From Scattered Files to Automated Success 📉
The Situation: The "Hidden File" Problem
This company had important information trapped in many isolated Excel files. Not everyone knew these files even existed.
It was a typical case where a company relies on people's memory instead of established processes.
The team was wasting hours trying to get things done simply because data was not easily available. Even worse, they were doing manual work that wasn't needed because they didn't know a specific report already existed.
Phase 1: Creating the "Data Hub" 🧩
The first thing I did was create a "Data Hub." I used Python to find all the isolated Excel files, merge them, and extract only the valuable columns.
Once the data was centralized, I connected it to Power BI to create a dashboard. Suddenly, the team had all the accrual information they needed in one friendly view. This process alone saved hours of manual searching and copy-pasting.
Phase 2: Eliminating the Errors âš¡
The next challenge was pricing and procedural errors. Doing this in Excel is incredibly difficult. Even if you are an advanced Excel user, building complex logic to catch errors makes the file heavy and prone to crashing. With Python, it is simple and stable.
I created an algorithm that scanned the data and highlighted every anomaly. We used this granular data to approach different departments and show them exactly where the errors were coming from.
The Result 🚀
As we tracked and fixed the errors, the data became cleaner and cleaner.
The accounting team was able to close their month 2 days earlier.
Summary of Results:
- ✅ Unified Data: Collected all siloed Excel files into one powerful database.
- ✅ Automated Quality Control: Used Python to detect anomalies that Excel missed.
- ✅ Root Cause Fixed: Tracked errors so departments could fix processes.
- ✅ Time Saved: Reduced the monthly close cycle by 2 full days.
Do you have "Hidden Files" slowing down your month-end close?
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