reporting environments.

Today, the demands on finance teams are greater than ever. Real-time insights, cross-functional collaboration and bulletproof accuracy, they aren’t just nice-to-haves; they’re essential. And while Excel still plays a role, relying on it alone opens the door to something finance teams cannot afford: human error.

Having the assurance of accuracy

It’s surprisingly common: a 2024 CA ANZ report revealed human error remains the main challenge to data accuracy. For finance teams, now tasked with implementing controls and governance within a business to protect sensitive data and build trust in data, it’s imperative to move to a business intelligence and financial planning and analysis (BI and FP&A) software platform. This platform not only centralises data but also validates it as the source of truth.

Excel is flexible and powerful, but as data volumes grow and real-time insights become essential, it starts to fall short, says James Pakenham, global head of financial planning and analysis at Phocas Software.

“Manually pulling, adjusting and combining data in Excel makes it hard to maintain a single source of truth. Once you manipulate source data manually, it’s nearly impossible for others to use or trust it, due to the multidimensional layers now involved,” says Pakenham.

Clean, consistent data

Pakenham says it’s imperative to think about company-wide data requirements and implement new systems and processes that eliminate the need for cross-checking, thereby inspiring confidence across the business.

“Real trust comes when the data is clean, consistent and free of manual adjustments,” says Pakenham. “That’s when the whole business, whether it’s sales, ops or the CFO, can rely on it, and finance shifts from firefighting reconciliations to enabling smarter, faster decisions.”

In addition to making data accurate and easily accessible, switching to a BI and FP&A platform provides opportunities to control access and protect sensitive information.

“Security is a major priority both for internal information, such as salaries, as well as protecting financial systems and customer data from unauthorised external access,” says Pakenham.

“Constant threats like phishing make it critical to have strong controls, regular audit frameworks like SOC 2, and robust processes for employee onboarding, offboarding and ongoing access management.”

The right mix of tools

As finance teams take on more responsibilities from the operational side, particularly in terms of measuring performance and implementing data controls, they need the right tools to help them.

“It’s no longer just about driving data,” says Pakenham. “It’s about using the right mix of data sources and providing the right governance around it. That’s where finance really adds value: ensuring data is robust, scalable and trusted across the business.”

For businesses set in their ways, especially mid-sized ones, it can be an adjustment and may even take a year or more with dedicated resources to get it right, but it is worth it, he adds.

“On the other side, you gain something very valuable. A scalable, reliable source of information everyone can use to make sound business decisions, instead of relying on data that’s full of gaps.” 

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