The problem

Every month, the Operational Finance Team (OFM) were having to do numerous journal corrections due to the information within the ESR file being incorrect. This was extremely time consuming as they had to check what had been loaded into the ledger from the ESR file and compare it to their establishments for each division. This could take days for each division. If this was not done, information within the monthly finance reports would be inaccurate for each area.

The challenge

How might we correct these discrepancies as soon as the ESR file is received and loaded so that the team did not have to carry our these journal corrections?

The outputs

This has saved the team a huge amount of time, which can now be spent on value-added tasks instead of just correcting errors. Additionally, it has significantly improved the accuracy of information within the ledger, as it eliminates any human error that may occur while posting numerous journals for corrections. The pay information within the ledger is now updated much quicker, enabling early analysis to be carried out much earlier in the month. Any new individuals appearing on ESR but not on the establishment extract are promptly identified, allowing investigations to be carried out earlier to resolve any potential issues.

The outcomes

The benefits to the team are that they only need to concentrate on ensuring their information is up to date and accurate, with the assurance that the process will capture any necessary corrections. The team now understands the possibilities of using Power Query and is actively presenting new ideas to enhance team performance. The process will be handed over to members of the OFM team, enabling them to understand and potentially further improve it. This also encourages logical thinking to explore possibilities for automating tasks in the future.