Redesigning record-to-report controls across 15 companies and using automation to improve reconciliation efficiency and assurance.
The gap
A fast-moving global policy organisation had grown into a 15-company environment. Its record-to-report processes and reconciliation controls needed to operate consistently across multiple entities while supporting timely reporting and continued organisational growth.
Manual effort and inconsistent ways of working made it harder to demonstrate control, resolve exceptions quickly and give management a dependable view of the close.
Why it mattered
As organisations expand, weaknesses in the close and reconciliation process multiply. Finance teams can spend increasing amounts of time assembling evidence and repeating manual checks, while material exceptions remain difficult to distinguish from routine activity.
The organisation needed stronger control and greater efficiency at the same time—not automation that merely accelerated an inconsistent process.
What we did
David Roberts led record-to-report transformation across the group, combining process redesign, clearer ownership and technology-enabled reconciliation.
- Mapped the end-to-end close and reconciliation environment across 15 companies.
- Clarified ownership, evidence requirements, review points and escalation routes.
- Standardised core record-to-report processes and control expectations.
- Introduced a reconciliation tool capable of automating approximately 80% of the reconciliation population.
- Focused finance attention on exceptions, judgement and resolution rather than repetitive preparation.
- Supported continuity in a specialist tax-management requirement, including UK VAT.
The outcome
The redesigned process created a more consistent control environment across the group. Approximately 80% of reconciliations could be automated, reducing routine manual work and allowing the finance team to concentrate on exceptions and higher-value analysis.
Management gained a clearer route to close assurance, with better-defined accountability and a more scalable basis for continued growth.
What it demonstrates
Automation creates sustainable value when it follows sound process and control design. The objective is not simply faster transaction processing; it is a more reliable close, clearer accountability and greater capacity for insight.
- Record-to-report transformation
- Financial controls and reconciliation
- Process standardisation
- Automation and exception management
- Multi-entity finance environments
- Scalable finance capability