Why finance teams need control over their data journey.
Today’s new normal for finance teams: More data, less clarity
Here’s the truth we rarely say out loud:
The real bottleneck in reporting today is not the data itself; we have all the data we need, but rather a lack of proper infrastructure to support it, so the data transforms into real insights.
For many finance teams, this story sounds familiar: “We have access to a lot of relevant data, we just don’t know how we can use it.” We’ve come a long way from spreadsheets and manual exports. We now have access to more data than ever across ERPs, CRMs, budgeting tools, and consolidation software. But with that comes a new challenge: the data isn’t missing; it’s scattered. It’s inconsistent. And most of all, it’s not structured to support reliable, transparent, and validated reporting across an entire group.
Solve data flow challenges with a holistic approach
- Cloud ERP improves data access but doesn’t fully solve data flow issues or Excel reliance.
- Integrate cloud ERP across all business units and use a holistic, ecosystem-wide approach.
- Combine data flows in a data warehouse.
It’s about getting access to the right output
Finance doesn’t need to become IT. But as many finance teams don’t have a background in data architecture, they need access to the kind of structured data model that supports:
- Monthly reporting without constant workarounds
- Transaction-level drill down without manual rework
- The ability to adapt reports when business changes (Adjusted strategy, adjusted forecasts, new regulatory needs, added subsidiaries)
- And perhaps most critically, the ability to maintain this setup without needing additional IT resources.
This is where a financial data warehouse (FDW) becomes relevant, providing the structure for reliable reporting across systems, currencies, and entities.
Data Architecture
The structure, logic, and flow that ensures your numbers move accurately from ERP to report, without breaking downstream.
What a finance-centric data warehouse looks like
When we set out to build an FDW at Konsolidator, we didn’t aim to reinvent the technology. By nature, every data warehouse is built to fit the data sources around it.
But we focused on three non-negotiables for finance teams:
- Security – built on Microsoft Azure, with Single Sign-On, Multi-Factor Authentication, and Row-Level Security
- Governance – maintained by Konsolidator under SLA, so you’re not dependent on freelance setups or internal bandwidth
- Compliance – aligned to ISAE 3402 standards and SOC 2-certified infrastructure
This isn’t a BI tool. It’s the foundation beneath your BI tool
Who needs an FDW?
… Everyone working within group finance. In group finance, structured data isn’t optional—only the approach is! The real question is whether you have the internal capacity to build and maintain it yourself or whether you prefer to find a business partner externally. However, if you recognize any of the below, the need is more pressing, and you’re already in the zone where a financial data warehouse should be at the top of mind today:
- You have started to report in PowerBI (or using other BI tools for reporting and analytics)
- You’re relying on your BI consultant to explain what your numbers mean
- You have a cloud ERP system with API extract available
- You’ve built one-off Excel reports to plug gaps in ERP exports
- Your group reporting always starts with “extracting data” before you even begin the analysis
- You need to move faster, but your current setup can’t scale
This isn’t about replacing IT, it’s about equipping finance to use the data we already have.
What’s the takeaway?
The role of the CFO is not to become a data architect. But we do need to take responsibility for the quality of the insights that our analytics and reports drive—strategically, operationally, and in communications to all stakeholders.
The Konsolidator Suite
The Konsolidator Suite includes our core consolidation software, FP&A tool, and now the financial data warehouse. The data warehouse is the infrastructure that ties them together and supports automated reporting, group-wide analytics, and real-time insights.