A closer look at how finance teams turn month-end frustration into a workflow that empowers leadership, boosts confidence and enables better decisions.
A closer look at how finance teams turn month-end frustration into a workflow that empowers leadership, boosts confidence and enables better decisions.
For finance leaders, month end is more than a routine task - it is pivotal to leadership decisions. Whether approving new investments, evaluating performance, or planning growth, finance leaders rely on timely, accurate financial insight to act with confidence. When month-end reporting runs smoothly, leaders and their teams have clarity; when it falters, decisions are delayed, uncertain, or made in the dark.
Yet for many finance teams, month end is still a stressful scramble. What’s behind the mayhem? A familiar combination: manual spreadsheets, disconnected systems, and late reconciliations that slow down reporting. When data is delayed or unreliable, confidence at the top wavers – and strategic decisions are either postponed or based on incomplete information.
So, how can finance teams turn month-end frustration into a workflow that empowers leadership, boosts confidence and enables better, faster decisions?
Why a smoother month-end matters now
The pace of business has never been faster. Finance teams are under mounting pressure to deliver quicker turnarounds, sharper insights and more powerful data that leaders can trust. But external forces – from market volatility to the rapid adoption of AI – are stretching traditional month-end processes to their limit.
According to AccountsIQ’s CFO Mindset Report 2.0, 65% of finance leaders say strategic decisions are often made without sufficient data, while 94% have regrets about recent system choices that were meant to make things easier. These figures tell a clear story: the gap between financial data and decision-making is still too wide, and the systems designed to help are often slowing teams down instead.
Finance leaders who can close that gap – by delivering fast, reliable reports and insight – are no longer just managing operations; they’re shaping strategy. A well-structured month end isn’t simply about closing the books. It’s about providing leadership with the clarity to move first, act decisively, and stay ahead.
Rising to the top: workflows that work up the ladder
Actionable steps for finance teams
Better month end, better decisions
Streamlined processes, from month-end to year-end, don’t just save time; they strengthen trust across departments, sharpen insight and empower CFOs and financed leaders to act confidently and strategically.
With the right systems and workflows in place, finance teams can turn month end from into a springboard of opportunity – one that drives better, faster and smarter decisions across the business.
👉 Ready to streamline your month end and support better business decisions?
Book a demo with our finance experts today and discover how AccountsIQ can simplify your month-end process.
Renewable energy could power the world by 2050. That could save millions of lives from air pollution, reverse the effects of climate change and secure our energy supply. This means that finance managers in the renewables sector face all the challenges and complexities of a surging industry; raising funds, managing growth and maximising the returns of multiple assets.
Renewable energy has the potential to power the world by 2050. The transition could save millions of lives by reducing air pollution, help tackle climate change, and deliver a more secure, sustainable energy supply. But for finance teams in this rapidly growing sector, the journey is far from simple.
Renewables finance leaders are navigating complex funding structures, managing multiple SPVs, and tracking performance across dispersed, multi-asset portfolios. They need smart, scalable tools to help them grow with confidence.
AccountsIQ’s award-winning cloud accounting software has become the platform of choice for renewable energy companies who need to:
Managing finance across a growing number of SPVs quickly becomes time-consuming—especially when manual processes dominate. From purchase order approvals to cost allocations and intercompany recharges, many tasks can and should be automated.
We estimate that up to 90% of SPV accounting tasks are ripe for automation with AccountsIQ.
For example, BayWa r.e., a global renewables company, achieved significant efficiencies with AccountsIQ. Finance Manager Justin Ampofo estimates that automation has freed up over 20% of his team’s time, while helping the company go paperless and improve traceability.
Automation also simplifies multi-currency accounting and intercompany processes. At Getech, a global geoscience consultancy, the system automatically handles currency revaluations and standardises exchange rates across entities.
“AccountsIQ’s currency revaluation feature creates an automatic routine in the system which ensures accuracy in the calculations and reporting. Intercompany invoicing has also improved massively—AccountsIQ tracks, registers, and matches internal transactions seamlessly.”
— Simon Brown, Financial Controller, Getech
While your renewable assets may be fixed in place, your team isn’t. As a true cloud-native financial management system, AccountsIQ offers real-time, secure access from anywhere.
Your team can approve invoices on the go, collaborate across locations, and access all supporting documentation directly within the platform—without the cost and maintenance of on-premise servers.
Renewable energy groups typically span multiple entities and jurisdictions. With one-click consolidation across currencies and subsidiaries, AccountsIQ eliminates the need for complex Excel models.
