Recent TRG blog posts

The traditional monthly close has long been used by companies and some still do. But the problem with this approach is that by the end of the month, everything becomes so cramped up, making it error-prone and labour-intensive. Continuous close, on the other hand, makes things much easier for both the company and the employees.

The financial services industry in the post-crisis era is still rife with challenges, both old and new, including extensive regulatory changes, technology disruptions, and a greater demand for trust and transparency. Financial services firms operating in such a contested environment need an accounting software solution that can deliver top-notch industry-specific capabilities.  

Despite its complexity, financial consolidation - the process of combinining and normalising financial data from different business units (entities) - is often still being performed by outdated tools. This problem is compounded by the fact that CFOs are facing growing reporting and compliance requirements on a global scale. 

A typical finance professional spends the majority of his or her time collecting, validating, and administering data, leaving a tiny window for value-added analysis. CFOs demand forecasts to be accurate, timely, and relevant. Yet, the finance department struggles to satisfy such requests. 

As planning, budgeting and forecasting become indispensable strategic contributors, finance executives begin to realise the need to transform their rigid yearly financial planning by adopting more advanced (both on-premise and cloud-based) analytical tools. 71 per cent of organisations surveyed by FSN in 2017 has been able to reforecast more than twice a year, up from 56 per cent in the previous year, although the forecasting accuracy is still fairly low. 

Hospitality faces unique challenges and has specific requirements, making conventional accounting systems unfit for this industry.  

In a global survey conducted by KPMG¹ in 2016, over two-thirds of respondents, who are all senior executives, said they have some forms of rolling forecast in place. In order to thrive in this VUCA world, accurate forecasting seems more imperative than ever. Rolling forecasting, as a means to achieve that, is now a universal practice thanks to its proven capabilities. 

Vienna House is an Austria-based hotel chain that currently has 34 hotels under its brand. The brand is famous for their classic Viennese charm with a touch of modern comfort. During the past five years, Vienna House has grown and acquired a few more hotels. The steady growth brings in the inevitable IT challenge: the need for a revenue management system to help unify and manage all of the hotels in the group.  

Since the early days, Management Accounting has played a critical role in helping executives to make impactful decisions. However, many people have easily mistaken Management Accounting for "Financial Accounting". When you clearly understand these two concepts, you will see that they have obvious fundamental differences.

Read more: An accounting software playbook