Magic Quadrant for Financial Close and Consolidation Solutions
Gartner defines financial close and consolidation solutions (FCCS) as applications that enable corporate controllers and their teams to manage the organization's group close, consolidation and reporting processes. The FCCS market equips organizations to: (1) manage and drive financial control across their close cycles through configurable workflows and dashboards that support collaboration and provide a centralized auditable view; (2) execute financial consolidation across multiple legal entities (LEs) and geographies; (3) meet accounting standards for currency translation, intercompany elimination and top-side adjustments; and (4) generate reporting that adheres to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and regional compliance. The controllership function needs a compliant, efficient and collaborative way to manage financial close due to increasing complexity of company structures, escalating financial regulations, multiple systems of record and the rise in remote working.
No strategic planning assumptions provided.
Vendors must, among other requirements:
A: This research evaluates 16 vendors in the financial close and consolidation solutions market based on their ability to execute and completeness of vision. It assesses vendors across must-have capabilities (close management, financial consolidation, financial reporting), standard capabilities (financial statement reconciliation, journal entry processing), and optional capabilities (financial reporting risk management, disclosure management). The evaluation covers product capabilities, market presence, innovation, customer experience, sales execution, and strategic vision for vendors offering cloud-based solutions that support organizations in managing their group close, consolidation and reporting processes.
A: This research should be used by corporate controllers and their teams who are responsible for driving improvements in financial close and consolidation processes. It helps evaluate vendors based on organizational use cases, implementation strategies, differentiating features, regulatory compliance needs, ongoing support requirements, and pricing models. The research should be used as one reference point in combination with other evaluation criteria, including the companion Critical Capabilities for Financial Close and Consolidation Solutions research, to identify the most suitable vendor and product for specific organizational needs.
A: Vendors must provide three core capabilities natively within their solution (not through partnerships): (1) Close management - the ability to manage group financial close through configurable workflows, task tracking, and real-time dashboards; (2) Financial consolidation - the ability to collect and aggregate financial information from multiple general ledgers, apply currency translation, execute intercompany eliminations and provide consolidated results; and (3) Financial reporting - the ability to generate financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, cash flow) compliant with GAAP, IFRS and the accounting standards of both entity and group company countries.
A:
A: Ability to Execute evaluates vendors' current capabilities and operational effectiveness in delivering their products and services to the market. It focuses on product quality, customer experience, sales effectiveness, market responsiveness, and overall business viability. Completeness of Vision assesses vendors' strategic direction and future potential. It evaluates their understanding of market trends, product strategy and roadmap, innovation capabilities, and strategies for growth across geographies, industries, and market segments. Essentially, Ability to Execute measures 'how well they do today' while Completeness of Vision measures 'where they're going and how well-positioned they are for the future.'