How Automation Supports Shared Services and Global Finance Teams

For shared services and global finance teams, managing intercompany reconciliations is one of the most complex and time-consuming parts of the month-end process. Multiple entities, currencies, and systems mean even small timing differences can create cause issues.

Despite using SAP, many organisations still handle these reconciliations by downloading data into spreadsheets, emailing files between regions, and reconciling balances one transaction at a time. This slows down month-end close, adds risk, and leaves teams dealing with issues rather than analysing results.

Why Intercompany Reconciliation Remains a Global Challenge

The complexity lies in coordination. Each entity records transactions in its own books, often using different timelines, posting methods, or exchange rates. Matching intercompany balances manually means constant back-and-forth between local teams, time zones, and finance leads.

Even with SAP’s built-in tools, global teams face practical limitations. Native SAP intercompany clearing works well for individual company codes but struggles to handle multi-entity relationships at scale. Without automation, differences can remain unresolved for months, creating suspense accounts and impacting group reporting accuracy.

These inefficiencies create real financial exposure, from misstated balances to audit delays. For finance leaders, intercompany reconciliation becomes a recurring pain point that distracts from higher-value work.

How SAP-Native Automation Changes Collaboration

Automation inside SAP allows teams to identify, match, and clear intercompany items continuously throughout the month. With BEST, intercompany reconciliations in SAP happen in real time and across entities. Transactions are automatically matched and cleared within SAP’s standard environment, without the need for external tools or manual data handling. This approach eliminates version control issues, removes duplication, and provides a single, auditable record of every reconciliation.

Automation also supports global collaboration. Shared services teams can manage intercompany balances in SAP across multiple company codes and regions at once, giving local and group finance the same live view of status and exceptions. Issues are visible early, and standardised workflows ensure consistent approvals and escalation paths.

Gaining Control

The result is stronger governance and faster closes. Instead of waiting until month-end to resolve mismatches, teams can address exceptions throughout the period. Built-in workflows and dashboards show exactly where differences remain, who owns them, and what action is needed. Finance leaders gain real-time visibility of group intercompany positions, while local teams spend less time on manual checking. The ability to perform intercompany clearing in SAP at scale reduces reconciliation backlogs and improves reporting accuracy. More importantly, automation ensures consistency. Every reconciliation follows the same process, every approval is tracked, and every adjustment is logged within SAP.

From Manual Effort to Strategic Insight

For shared services and global finance teams, automation is about unlocking capacity. When reconciliations are automated and standardised, teams can focus on exception analysis, process improvement, and financial insight. BEST’s SAP-certified automation empowers finance leaders to manage complexity without expanding headcount or relying on external systems. It’s a scalable approach that adapts as organisations grow and integrates seamlessly with existing SAP structures and controls.

Intercompany Reconciliation With BEST

Automation inside SAP transforms how global finance teams collaborate. With fewer manual steps, faster issue resolution, and stronger oversight, shared services can close the month with confidence, no matter how many entities they manage.

Get in contact to see how BEST helps finance teams manage intercompany reconciliations in SAP efficiently, accurately, and at scale.