You gain full visibility over group-wide performance, including FX exposure and intercompany balances—ideal for CFOs managing multiple SPVs.
“AccountsIQ saves me a week’s worth of work every month end.”
— Simon Brown, Getech
Group consolidation is essential for accurate forecasting and reporting. AccountsIQ handles actuals, budgets, intercompany eliminations, and FX revaluations in a single workflow—enabling finance leaders to close faster and with confidence.
Managing your SPVs through a central platform doesn’t mean losing individual insight. AccountsIQ enables real-time reporting across your entire portfolio, while also offering granular, drill-down capabilities.
Fincovi, a renewable energy asset manager, chose AccountsIQ for its advanced KPI and reporting capabilities.
“The key to successful commercial asset management is the ability to see KPIs at a glance across the whole portfolio. That’s exactly why we chose AccountsIQ.”
— Ray O’Neill, CEO, Fincovi
With our multi-dimensional BI structure, you can track performance by site, region, asset type, or funding structure—whatever matters most to your stakeholders. Less noise means clearer insights, more informed decisions, and stronger portfolio performance.
“The biggest benefit is the data is dynamic. We can drill into the numbers, resolve any issues, and re-run the reports quickly. It’s not just a report—it’s a live system we trust.”
— Simon Brown, Getech
Renewable energy projects are long-term investments. Tracking costs from construction through to operation is critical—and AccountsIQ makes it simple.
With flexible BI tracking and template-based entity creation, you can stand up new SPVs or asset entities in minutes, with full visibility from day one. Whether you’re setting up a new company or transferring data from build-phase to operational entity, our platform grows with you.
“The initial setup becomes a template for future subsidiaries. Expanding AccountsIQ is easy—we just add licences and replicate our model.”
— Simon Brown, Getech
Watch on demand: Learn how to streamline multi-entity accounting in the renewables sector
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AccountsIQ helps renewable energy companies simplify complexity and scale sustainably.
Whether you’re managing a single wind farm or a global portfolio of solar, hydro, or battery storage assets, we provide the tools to deliver more insight, more control, and more value from your finance function.
Book a demo or register for our next webinar to see our award-winning platform in action.
AccountsIQ's enhanced BI coding structure allows you to tag all your company’s transactions to specific projects, divisions, cost centres, departments, locations or funds.
AccountsIQ’s powerful BI (Business Intelligence) coding structure enables finance teams to tag transactions across up to six custom dimensions—such as projects, departments, locations, cost centres, or funds. This flexible architecture allows you to tailor your reporting to your organisation’s specific structure and performance priorities.
Unlike traditional accounting systems that limit analysis to legal entities, AccountsIQ’s BI coding empowers you to track performance across any operational or commercial unit—whether that’s a department, project, region, or asset. The result? Deeper insights, smarter decisions, and greater control across your finance function.
‘Business Intelligence (BI) Code’ is our term for any business unit or element you want to track and analyse. While some may know it as a ‘department code’, AccountsIQ’s BI codes go much further.
A BI code can represent any part of your business—whether that’s a customer segment, location, initiative, or internal team. Combined with our multi-dimensional setup, you can build a tailored reporting model that gives your team real-time visibility over the performance of every moving part.
AccountsIQ’s BI structure empowers your finance team to move beyond high-level reporting. Instead of one-size-fits-all P&L or Balance Sheet views, you can compare and analyse business performance across any combination of dimensions, such as:
With up to six BI dimensions available, you can customise your reporting structure to reflect how your organisation actually operates. For instance, by setting “Location” as a Dimension, you can assign a unique BI code to each individual branch or site, allowing performance to be analysed from the top down or the ground up.
Many AccountsIQ users take advantage of our three-level General Ledger and BI coding layer to create dynamic, granular reporting models.
Take Tindle Newspaper Group as an example. They currently use four BI dimensions—Entity, Division, Publication, and Department—to create fast, flexible reporting across their organisation. They’ve even started adding dimensions like Property to track capital investment.
“We have a baseline process for reporting, and the commercial insights are really useful. For example, we can drill down to obtain separate P&Ls for each region—even each publishing centre within a region.”
— Alastair Manson, Group Finance Director, Tindle Newspaper Group
Read the full case study →
Modern leadership teams demand meaningful data that drives performance. Boards and senior management don’t just want numbers—they want insights that highlight risks, surface opportunities, and enable confident decision-making.
