Multi-Entity Consolidation for Global Manufacturing
How a multinational manufacturer with 15 entities automated consolidation and eliminated intercompany reconciliation errors
Company Profile
Results at a Glance
Error reduction
90%
↓ From 30+ errors
Saved per quarter
200hrs
↓ 67% faster
Annual savings
$360K
↓ Total cost reduction
Entities automated
15
↓ Across 8 countries
Entity Structure
Era Manufacturing Inc (US)
Parent company
Era Manufacturing GmbH (Germany)
European operations
Era Manufacturing Ltd (UK)
UK operations
Era Manufacturing Pte Ltd (Singapore)
APAC headquarters
11 additional manufacturing entities
Regional operations
The Challenge
As a global manufacturer with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia, the company faced immense complexity in consolidating financial results from 15 legal entities across 8 countries with 8 different functional currencies.
Key Pain Points:
- •Intercompany reconciliation nightmares: 50+ intercompany relationships requiring monthly reconciliation, with 30-40 unmatched transactions per quarter
- •Manual elimination entries: Controller spent 4 days each quarter manually preparing 200+ elimination journal entries
- •Currency translation complexity: 8 functional currencies requiring translation to USD, all done manually in Excel with frequent errors
- •Delayed close cycles: Consolidation took 12 days after individual entity closes, delaying board reporting
- •No drill-down capabilities: Executives could see consolidated numbers but couldn't drill down to source transactions
- •Audit inefficiencies: Auditors required extensive workpaper requests, adding 80+ hours to year-end audit
The CFO knew the manual consolidation process was unsustainable as the company planned to expand into 3 additional countries. They needed an automated solution that could scale while maintaining accuracy and providing real-time consolidated reporting.
The Solution
Era implemented a comprehensive multi-entity consolidation platform that automated intercompany eliminations, currency translation, and consolidated reporting with complete drill-down visibility.
Implementation Highlights:
1. Automated Intercompany Matching
Era's AI automatically matched intercompany transactions across all 15 entities using fuzzy matching algorithms. The system identified mismatches in real-time and suggested reconciliation entries, reducing unmatched items by 90%.
2. Intelligent Elimination Engine
Pre-configured elimination rules for intercompany sales, purchases, payables, receivables, and loans. Era automatically generated all 200+ elimination entries based on matched transactions, with complete audit trails.
3. Multi-Currency Translation
Automated currency translation using daily average rates (P&L) and period-end rates (balance sheet). Real-time FX gain/loss calculations with drill-down to source transactions. Automatic CTA (cumulative translation adjustment) tracking.
4. Real-Time Consolidated Reporting
Live consolidated financial statements with drill-down from consolidated totals to individual entity transactions. Segment reporting by geography, product line, and entity with one-click generation.
5. Audit-Ready Documentation
Complete consolidation workpapers generated automatically, including tie-outs, reconciliations, and elimination schedules. Auditors granted read-only access to drill down into any consolidated number.
Technologies Deployed
Implementation Timeline
Week 1-2
CompletedEntity structure mapping & NetSuite integration
Week 3-4
CompletedIntercompany accounts & elimination rules setup
Week 5-6
CompletedCurrency translation configuration (8 currencies)
Week 7-8
CompletedQ3 parallel consolidation testing
Week 9-10
CompletedAudit validation & documentation review
Week 11
CompletedQ4 production cutover
Total implementation time: 11 weeks from kickoff to production
Measurable Results
Consolidation Time
Manual Reconciliation
Elimination Errors
FX Translation Time
"Era transformed our consolidation process from a manual, error-prone nightmare into a streamlined, automated workflow. We cut our close cycle by 8 days and reduced errors by 90%. The real-time drill-down capabilities give our executives unprecedented visibility into our global operations."
Return on Investment
Annual Costs (Before Era)
Annual Costs (With Era)
Beyond Cost Savings
Faster Board Reporting
Consolidated financials now available 8 days earlier, enabling more timely board meetings and strategic decision-making.
International Expansion Ready
Successfully expanded into 3 new countries with zero additional consolidation headcount, adding entities in under 2 weeks each.
Improved Financial Visibility
Real-time segment reporting by geography and product line enabled identification of $2.4M in cost optimization opportunities.
Smoother Audits
Year-end audit fieldwork reduced by 80 hours due to automated workpaper generation and auditor drill-down access.
Ready to automate multi-entity consolidation?
See how Era can eliminate manual consolidation work and accelerate your close