−85%
Prep time per entity
Group Budget vs Actual reporting suite
Finance reporting automation Internal work sample
A shared set of monthly reports comparing budgets with actual results, built for finance teams working across multiple companies.
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The problem
Fragmented entity files made monthly reporting slow, inconsistent and difficult to review.
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My role
Built a reusable Excel and Power Query template that selects the right company and period, replacing separate reporting files.
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Where it stands
Management receives reports sooner, with less preparation work and more finance time available for analysis.
Results and evidence
−60%
Reporting production effort
40 → 16 hours per cycle
35 → 6 days
Delivery lead time
~1,400 hrs/yr
Capacity released
Source notes
Released roughly 1,400 hours of annual finance capacity.
Built reports comparing budgets with actual results, cutting preparation time per entity by 85%.
Cut management reporting production effort by 60%.
Used reusable reporting templates to cut preparation from 40 hours to 16 and delivery lead time from 35 days to 6.
35 Before — fragmented per-entity work files
bespoke file per entity
6 After — parameter-driven Power Query templates
one maintained codepath serves all entities
Both values as documented in the CV; measured on the live monthly reporting cycle, 2026.
Business impact
Released roughly 1,400 hours a year of finance capacity (EUR 50k–60k value) while improving speed, consistency and reviewability.
How I did it
- 01
Standardised inputs so one controlled process serves multiple entities and input methods.
- 02
Used entity and period parameters to direct one maintained query path to the relevant source.
Tools and working context
Recurring group reporting across a multinational, multi-entity environment with heterogeneous inputs.
- Tools
- Excel · Power Query
- Business area
- Management reporting · Budgeting
- Skill type
- Automation · Data & Reporting
Why I made these choices
- Used parameters instead of bespoke entity files to keep the suite maintainable at scale.
- Kept the solution in finance's existing Excel and Power Query environment, with reviewable logic and no additional licence requirement.
Skills used
- Power Query (M) Data & Reporting Strong
- Excel (advanced) ERP & Systems Strong
- Management reporting & budgeting Finance Strong
What I learned
- Standardising inputs created the scale benefit; the automation then applied one process across entities.
What comes next
- Connect refresh to the group data model and validate inputs before processing.