Scope of application in business departments
Gathering Tools gives your business department endless possibilities to ensure accurate, secured and reliable data collection processes in order to produce quality reporting. Plus, your spreadsheet data becomes interoperable, allowing it to be easily shared with other systems, and preventing users to lose time creating what already exists.
Data Collection and Consolidation in Accounting and Finance
Many companies have dedicated and powerful tools. However, integrated tools have a lack of flexibility for some users that choose to keep using Excel to collect and consolidate their data.
When the collection perimeter becomes large and/or heterogeneous (international, headquarters with subsidiaries, collection from partners, customers…), it is hard to find a tool that every part want to work with. This may result in poor data quality and a highly time-consuming collection process. Create excel reporting becomes tedious and unreliable.
Many financial departments have chosen to use Gathering Tools to enhance different types of data gathering processes like for example:
- Cash flow forecast,
- Hedging currency risks,
- Activity follow-up, KPI,
- Collection of budgetary items,
- Monitoring of contingent liabilities (guarantees, warranties),
- BFR Monitoring.
Excel Data Collection in Audit, Quality and Sustainable Development
Internal audit gives a lot of information about the company performance. In addition, recent rules (Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Financial Security Law, Bale II, and CRBF 97-02) reinforce importance of having a high quality internal audit system.
However, in practice, a lot of audit teams still use office applications, such as Excel, to formalize their work, interact with operational teams, and monitor the progress of their recommendations. But, spreadsheet reporting have reliability issues. It is very difficult to secure Excel reporting.
As a universal data collection and reporting tool, Gathering Tools can automate the collection of several types of indicators, as for example:
- Action plans monitoring,
- Recommendations follow-up,
- Self-evaluation,,
- Financial, environmental, social, and legal risks monitoring.,
Data Collection in HR Departments
As part of their monitoring activity and with the development of social reporting, the HR Department have to handle an increasing number of indicators such as for example headcount, inflow and outflow, internal mobility, daily presence, training, diversity, or labor costs.
The organization of the indicator collection process is now more than ever a key issue in terms of methods, tools and control procedures.
However, despite the introduction of HR Information Systems (HRIS), 78% of companies still use Excel to control certain indicators (IPSOC study) which generate issues in data reliability and data integration into the Company’s social repository. Therefore, Excel can no longer be used as a reporting solution.
Consequently, Gathering Tools is here to harmonize collection processes and ensures that data goes into HRIS.
As a universal data collection tool, Gathering Tools can automate the collection of several types of indicators, as for example:
- Headcount monitoring plan (within international subsidiaries),
- Payroll: variable compensation, increases, and
- bonuses & commission,
- Social report development,
- Individual interviews,
- Monitoring of individual training courses, pilot training plan,
- Accreditation management,
- Internal communication.
Data Collection in Sales and Marketing Departments
Monitoring business performance is crucial for any business. Business Intelligence tools offer activity monitoring through the creation of reporting dashboards based on consolidated data. However, this can only work if the data is available!
With the Gathering Tools solution, whether used independently or upstream BI solutions, you simply implement a data exchange platform with no user training and no infrastructure impact.
As a universal data collection tool, Gathering Tools can automate the collection of several types of indicators, as for example:
- Account activity reporting,
- Traffic and sales monitoring,
- Internal or external sales forces animation,
- Campaign tracking.