Still Preparing Financial Statements in Old Excel Format? There Is a Faster Way
Existing financial statements already contain valuable current-year and previous-year information. Learn how old-format Excel financials can become the starting point for the ICAI new financials format.
Many businesses already have complete financial statements in Excel. The problem is not missing data. The problem begins when an existing Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss statement has to be converted into the ICAI new financials format, or what many users search for as the Schedule 3 Financials Format.
The traditional approach is often to open a fresh workbook and start rebuilding.
Why manual conversion takes so much time
An accountant may need to identify every line item, regroup balances, create Notes to Accounts, bring in previous-year figures, recreate formulas and establish links between notes and the main statements.
Then a revised Trial Balance arrives and several parts of the workbook have to be checked again.
For one client this may be manageable. Across dozens of clients, it becomes repetitive work.
Use the existing financials as the starting point
assureOffice Financial Builder can use traditional or old-format Excel financial statements as an input source.
The objective is simple: do not rebuild information that already exists.
Available current-year and previous-year information can be used to prepare a structured financial statement workflow. The user can then review grouping, classifications, Notes to Accounts and final figures before export.
What can be prepared?
- Structured Balance Sheet;
- Statement of Profit and Loss;
- Notes to Accounts;
- Current-year and previous-year comparative figures;
- PDF financial statements; and
- Excel financial statements, including supporting workings where applicable.
Better use of professional time
A professional's time is better spent deciding whether a liability is current or non-current, whether depreciation is appropriate, whether capital is correctly presented and whether a disclosure is sufficient.
It is less valuable when spent repeatedly copying the same figures between Excel worksheets.
From old Excel to new financials format
If the financial statements already exist, start with them.
Use assureOffice Financial Builder to convert old-format Excel financials into structured ICAI / Schedule III style financial statements in minutes, instead of spending hours recreating the workbook manually.
Official reference
ICAI – Applicability of Guidance Note on Financial Statements of Non-Corporate Entities