← Back to all use cases Finance

Finance & analytics

Month-end closes late because the numbers live in ten places.

Pilot targetFaster, cleaner month-end
Project startDate agreed in scope
ValidationMeasured against baseline
What changes

From fragmented numbers to measurable finance visibility.

Pilot targetFaster, cleaner month-end
01Today

The friction

Finance teams rebuild the same spreadsheets every month, cash-flow visibility is backward-looking, anomalies and duplicate payments are found too late, and management decisions wait on reports that arrive after they are useful.

02With HAY AI

The operating change

Connect approved financial sources to recurring reports, scenario analysis and anomaly review. Show assumptions and data gaps, compare forecasts with actuals and keep accounting judgments and financial approvals with your team.

Best fit

Finance teams in SMEs and scale-ups.

Decision snapshot

Start with one recurring management report.

Start with one workflow, measure it against the current baseline and expand only after the result is visible.

See a sample first pilot →
Best first pilotAutomated management reporting for one recurring report.
What we measureReporting time, data completeness, sign-off turnaround and manual corrections.
Human controlAI supports analysis; finance owners retain approval and sign-off.
Scale ruleKeep, improve or stop the pilot based on evidence before expanding.
Smart Finance & analytics roadmap

From fragmented numbers to decision-ready finance

Reduce spreadsheet reconstruction and improve visibility without automating material financial decisions.

What happens today
Finance teams rebuild the same spreadsheets every month, cash-flow visibility is backward-looking, anomalies and duplicate payments are found too late, and management decisions wait on reports that arrive after they are useful.
Roadmap

See the operating journey stage by stage.

Open each stage to see the problem, action, deliverable and KPI behind the workflow.

Finance & analytics roadmap

Stage 1 of 7

Financial data collection

More complete and reliable financial data
The problem at this stage

Invoices, receipts, bank statements, sales and expense data arrive from different systems and spreadsheets. Manual entry creates missing fields, duplicates and delays before finance can trust the numbers.

Exactly what we do

Connect ERP, banking, spreadsheet and document sources, extract key fields from invoices and receipts, normalise the data and validate exceptions before they reach the reporting layer.

What you receive

Connected finance data intake, document extraction, validation rules, duplicate flags and a clear source-of-truth register.

Opportunity map

Eight practical areas we can improve

See reporting, forecasting, budgeting and variance analysis as one finance workflow so data, assumptions and review steps stay connected.

1. Financial data collection

Connect ERP, banking, spreadsheet and document sources, extract key fields from invoices and receipts, normalise the data and validate exceptions before they reach the reporting layer.

2. Reconciliation & closing

Match bank and account records automatically, explain unmatched items, flag unusual variances and guide the team through a closing checklist with owners, deadlines and approval history.

3. Cash flow management

Combine inflows, outflows, receivables, payables and payment commitments in one view. Forecast near-term cash, flag risk days and recommend collection, payment or working-capital actions for approval.

4. Budgeting & planning

Build driver-based budgets from historical performance and business assumptions, compare scenarios, route owner input and show the impact of cost, hiring, pricing or demand changes before approval.

5. Reporting & dashboards

Create role-based dashboards from the trusted finance layer, define KPI ownership and automate recurring reports with the explanation behind major movements and exceptions.

6. Forecasting & scenario planning

Generate conservative, base and upside scenarios from business drivers, model revenue and cost projections, show the assumptions behind each change and let leaders compare the cash and margin impact before deciding.

7. Risk & decision support

Monitor transactions and financial behaviour for anomalies, score risk with explainable reasons, track compliance controls and give decision-makers evidence, options and a human approval step for material actions.

8. Continuous improvement

Bring timeliness, variance, rework and forecast quality into one recurring finance review so assumptions and exceptions stay visible.

Choose your first pilotRecommended starting point

Automated management reporting for one recurring report.

Start with one management report that already has an owner and a known preparation process. Connect only the approved source data, automate the draft and review it against the current reporting baseline.

What we build

  • Map one recurring management report, its source data and owner sign-off
  • Connect the approved accounting, banking or sales exports needed for that report
  • Build the dashboard and narrative draft with source and variance checks
  • Add a review workflow so finance approves the final numbers and commentary

How we measure it

  • Reporting preparation time
  • Data completeness and reconciliation exceptions
  • Review and sign-off turnaround
  • Manual corrections required before release
Next expansion

What to add after the pilot

After the reporting pilot is stable, add one adjacent finance capability at a time with its own baseline and owner.

Cash-flow forecasting & scenarios

Add cash-flow visibility, assumptions and scenario comparison as a separate finance expansion.

Reconciliation & anomaly review

Introduce account matching, duplicate-payment or anomaly review with an auditable exception queue.

Budgeting & planning

Add budgeting, assumption tracking and variance-to-plan workflows after the reporting foundation is working.

Why this works

Practical before ambitious.

We begin with a finance process that already has measurable inputs and outputs, keep reviewers in control of assumptions and expand only after the evidence is strong enough.

Current methodBaselineMinimum systemsHuman approvalScale after proof
AI in action

See how approved financial data becomes decision-ready evidence

Help finance teams compare forecasts and scenarios using traceable inputs, while keeping approval and sign-off with people.
Finance leaders reviewing AI-assisted analytics, forecasts, scenarios and management reporting

Why this approach works for Finance & analytics

Start small, then connect

Choose one reporting, forecasting or budgeting workflow and one measurable target first. Expand only after finance accepts the assumptions, controls and measured result.

Keep people in control

AI supports analysis; finance owners retain approval and sign-off.

Use the tools already in place

Connect the ERP or accounting exports, planning models, spreadsheets and reporting tools finance already trusts instead of replacing the finance stack.

Measure business outcomes

Review the agreed measures: Close time, forecast accuracy, reporting effort and detected anomalies. Use these to assess business outcomes and decide the next step.

Finance & analytics project process

1. DiscoveryInterview the owner, process lead and people who do the work today.
2. BaselineMeasure time, volume, quality, cost, delays or missed opportunities.
3. Build the pilotConfigure one focused workflow and connect only the data required for the first result.
4. MeasureCompare the pilot with the baseline and review adoption, quality and risk.
5. Decide and scaleKeep, improve or stop the pilot based on evidence, then connect the next stage.
6. Improve regularlyTurn the connected reporting into a recurring operating rhythm for the team.

Suggested start: one workflow can go live first; the next measurable improvement is added only after the first review.

Information we need

  • Current workflow, owner and handoffs
  • Three to six months of relevant examples, records or messages
  • The systems, files, channels and approvals involved
  • Current baseline for Close time, forecast accuracy, reporting effort and detected anomalies.
  • The person responsible for exceptions and final decisions

Initial diagnostic questions

  • What is the biggest finance & analytics bottleneck today?
  • How often did it happen last month?
  • What do manual consolidation, late reporting, rework or forecast error cost today?
  • Which system or data already records the problem?
  • Can the first pilot run on one report, forecast, budget cycle or finance team?

Not sure which one fits you?

Book a free 30-minute discovery call. We will identify which use case is worth testing first and what evidence should decide the next step.

Book a free 30-minute discovery call

Other areas we automate

Contact us

Have a question about this page?

Send us the workflow, problem or idea you want to discuss. We’ll reply within one business day.

HAY AI Assistant

English · Հայերեն · العربية · Русский · Español