Breaking Free From Spreadsheet Shackles

By Kody Devlin, Percipient

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 more efficiently, it promised to revolutionise how finance teams perform 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 respondents spend at least 5 hours a day using Excel, with 41% naming it 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 such as 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 various spreadsheets, line by line, often results in broken links or lost formulas in transition, eroding integrity.
• Version control: With every department head or 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, a blip can soon escalate into becoming a problem.
• Inefficient and time-consuming month-end: Manual re-keying of data and back-and-forth between departments mean month-end can take weeks, and in some cases, the entire month. By the time reconciliations are checked, adjustments are made, and reports are produced, the data is out of date, which, in today’s fast-paced markets, represents a significant disadvantage.

These converging issues highlight the need for transformation. With demands from both business stakeholders and customers higher than ever, and resources limited, there is no scope to absorb lengthy, inefficient and error-prone processes. Decision-makers lack timely insights to inform their decisions, and as a result, CFOs’ confidence in the data is compromised.

A New Mindset

While a plethora of accounting systems promised to take the heavy lifting out of spreadsheets and automate processes, many of these legacy systems only exacerbated the issues, with teams re-keying spreadsheet 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 explicitly designed for the modern CFO. By introducing a cloud-based finance system such as Sage Intacct, CFOs can gain access to greater automation, a single source of truth for reporting, and collaboration.

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

Unlike legacy accounting systems, it supports multi-entity consolidations, real-time reporting, and automated workflows. And fundamentally, it provides deep financial intelligence by combining financial and operational data into a single unified platform.

Key Benefits

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 reporting blind spots. 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 informed, timely decisions.

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 on 01606 871332.