A reporting system is not a tool problem. It is a definitions problem. We rebuild the reporting layer from the chart of accounts upward, so that the numbers in the board pack are produced once, defended once and read consistently by everyone who needs to act on them.
When clients come to us
When the board pack and the management accounts no longer agree. When a group has acquired or grown across entities and the consolidation logic has become opaque. When a CFO is consolidating reporting after years of departmental spreadsheets. Often when a new CEO has asked for a single source of truth and discovered there is no such thing yet.
How we work
A senior advisor reviews the chart of accounts, the reporting hierarchy and the consolidation logic, alongside the board pack and the operating reports actually used. We rebuild only what needs rebuilding — usually the management hierarchy, the cost-centre logic and the standard report set — and we design the close calendar that supports it. The in-house team owns the result.
What we deliver
- Chart of accounts and management hierarchy review
- Standard report set with definitions
- Close calendar and ownership map
- Consolidation logic and intercompany framework
- Board pack template with commentary structure
- System configuration recommendations
Typical engagement
A reporting system rebuild runs eight to sixteen weeks. On our side, a senior advisor leads with a reporting specialist. On the client side, the CFO is the principal counterpart, with the financial controller running the day-to-day work. The CEO and audit chair see the new framework at the close.
Why CGLA
We are software-agnostic — the recommendation is built around the operating model and the people who will run it, not around a system licence. The advisors who scope the work have run finance functions of comparable scale, which means the design lands in the close calendar without breaking it.
