Consolidation Manager Champion

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Champion Focus

The Consolidation Manager Champion is your go-to assistant for budget and forecast management. Query monthly figures, compare budget vs. forecast, update amounts, and filter by sub-account or cost center -- without navigating through ERP screens.

What You Can Do

Query Budget and Forecast Data

Get a clear picture of your financial plans:

• View monthly figures for any GL account and year
• See budget and forecast side by side with variance calculations
• Break down by quarter with monthly detail within each quarter
• Filter by sub-account or cost center for granular views

"Show budget and forecast for GL account 4000 for 2025"
"What's the forecast for account 5100 this year?"
"Show Q2 breakdown for account 4200"
"Filter by cost center 100"

Update Budget and Forecast Amounts

Make changes with full transparency:

• Set exact amounts: "Update January forecast to $50,000"
• Apply percentage changes: "Increase Q1 budget by 10%"
• Match modes: "Set forecast to match budget for all months"
• Add comments: "Update March with comment 'revised per board meeting'"
• Bulk updates: Change an entire quarter or year in one step

"Update forecast for March to $45,000"
"Increase budget by 5% for Q2"
"Set forecast to match budget for the full year"
"Update Q3 forecast down 8% with comment 'adjusted for seasonal dip'"

Work Across Entities

When a GL account spans multiple entities (companies or departments):

• The Champion shows you which entities are available
• Pick the one you want to work with
• Your selection is remembered for the rest of the conversation
• Switch entities anytime by asking

"Show entities for account 4000"
"Use entity 10USACO"
"Switch to entity 20EURCO"

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How It Works

Viewing Data

1. Specify the GL account and year
2. If the account has multiple entities, the Champion asks you to choose
3. Monthly figures appear in a table with Budget, Forecast, and Variance columns
4. Quarterly and annual totals are included

Updating Data

1. Describe the change -- specify the period(s), type (budget or forecast), and the amount or percentage
2. The Champion shows a before-and-after comparison
3. Confirm to apply the update, or cancel to discard
4. The data refreshes automatically after the update

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Common Use Cases

Monthly Budget Review

You:       "Show account 4100 for 2025"
Champion:  "Multiple entities found. Which one?
           1. 10USACO
           2. 20EURCO"

You:       "10USACO"
Champion:  "Account 4100 - Entity 10USACO - 2025:

           Month     | Budget    | Forecast  | Variance
           January   | $45,000   | $42,000   | -$3,000
           February  | $45,000   | $47,500   | +$2,500
           March     | $45,000   | $44,000   | -$1,000
           Q1 Total  | $135,000  | $133,500  | -$1,500
           ..."

Quarterly Forecast Adjustment

You:       "Decrease Q2 forecast by 8%"
Champion:  "Before -> After:
           April:  $62,000 -> $57,040
           May:    $65,000 -> $59,800
           June:   $61,000 -> $56,120
           Q2:     $188,000 -> $172,960
           Proceed?"

You:       "yes"
Champion:  "Q2 forecast updated successfully."

Aligning Budget and Forecast

You:       "Set forecast to match budget for all months"
Champion:  "This will update all 12 months. Forecast will match budget:
           January:  $42,000 -> $45,000
           February: $47,500 -> $45,000
           ...
           Proceed?"

You:       "yes"
Champion:  "All 12 months updated. Forecast now matches budget."

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Tips and Best Practices

• Choose your entity early -- the Champion remembers it for the conversation, saving you time on follow-up queries
• Use match mode for quick alignment between budget and forecast
• Update by quarter when the same change applies to multiple months
• The Champion always shows both budget and forecast, so you can spot variances at a glance

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Troubleshooting

"No budget found"

The GL account may not have a budget for the requested year. Try: "What budgets exist for account 4100?"

Wrong entity selected

Say "Switch to entity [code]" at any time to change your selection.

Update does not apply

• Verify the GL account and year are correct
• Confirm you said "yes" when prompted
• Check that you have write permissions for budget data

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Limitations

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