Consolidator: a profession for today and tomorrow

A consolidator is much more than an excellent accounting technician with a strong affinity for IT. This was the conclusion reached on December 7 during a roundtable on statutory consolidation, organized by the Association of Accounting Directors in partnership with Paris-Dauphine University. Grégoire Beaurain, Director of the Finance Practice at Grant Alexander, took part.
Grégoire Beaurain contributed in his dual capacity as a member of APDC and as a Finance Practice specialist, deeply interested in this forward-looking function: consolidation.
He spoke alongside Mr. José-Manuel Sanchez (Head of Reporting and Consolidation, Eramet Group), Mr. Sofiane Moudjed (Senior Manager, KPMG Advisory), Mr. Bruno Oxibar (Director of the CCA Master’s program at Dauphine), and Ms. Alexandrine Lavaury (Deputy CEO, Francis Lefebvre Formation) to define the scope of this pivotal role.

CONSOLIDATION HAS BECOME A KEY MANAGEMENT TOOL…
… because it helps define a group’s growth strategy and analyze its performance level. In some cases, it comes very close to management reporting.
The purpose of consolidation is to provide a comprehensive economic vision of a Group. Listed groups rely on it and have been using IFRS standards for more than ten years now to prepare their consolidated financial statements.
Consolidation is of major importance to creditors (banks, suppliers, employees), to shareholders (majority and minority), and to the market as a whole.

THE CONSOLIDATION MANAGER IS LIKE A CONDUCTOR
The consolidator’s role is much broader than one might initially think. They are closely connected internally with HR, the Legal Department, management controllers, treasurers… and externally with statutory auditors and the AMF.
The consolidator cannot work alone. They must oversee procedures and alert the CFO or CEO on issues related to the production of consolidated accounts.
The Consolidation Manager also interacts regularly with top management and the Communications Department for the annual publication of financial statements. Consulting firms are also heavily involved in these discussions, thanks to their strong command of IFRS standards: they are the ones who invoke the “doctrine” to resolve potential conflicts of interest among stakeholders.
Finally, consolidations for large groups are now produced using specialized software (SAP BFC and Oracle dominate the Paris market). Some consolidators even manage these tools in close collaboration with IT departments.

CONSOLIDATION IS BOTH A TECHNICAL FUNCTION AND A HIGHLY “BUSINESS-ORIENTED” ROLE
A good consolidator must also reconcile constraints, opinions, and conflicting interests—constantly juggling IFRS standards and doctrine on the one hand, and the expectations and demands of the CEO, CFO, and Communications Department on the other.
They therefore play a pivotal and strategic role for the company. Far from being confined to one function, the consolidator builds an excellent network of internal and external contacts.
Some finance professionals discover a true calling in it, others expand their technical skill set, while others use it as a springboard—a stepping stone at headquarters to leverage their career. And indeed, that is what it has become: large groups today offer very attractive career prospects to consolidators within two to three years.

A PROFESSION TO GROW IN TODAY AND TO EVOLVE IN TOMORROW
Consolidation is a multidisciplinary function that requires not only financial expertise, but also a great deal of rigor, strong organizational and prioritization skills, solid interpersonal abilities, and IT competencies.
It is a profession rich in content and full of promising career paths for the future…
Author: Grégoire Beaurain – December 2016