Breaking Free from Spreadsheet Shackles

By Kody Devlin

If you feel like your finance team is overrun by spreadsheets, you are not alone. For many organisations, particularly those in a scale up phase, the finance function can quickly become overwhelmed by manual consolidations, version control issues and time-consuming reporting tasks. What starts as a manageable process can soon spiral into an unwieldy selection of tables, cobbled-together reports and long hours spent reconciling data across multiple versions.

Thankfully there’s a better way, which brings dynamic intelligence in a few clicks and is transforming financial management for firms across all sectors. And crucially, it can be deployed in a matter of weeks. Yes really.

Ending a 30 Year Reign

When Microsoft Excel was first released in 1985 it was a revelation in the financial community. Providing a way to manage data in a more organised way, it promised to revolutionise the way finance teams performed accounting functions.

Fast forward to today and the world has changed exponentially. Yet Excel is still prevalent in many finance departments. According to a recent survey of finance professionals, almost three-quarters (74%) of all respondents spend a minimum of five hours a day using Excel with 41% naming it as their top tool.

The issue is that while Excel brought with it a step change in data management, spreadsheets were never designed to be the backbone of an organisation’s financial reporting. And yet, so many finance functions rely on them for core tasks like consolidation, budgeting, forecasting and management reporting. In 2026 this is not only inefficient but leaves teams exposed to errors and risk.

Finance teams relying heavily on spreadsheets typically report the following issues:

• Manual data entry and duplication: Stitching together data from multiple companies, business units or departments is resource intensive and a highly inefficient use of time. Stitching together multiple spreadsheets, line by line, often sees links broken or formulas lost in transition, which erodes integrity.
• Version control: With every department head of business owner working on their own copy of a file, it can quickly become impossible to pinpoint the latest version. Where there are multiple contributors and delays in updates, exacerbated by remote working, and a blip can soon escalate into becoming a problem.
• Inefficient and time-consuming month-end: Time-consuming, manual re-keying of data, and back-and-forth between departments, means that month end can take weeks, and in some cases, the entire month. By the time reconciliations are checked, adjustments made, and reports produced, the data is out of date, which in today’s fast-paced markets, represents a major disadvantage.

These converged issues shine a spotlight on the need for transformation. With demands from both business stakeholders and customers higher than ever, and resources limited, there simply isn’t scope to absorb lengthy, inefficient and error-prone processes. Decision-makers lack the timey insights they need to inform decisions, and as such, CFOs’ confidence in the data is compromised.

Breaking Free from Spreadsheet Shackles

While a plethora of accounting systems promised to take the heavy lifting out of the spreadsheet and automate processes, many of these legacy systems only exacerbated the issues, with teams re-keying spreadsheet-based data into systems from which to run reports.

The answer isn’t more spreadsheets or workarounds for legacy accounting systems; it’s a new mindset, supported by modern capabilities designed specifically for the modern CFO. Through introducing a cloud-based finance system such as Sage Intacct, CFOs can gain access to greater automation, single source of the truth reporting and collaboration

Sage Intacct removes spreadsheets manual processes and delivers intelligence, real-time dashboards which provide live insights from which to steer the business. This real-time, automated and regularly updated financial management platform is built for the needs of growing businesses.

Unlike legacy accounting systems, it supports multi-entity consolidations to real-time reporting and automated workflows. And fundamentally it provides deep financial intelligence that combines both financial and operational data into one unified platform.

Key benefits include:

1 Automation 

Sage Intacct automates core finance tasks, including journal entries, reconciliations and consolidations, so your team isn’t bogged down by repetitive work. That means fewer errors, faster processes and more time to focus on value-added activities.

2 A Single Source of Truth

With Sage Intacct, all your financial data lives in one place. There are no conflicting spreadsheets, outdated versions or blind spots in reporting. Finance teams, department heads and business unit owners can trust the numbers they see, and finance teams can make faster decisions with confidence.

3 Real-Time Visibility and Collaboration

Instead of waiting for month-end or relying on static reports, Sage Intacct enables real-time dashboards and visual insights. Teams across the business can view the data that matters most, communicate directly within the system, and make decisions that are informed and timely.

4 Scalability for Growth

Whether your business is expanding organically, acquiring new entities, or entering new markets, Sage Intacct scales with you. Multi-entity capabilities, flexible reporting dimensions and cloud-native architecture support complexity without adding operational burden.

Future-Proof Finance

For CFOs and finance leaders, the decision to move away from spreadsheets and modernise the way data is consumed isn’t just about technology, it’s about meeting the demands of the future of the organisation and scaling accordingly. Cloud-based finance systems such as Sage Intacct are no longer optional but a prerequisite for scale and long-term growth.

To learn how Sage Intacct can modernise and streamline your finance processes, get in touch or call us 01606 871332.