But for too many finance teams, reporting remains reactive, time-consuming, and overly reliant on spreadsheets. With AccountsIQ, that changes.
You can:
Watch our 4-minute video to see BI coding in action → [Link to video]
With AccountsIQ, you get business intelligence, group consolidation, and advanced reporting—all in one integrated cloud platform. Our enhanced BI coding structure helps you simplify complexity and make better, faster decisions across every level of your organisation.
Learn more about Business Intelligence and multi-entity reporting with AccountsIQ
Book a demo to see how our BI structure can work for your organisation
We’re here to show you why APIs in accounting matter, and how an open API could help you to build your business and work more efficiently.
Implementing a new accounting system is no small task. But with the right planning, leadership and project timeline, you can ensure a smooth switch from your old system—and set your finance team up for long-term success.
The right system won’t just replace what you already have; it can transform your finance function, delivering new levels of efficiency, accuracy and strategic insight.
At AccountsIQ, we’ve been supporting finance system implementations since 2008. Built by accountants, for accountants - we know what works. Here are some practical lessons from helping hundreds of clients roll out new accounting systems with confidence.
There’s a reason people say success is 80% planning and 20% execution. That’s especially true when switching accounting systems. Investing time upfront will save time, money and stress down the line.
Here’s how to approach your planning:
Getting ahead of documentation and prep work will ensure your implementation stays on track and within budget. The more accurate and complete your data is at the start, the faster you’ll benefit from your new system.
Here’s what to prepare:
At AccountsIQ, we support you beyond go-live. Our team is on hand to answer questions, provide post-implementation support, and run training to help your team get the most out of the software. We also help connect your new accounting system to payroll, HR and other business systems through our growing and custom range of integrations.
One of the most valuable steps is to review your reporting needs and structure your Chart of Accounts and BI dimensions accordingly.
We recommend starting with your desired outputs—what do you want to report on? Then work backwards to design the right setup. AccountsIQ’s BI engine supports up to six dimensions, but you don’t need to start with all six. Begin with two or three (e.g. departments, locations), get used to the system and consider expanding your setup in later phases.
Implementation requires internal focus. Choose a time when your team can fully engage with the process. Ideal windows include:
We advise against bringing across historic transactional data. Instead, start fresh with an opening trial balance and upload monthly movements for comparison purposes. This avoids unnecessary complexity and removes the need to run dual systems. Our templates make it easy to import what matters for continuity.
Your project lead needs dedicated time to focus. Trying to manage an implementation alongside a full-time role often leads to delays. Make sure your lead—and other stakeholders—have the space and support to prioritise the implementation at each phase.
For most businesses, implementing a new accounting system is part of a wider digital transformation. With AccountsIQ’s flexible modules and integrations, it’s tempting to tackle everything at once—but don’t.
Adopt a phased approach. Get your core financials in place, celebrate the win, then move onto other features. This keeps momentum high and avoids overwhelm.
For example, Hampshire Cultural Trust adopted a phased approach. Core financials were implemented in phase one, followed by ticketing, EPOS, and payroll in phase two.
“We’ve got a fantastic product and the implementation team has been very good, particularly with our management accounting project. My mantra is ‘making finance valued and valuable’. With AccountsIQ, and a great team at HCT, we are making that happen.”
– Charlie Inigo-Jones, Director of Finance, HCT
One of the biggest missed opportunities in a finance system upgrade is replicating outdated processes. A modern cloud system like AccountsIQ is designed to streamline and automate—not just replicate.
Take this opportunity to reimagine how you work. Automations, integrations and real-time data reporting can eliminate manual tasks and empower your team to work more strategically.
“We realised we had come to develop our processes around the limitations of the Exchequer system rather than using the system to improve processes.”
– Group Financial Controller, Kefron
Below is an overview of a typical finance system implementation plan. Each stage builds on the last—which is why design and planning are critical. You’ll also notice that we don’t jump into advanced features until the foundational work is done.
Once the core financials are embedded and your team is confident, you can build out from there.
We can often go live with core financials in as little as four weeks—with the right preparation. Charity Artichoke Trust migrated from Sage Financials to AccountsIQ in just two days, even with their bespoke project accounting needs.
“The elements that have really made a difference are AccountsIQ’s innovative implementation of analysis codes, the attaching invoices, and the bank reconciliation module. These are things I didn’t have before, and they work beautifully.”
