CoverStory
Keeping data clean and connected
Data is the cornerstone of decision-making, so how do finance teams and accounting professionals ensure their figures are sound?
Words Annie Makoff Illustration Andrew Nye
Balance sheets, invoices, payroll records, cash flow statements, budgets, expenses, bank account balance, sales revenue – it’s all essential data for finance teams. Businesses rely on their finance teams to analyse this data and use it to forecast, predict and model scenarios which, in turn, help guide business strategy. Ultimately, it is used to build a picture of a business’s financial health.
Therefore, data needs to be accurate, reliable, up to date and, these days, connected. Financial systems and software need to interact seamlessly and ‘talk’ to each other. There should be minimal time lags or duplicate or missing entries. Of course, it doesn’t always work like that.
“In an ideal world, APIs [application programming interfaces] should allow everything to sync seamlessly, but the reality is there are always parameters that don’t align perfectly,” says Farha Jamadar FMAAT, senior chartered global management accountant and finance manager at Skyline Roofing Centres. “Finance teams are experts in identifying those gaps and resolving them. It’s part of the modern finance landscape.”
Birute Sutkiene, finance manager at skincare clinic It’s Me & You, says data helps guide strategic decisions around patient care and efficiency. But if it isn’t accurate or reliable, or if there simply isn’t enough information, any decision is “essentially a gamble”.
Yet a recent study from EY found that nearly three-quarters of high-value decisions made by UK businesses were based on incomplete or partial data. For any business, that’s hugely risky.
So how can finance teams ensure the data is high-quality, reliable and accurate?
Train the team
Sutkiene and her team focus on data reliability, which is about building a culture of ownership over data quality rather than simply relying on software. This involves training all members of the team on key concepts of data reliability such as data entry best practice, defining clear data and using a four-eyes principle for all important financial postings.
For Jamadar, it’s very much a people issue. A significant proportion of data may now be automated but there is still the human element where some data is input manually – and this is where things can go wrong. “Systems will only ever be as effective as the individuals who are manually inputting,” she explains. “People can be a business’s biggest asset, but they can also cause the biggest issues.”
Training to ensure staff understand deeply the processes and systems they are working with is key. If something goes wrong, finance staff then have the capability to unpick and amend, without causing further issues.
Finance teams are experts in identifying those gaps and resolving them. It’s part of the modern finance landscape.
Farha Jamadar FMAAT
Check, check and check again
The accuracy of data should never be taken for granted – that’s why it’s essential to check and re-check data. “Humans make mistakes, so don’t assume that the data is correct,” says Laura Cullen-Day, director of More Than Bookkeeping Ltd. “Keep checking, even if you’re confident the data is accurate.”
She advises using Excel to carry out a ‘sense check’ via Data Validation functionality and/or Conditional Formatting, which will flag up errors, inaccuracies or inconsistences based on inputted rules.
Jamadar recommends implementing frameworks into financial processes to encourage a culture of regular checking. In a previous role, she was surprised that regular checks were not undertaken and now ensures it is part of the culture at her current workplace. “Schedule in regular dataset checks, external checks with HMRC, bank feed reconciliation and payroll reconciliation,” she says. “Match the data against the system data. Regular scheduled checking has to be part of the process.”
Get it right first time
It may sound an obvious goal, but Jamadar is firmly of the opinion that financial reports, management accounts and so on should always be correct first time. “Getting it right the first time because you’ve checked and double-checked and you have the right processes, procedures and governance in place is an achievable goal,” she insists. “When processes are strong and consistent, automation becomes significantly easier and data is more reliable.”
It won’t always be possible, of course, but finance teams should have deep enough insight and understanding of their financial systems to know what the frustrations might be, where the gaps are and any potential problems. Then it’s about going back to basics and stripping back the process to ascertain what’s gone wrong.
“Too often, people may try and adjust figures or amend entries without really understanding what they are doing or how the system works,” Jamadar adds. “Then it gets messy and extremely complex. So getting it right first off because every aspect has been checked, reviewed and re-checked again reduces the need for problems later on. This is why, when I put my name to something, I know the figures will be exactly right.”
Humans make mistakes, so don’t assume that the data is correct.
Proactive monitoring
Sarah Hedley MAAT, finance director for energy management software company MRE Switch, carries out monthly checks on the business accounts and scrutinises all invoices and receipts for that month. “I also carry out data audits by thoroughly going through all expenditure to ensure correct allocation when inputting into the books,” she says.
Sutkiene has a similar approach at the skincare clinic. She says: “We carry out regular, targeted data-quality audits on a quarterly basis to validate key metrics against source documents.”
Identify KPIs
Hedley is intending to identify KPIs to improve data accuracy in her accountancy practice. “We’re entering an exciting period of rapid growth, so we need to maintain accuracy and reliability to ensure the information we’re giving clients is true,” she explains. She is considering implementing KPIs around deadline delivery rates (Construction Industry Scheme returns are on the 19th of every month, for example, and need to be completed by the 15th), workload efficiency, client retention rates and time tracking.
Key takeaway
As Sutkiene points out, data is “never static” so accountants should never take accuracy for granted. “You must treat data reliability as an ongoing maintenance task,” she explains. “Like keeping a complex machine running smoothly. A small drop in quality today can lead to a significant financial misstatement six months from now.”
It’s Me & You clinic
Finance Manager: Birute Sutkiene
Fragmented data was costing the business more than six hours every week. Excel spreadsheets and customer relationship management (CRM) inputs were combined manually, creating inefficiencies and lost business hours. The business pushed for a cross-system integration to streamline processes and migrated to a unified financial ledger system, which gathers data straight from its patient management system. Not only has it reduced reconciliation time and improved data accuracy, but business finances are presented holistically, providing a clear picture of the financial health of the business.
The stats
A total of 37% of CFOs do not trust the accuracy of their company’s financial data.
Source: BlackLine research
of business financial decisions are data-driven.
Source: FP&A Trends survey 2025
of CFOs are concerned about the ‘data gap’, saying financial decisions are made without enough information. A total of 29% admit this happens ‘often or always’.
Source: CFO Mindset Report by AccountsIQ
of business decisions are based on partial or incomplete data.
Source: EY study
of UK business leaders have access to real-time financial data, while 14% can access real-time non-financial data.
Source: EY study
