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Trial Balance Report
Trial Balance Variance Report
What is a Trial Balance Variance Report?
A Trial Balance Variance Report functions as a crucial tool utilized by accountants to verify the accuracy of their General Ledger. Unlike standard trial balance reports that merely display the current month’s account balances, this report goes a step further by incorporating a year-on-year comparison. By including percentage variance columns and a control total, this report provides more valuable insights than conventional single-month trial balance reports. Below, you’ll find an example of this report.
Purpose of Trial Balance Variance Reports
The primary goal of Trial Balance Variance Reports is to enhance companies’ and organizations’ ability to detect discrepancies in their balances beyond what single-month trial balance reports can reveal. When integrated into the Finance & Accounting Department’s best practices, these reports contribute to improved financial accuracy and control. Moreover, they help minimize the risk of inaccurate financial statements arising from issues with general ledger entries.
How can Financial Statements Drive Faster and Better Decisions? As Corporate Controllers increasingly become key advisors in the Monthly Reporting Process, they must rely on modern self-service corporate performance management (CPM) and business intelligence (BI) tools. Using interactive control tools like the Trial Balance Variance Report template shown below enables them and users from the accounting and FP&A teams to experience near real time monthly balance control that help drive faster and better decisions.
Who uses Trial Balance Variance Reports and What are Some Key Analytical Features? In today’s fast-paced business environment, Corporate Controllers are under high pressure to supply end users like accounting staff and reporting managers with timely and concise Financial Statements. Companies use key features like the ones below to support their users with effective analysis that helps drive data and reporting accuracy:
Data Integration to Transaction Systems Most organizations these days want automated and streamlined planning, reporting and analysis. However, many of the benefits described earlier rely on best of breed Corporate Performance Management (CPM) tools and/or Business Intelligence (BI) capabilities as well as data marts or data warehouses that use pre-built integrations to the organization’s ERP system. Oftentimes, they also need integrations to other key data sources like CRM, subscription systems, payroll tools, etc. Modern, cloud-based ERPs like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance (D365 Finance), Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (D365 BC), Sage Intacct, Acumatica, Netsuite and SAP have robust APIs which allow for dynamic integrations to CPM and BI tools that are fully automated and flexible to run on a schedule or on-demand.
Additional Resources to Aid with Research of Templates, CPM and BI Tools
Who uses Trial Balance Variance Reports and What are Some Key Analytical Features? In today’s fast-paced business environment, Corporate Controllers are under high pressure to supply end users like accounting staff and reporting managers with timely and concise Financial Statements. Companies use key features like the ones below to support their users with effective analysis that helps drive data and reporting accuracy:
- Dynamic listing of all active GL accounts down the rows with a control total
- Monthly and year-to-date (YTD) balances with variance columns
- Automated narrative on the top of the report that provide an instant message if the GL is in balance or not
Data Integration to Transaction Systems Most organizations these days want automated and streamlined planning, reporting and analysis. However, many of the benefits described earlier rely on best of breed Corporate Performance Management (CPM) tools and/or Business Intelligence (BI) capabilities as well as data marts or data warehouses that use pre-built integrations to the organization’s ERP system. Oftentimes, they also need integrations to other key data sources like CRM, subscription systems, payroll tools, etc. Modern, cloud-based ERPs like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance (D365 Finance), Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (D365 BC), Sage Intacct, Acumatica, Netsuite and SAP have robust APIs which allow for dynamic integrations to CPM and BI tools that are fully automated and flexible to run on a schedule or on-demand.
Additional Resources to Aid with Research of Templates, CPM and BI Tools
- Templates from Solver that are pre-built and that work out-of-the-box using the Solver CPM cloud. Click here.
- Template examples: You find more than 500 CPM and BI Template examples here.
- Interactive Dashboard examples: Try Power BI dashboard templates from Solver here.
- Software evaluation and selection:
- Vendor Comparison and ROI (free interactive tool)
- Evaluating planning, budgeting and forecasting functionality
- Evaluating Financial Reporting functionality
- Evaluating Dashboard functionality
- Evaluating Data Warehouse functionality to achieve “one version of the truth”
- Demonstrations and other specific assets: Solver Tour Central
- Using third party analysts and consultants to aid in vendor selection
- Creating efficient processes:
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