– Neil Goulder, Finance Director, Artichoke Trust
Here are some common roadblocks—and how to avoid them:
A new accounting system implementation can feel daunting. But with the right preparation, it’s entirely achievable—and often transformative. At AccountsIQ, we’re proud to have helped over 35,000+ users across 85+ countries. We’re here to guide you every step of the way. Book a demo today!
Changing finance system feels risky to some people. But for growing businesses, the biggest risk is in not changing soon enough. Without a modern finance system, you’re risking low productivity levels, and error-prone management reports. Here we show how to set up a cloud accounting system in 7 simple steps
Sticking with outdated finance systems can be a bigger threat than change itself. Without a modern platform, your team risks operating inefficiently, producing error-prone reports and lacking the real-time insights needed to guide strategic decisions.
You may miss early warning signs, overlook growth opportunities, or simply spend too much time on manual processes that could be automated.
At AccountsIQ, we help businesses confidently transform their finance function—with expert-led onboarding and a smooth, structured implementation process.
We specialise in delivering finance system projects for complex, multi-entity businesses. Whether you’re moving from a legacy tool or scaling your finance function, our consultants work closely with your team to build a tailored onboarding, implementation and training plan—ensuring you’re up and running quickly, with minimal disruption.
Accounting Software Implementation Steps
Our AIQ Academy is a dedicated learning portal where you can access training anytime, from anywhere and get the best out of our platform. With informative, easy-to-follow bite-sized videos, The AIQ Academy covers everything from everyday tasks to more advanced features like Group Consolidation.
It’s a powerful resource for onboarding new team members and refreshing your team’s knowledge—completely free of charge.
Start by migrating your day-to-day core financial processes to AccountsIQ, such as invoicing, banking, and reporting. Once you’re comfortable, you can add more functionality—such as multi-currency consolidation, FX automation, or integrations—as your needs evolve.
“The great thing about AccountsIQ is that we have the flexibility to re-think the way we structure the dimension and BI coding over time,” says Man Li, Head of Finance.
“We can start one way and flex as we go. Right now, we’re working with AccountsIQ’s support team to consolidate and standardise some of the BI codes; it’s a work in progress as we get more familiar with the system.”
AccountsIQ offers scalable, cloud-based finance solutions for mid-market organisations and franchises. Whether you’re growing fast, managing multiple entities, or modernising your finance function, we’re here to help.
Get in touch to speak to our team or book a personalised demo of AccountsIQ.
Multi-currency consolidations are essential for group companies with subsidiaries, franchises, holding entities, or other structures in more than one country. As a growing business, it’s likely you already need to transact, account and report in multiple currencies, which can be quite complex. Find out why this can be a challenge and how AccountsIQ can help.
As your business expands, chances are you already need to transact, account and report in multiple currencies. And at some point, establishing overseas entities may be a natural next step—whether for operational, compliance, or customer proximity reasons.
Setting up local entities can bring many advantages, but it also introduces new accounting challenges—particularly around multi-currency consolidation.
In simple terms, multi-currency consolidation means combining the financials of different entities—each potentially using different base currencies—into a single, unified set of group accounts with one reporting currency.
On paper, it sounds straightforward. In practice, things can get complicated. You may have:
If you’re using spreadsheets to manage it all, you’re likely stretching them to breaking point. Excel wasn’t built for this kind of complexity. It lacks the controls, checks and automation needed to ensure accuracy and compliance—and even a small error can compromise your entire consolidation process.
Read our case study to see how AES International uses AccountsIQ to automate multi-currency consolidation.
AES International, a UK-based financial advisory firm with a branch in Dubai, moved from QuickBooks to AccountsIQ to simplify their consolidation process.
“Multi-currency consolidation is crucial for AES International,” says Wayne Copeland, Head of Finance.
“We used to manage everything manually in spreadsheets—QuickBooks could only consolidate in sterling. Now, with AccountsIQ, we consolidate six companies in minutes and convert into any currency we need. It’s taken the complexity out of everything.”
“What used to take two weeks now takes five working days.”
Once a business starts to expand internationally, growth often accelerates. That might mean entering new markets, acquiring other entities, or spinning up additional legal structures.
Each move adds complexity to your group structure—and multiplies the consolidation challenge.
The short answer: stop using spreadsheets.
An advanced finance management solution like AccountsIQ is purpose-built to handle multi-entity, multi-currency group structures. It helps you:
Getech, a global geoscience consultancy, switched from Excel to AccountsIQ for their multi-currency needs.
