How Fathom solved our consolidated reporting headaches

We connected with Tyler Caskey, CFO at The Bean Counters, to discuss how his team implemented Fathom to solve their consolidated reporting needs. Tyler shares how Fathom has helped to level up their processes and give them a high-quality output.

Website: thebeancounters.com.au  
Number of employees: 10  
Industry: Accounting and Business Optimisation  
HQ: Sydney, Australia

The Company

TheBeanCounters are a specialised team based in Sydney, Australia. They’re dedicated to helping businesses optimise their system stacks and improve their reporting using advanced tools such as Tavern and Power BI. With a small team consisting predominantly of accountants and one systems engineer, they bring extensive hands-on industry experience to their clients.

The Challenge

Before The Bean Counters adopted Fathom, the team found that manual consolidations were posing significant challenges:

1. Attempting to add automation with formulas actually created more work

2. Errors in the spreadsheet were frequent

3. Troubleshooting was time-consuming

4. Consolidations required a senior-level skillset

Tyler recounts, "I started doing consolidations in 2001 at KPMG and my job was to have the master spreadsheet and I've spent, I hate to say it, but months and months maintaining master spreadsheets of 60, 70 tabs, and trying to build formulas to automatically consolidate revenue, expenses and balance sheets. But I was always looking for ways to automate how we eliminated accounts.

“And the best we could ever get was setting up individual accounts. For example, if company A lent money to company B, that had to be separate from when company A lent money to company C, so that our Excel formulas could find individual codes. And then on top of that, we also had to use intelligent general ledger codes, often five, six, seven digits, so we could use a one for one match. If we did that, then we could automate the formulas.  

“The trouble with that is they were always prone to error.  A partner and I at KPMG, I remember a weekend before a board presentation, we were sitting there trying to find errors in spreadsheets. You know, literally looking for one error in 60 or 70 tabs."

The old process was not only labor-intensive but also required high-level oversight, making it difficult to delegate and leading to huge delays in month-end reporting.

The Solution

Tyler is passionate about finding the right tools to make finance processes more efficient. He recommends regularly exploring options in the Xero app store to discover technology that simplifies workflows and improves accuracy. His advice is clear: don’t be afraid to try something new. Whether you’re looking for a solution to automate consolidations or manage inter-company loans, there’s almost always a tool that can help. By taking the time to research and test these apps, you can reduce manual effort, streamline reporting, and ultimately save time.  

If you're looking to dive deeper into optimising your tech stack, Tyler’s four-step process for simplifying consolidations, and other valuable insights, be sure to check out his full Expert Series here.  

The transition to Fathom marked a turning point:

"Adopting Fathom was like turning on a light in a dark room. The platform’s intuitive interface and robust automation capabilities immediately streamlined our consolidation process, dramatically reducing the time and effort required," says Tyler.

The Results

1. Saved hours per month

"With Fathom, we've seen our month-end delivery time cut down significantly. What used to take several days now gets done within hours.”

2. Able to use staff time more effectively

“This efficiency has allowed us to reallocate our senior staff’s time towards strategic analysis and decision-making," Tyler notes.

3. More professional reports

"The quality of reporting has vastly improved. Fathom's automated tools help us generate professional, visually appealing reports that are both accurate and easy to understand.

4. Created opportunities for junior accountants

“The reporting has not only enhanced our credibility but has also empowered our junior accountants to engage more deeply with the financial data, providing them with a clearer understanding of our business dynamics.”

5. Improved client engagement

"Fathom has not just simplified our processes—it's transformed them. We're now able to provide quicker, more reliable financial information, which has been crucial for strategic planning and improving our client interactions."

TheBeanCounters were struggling with time-consuming and error-prone manual consolidations. By using Fathom, they were able to streamline their reporting and reduce the amount of time spent on consolidations. The platform’s automation features made the process more efficient, allowing the team to focus on more valuable tasks, while also improving the quality of their reports.

Customer Testimonial

"Fathom has revolutionised how we handle consolidations. It's not just about saving time—though it does that incredibly well—it's about the confidence and clarity it brings to our entire financial process. The ability to produce accurate, professional reports effortlessly is a game-changer for us and our clients."  

Interested in seeing how Fathom can streamline your financial consolidations?

Explore the benefits of automated reporting with Fathom, take a look more features here.

Start your free 14-day trial today.