AI in finance: close, reporting and forecast Routine posts itself, exceptions go to your team.
Consolidation, invoice checks and the forecast cost your team a lot of manual effort. We automate the routine work under approved rules. Finance data and assumptions come together in one planning model with scenarios.
Finance & controlling
DataClue applies AI and analytics in finance and controlling: for consolidation across several ERP systems, reporting and margin transparency, cash flow forecasts with scenarios, and accounts payable. Whatever matches the purchase order, goods receipt and account assignment rule runs automatically. Your team decides on variances above the approval threshold. Every decision is logged.
Where finance and controlling are under pressure today
- The month-end close ties up controlling with consolidation. Little time is left for analysis and commentary.
- Margin per customer and product only shows once someone recalculates it in a spreadsheet.
- The forecast rests on broad assumptions. No scenario shows how much each one matters.
Typical starting points in finance and controlling
Month-end close, incoming invoices and liquidity planning are still largely done by hand. Doubtful account assignments and the forecast approval stay with controlling.
Controlling and reporting
For the month-end close your team pulls figures from several systems together by hand, often under time pressure.
- Runs automatically
- Consolidation from several systems, reporting and dashboards by fixed rules.
- Your team decides
- Assessment and commentary on the deviations.
Metric, e.g. days to month-end close
Accounts payable and bookkeeping
Your team checks every invoice against purchase order and goods receipt and codes it by hand.
- Runs automatically
- What matches purchase order, goods receipt and coding rule.
- Your team decides
- Deviations above the approval threshold.
Metric, e.g. invoices posted without manual touch
Liquidity and forecast
The cash flow forecast rests on broad assumptions and little data analysis.
- Runs automatically
- Forecast model from ERP data and assumptions, scenarios for the main drivers.
- Your team decides
- Assumptions and liquidity measures.
Metric, e.g. deviation between forecast and actuals
Less consolidation, more time for analysis
- Data-driven decisionsConsolidation, a margin view by customer and product and a forecast with scenarios, on your ERP and BI landscape, such as Power BI.
- AI-supported workflowsAccounts payable and account assignment run under approved rules, with approval thresholds, a log and human review of the exceptions.
- AI potential analysisWhen AI in finance is a given but it is open where it pays off: use cases prioritized by business value, feasibility and effort.
What this looked like in practice
- 50%less monthly consolidation effortFull margin transparency across three sites and multiple ERP systems
- ERP-connectedforecast model built on finance data and assumptionsA cash flow forecast that shows how much each assumption matters
- About 91%of bookings identical to the tax advisors’ final versionAI booking agent: documents coded, booked and handed over automatically every day
All client examples are anonymized.
Finance & controlling
Frequently asked questions
What can AI take over in finance and controlling?
Mainly recurring work with clear rules: consolidating data from several systems, matching invoices against purchase order and goods receipt, flagging and explaining deviations. Assessment, commentary and decisions on exceptions stay with your team.
Do we have to harmonize our ERP systems first?
No. We bring the data of several ERP systems into one shared data foundation. We do not require system harmonization or a platform migration.
Do you work with Power BI?
Yes. We build on existing BI landscapes, including Power BI. Our Governed AI Analyst can also run on Power BI, a DataClue product within Decision Intelligence. It answers questions in natural language with the approved KPIs, definitions and role permissions.
Who is accountable if an automatic posting is wrong?
Accountability stays with your accounting team. Only what your managers have approved beforehand runs automatically, with approval limits and stop criteria. Everything above goes to accounting. Every system decision is logged. The log is the basis for your process documentation under the German GoBD rules, for audit and for correction.
Contact
Which workflow ties up your finance team at month-end?
Tell us how consolidation, accounts payable or the forecast run today. We tell you openly what can be automated and what stays with your team.