“Consolidation in Excel was a logistical nightmare,” says Simon Brown, Financial Controller.
“Now, with AccountsIQ, exchange rates are held centrally, and our currency revaluations run automatically. We’ve saved a week of work every month-end.”
AccountsIQ makes the consolidation process simple, whether your subsidiaries are on our platform or using another accounting system.
From reporting complexity to intercompany accounting and compliance, the challenges of global expansion require finance systems that scale with your ambitions.
Explore more international finance challenges in this article by Tony Connolly, Chairman of the AIQ Group.
AccountsIQ is here to help you simplify group accounting, streamline consolidation and give you real-time visibility across your entities—wherever they’re based.
Want to learn more?
Book a demo to see how AccountsIQ can transform your multi-entity, multi-currency consolidation.
Here are our insights from our experience with hundreds of clients in the right way to go about a new accounting system implementation.
Implementing a new accounting system is a significant undertaking—but with the right preparation, leadership, and phased delivery, it can be the launchpad for broader finance transformation. A well-executed implementation not only delivers greater efficiency but sets your finance team up for long-term digital success.
At AccountsIQ, we’ve spent over a decade guiding hundreds of organisations through this process. We’ve seen first-hand what works—and what doesn’t. Here are our top insights for a successful accounting system implementation.
It’s often said that great implementations are 80% planning, 20% execution—and that’s especially true with finance systems. Take the time to clarify your requirements, align internal stakeholders, and define your outcomes. Here’s how to get off to a strong start:
A well-prepared foundation will save time, cost and disruption. Make sure you gather and verify the following before your project kicks off:
Being proactive at this stage allows you to start using your new system effectively from day one.
At AccountsIQ, we provide comprehensive post-implementation support, training, and advice to ensure your team is confident and your system delivers value. Here are some key considerations to guide your approach:
Think strategically—start with the outputs you need, and work backwards to shape your Chart of Accounts and BI coding structure. AccountsIQ’s BI tools support up to six reporting dimensions, but we recommend starting with 2–3 key dimensions (e.g. department, location) and scaling up later. Over-engineering too soon can delay progress.
Select a go-live date that aligns with your business rhythm. We often recommend:
The timing doesn’t have to be perfect—but it must be manageable.
There’s usually no need to import historical transactions. Starting with an opening trial balance and monthly summaries for comparative reporting is often sufficient. Our upload templates make this process efficient and reliable.
Implementation is a focused project. Whether your organisation is large or small, your project lead must have the time and space to own the process—not try to run it alongside their usual day job.
Large implementations benefit from a phased rollout. Start with the core financials, ensure user confidence, then move on to additional modules or integrations. By focusing on change management and celebrating key milestones, you’ll drive adoption and ensure a smoother transition.
You don’t have to do everything at once. A phased approach is often more successful. Take Hampshire Cultural Trust for example: they implemented core financials in Phase 1, followed by ticketing, EPOS, and payroll in Phase 2.
“We’ve got a fantastic product and the implementation team has been very good, particularly with our management accounting project. My mantra is ‘making finance valued and valuable’. With AccountsIQ, and a great team at HCT, we are making that happen.”
— Director of Finance, HCT
Implementing a new finance system is the ideal time to revisit outdated workflows. Legacy systems often require workarounds—modern platforms like AccountsIQ eliminate those inefficiencies with smart automation, built-in intelligence, and seamless integration.
“We realised we had come to develop our processes around the limitations of the Exchequer system rather than using the system to improve processes.”
— Group Financial Controller, Kefron
Here’s what a typical implementation journey looks like with AccountsIQ. Each phase is built on the success of the last—which is why careful design and planning are so important.
We focus on getting your core financials operational first before layering in automation and digital enhancements. This approach ensures your team is confident, your data is structured, and your platform is ready to grow with you.
For example, Artichoke Trust transitioned from Sage Financials to AccountsIQ in just two days—even with complex project accounting needs.
“The elements that have really made a difference are AccountsIQ’s innovative implementation of analysis codes, the attaching invoices, and the bank reconciliation module. These are things I didn’t have before, and they work beautifully.”
— Neil Goulder, Finance Director, Artichoke Trust
Here are the most common pitfalls—and how to avoid them:
A new accounting system implementation can be a powerful catalyst for finance transformation—if it’s done right. AccountsIQ’s experts in finance management is here to guide you every step of the way.
Get in touch to discuss your implementation options or request a demo with one of our experts.
