Budgeting and forecasting
Is Excel holding back your budgeting process?
Excel makes it easy to build a budget and adapt it to business needs. Difficulties arise when file coordination, checks and adjustments displace analysis. How can you recognise this point?
By Antonio Daif· Published on 17 October 2026
Observe the work around the files
To assess your budgeting process, examine the time between initial collection and final approval.
How many reminders are needed? How many versions circulate? Which checks rely on one person? How many operations are necessary when an assumption changes?
These questions distinguish useful spreadsheet flexibility from an organisation that has become difficult to control.
Five signals to examine
1. Versions become difficult to identify. Several files have similar names and teams are not always sure which one is authoritative.
2. Consolidation requires many operations. Data is copied, adjusted or reconciled in each cycle. A local change may require several steps to be repeated.
3. Rules are scattered. Formulas, assumptions or allocation keys differ between files without shared documentation.
4. Simulations take too long. Changing a salary increase rate, sales volume or investment schedule requires intervention in several models.
5. The process depends on a few people. Understanding the files and knowing how to correct them is concentrated among key employees.
One signal alone does not necessarily justify changing tools. Their accumulation warrants an assessment.
Clarify requirements before selecting a solution
Some difficulties can be addressed by better organisation: harmonised templates, common reference data, a shared timetable, documented checks and explicit responsibilities.
When these measures are no longer sufficient, an EPM solution may be considered to structure collection, versions, approvals and calculations. Specify what needs to be centralised and which uses remain suited to spreadsheets.
Selection should consider contributor numbers, model complexity, forecast frequency and the resources available to administer the solution.
Where should you start?
During the next cycle, measure time spent on four activities: collection, correction, consolidation and analysis.
This record provides a practical basis for choosing improvements and subsequently checking their effect.
Is budgeting taking too much time? Let’s identify difficulties and options suited to your organisation.
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