A group of companies rarely runs on one system. The trading company has one ERP, the factory another, the real estate arm a property system and the newest acquisition a set of spreadsheets. Each produces its own reports, in its own format, on its own schedule. The group view is assembled by hand, weeks after month end, and by the time it is ready the numbers have already been questioned.
The problem is not the reports, it is the model
Every system has its own chart of accounts, customer codes and product codes. Before anything can be added up, each must be mapped to a group standard: this account in company A means the same as that account in company B; this customer is the same legal entity everywhere. That mapping is the group data model, and it is where most of the work sits.
Intercompany is where the errors hide
Sales from one company to another must be eliminated or the group's revenue is overstated. Loans, management fees and shared costs must net to zero across the group. When each company reports separately, these eliminations are done in a spreadsheet at the end and are the first thing an auditor questions. A group model records them once, at source, and applies them automatically.
Connect, do not re key
Read only connections to each system, refreshed on a schedule, replace the monthly export and paste routine. The finance team stops being data collectors and becomes reviewers. The same connections feed the daily operational dashboards, so the group sees sales, cash and stock every morning rather than once a month.
Consolidated statements from the same data
Once the model exists, the consolidated profit or loss, balance sheet and trial balance are outputs, not projects. The layout can follow the current standards, for example the operating, investing and financing categories that the newer presentation rules require, and every line can be traced back to the company and the transaction it came from.
Where groups usually start
Start with the two or three companies that matter most and the ten numbers the owner asks for every week. Get those right, reconciled to each company's own reports, and extend from there. Trust in the group numbers is built one reconciled figure at a time.
Key takeaways
- The hard part is the group data model, not the reports.
- Intercompany eliminations belong at source, not in a spreadsheet at month end.
- Read only connections replace the monthly export and paste routine.
- Start with the few numbers the owner asks for every week and reconcile them.
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