Sixthfin Accounting Controls Automation Software Moves UK Account Analysis, Analytical Review and Manual Journal Entry Validation Beyond Excel Across 38 ERP Systems in 2026

UK CFO research shows account analysis and justification, analytical review and validation of manual journal entries are the activities finance leaders most want to strengthen, as large teams weigh accounting controls automation against a manual close still built on Excel. The findings set out where spreadsheet-based account analysis stops being an analysis tool and starts being the control environment, and what UK enterprises are assessing when they compare financial close analytical review and account justification software for multi-entity groups.

London, United Kingdom, Sept. 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ask a group financial controller which accounts were reviewed last month, by whom, and against what supporting evidence, and in most UK enterprises the answer requires emailing several people and opening several workbooks. 67% of UK CFOs say their organisations use Excel to analyse and justify accounts, while just 3% use a dedicated solution for account reconciliation. For more information visit https://sixthfin.com/en/

The cost of that arrangement is rarely visible during the close itself. It appears afterwards, when an auditor asks how a balance was justified, when a due diligence team requests the working papers, or when the person who understood an account leaves. 35% of CFOs surveyed cite dependence on certain key individuals as a factor complicating the close and 34% cite difficulties with traceability and account documentation.

The data comes from the Sixthfin Report on Accounting Transformation, a study of 303 CFOs at large and mid-sized private UK companies conducted by Odoxa for Sixthfin and published in May 2026. The full study is available at https://sixthfin.com/en/resource/sixthfin-report-on-accounting-transformation/ 

Excel use stands level with ERP systems, also at 67%. Collaborative tools are used by 61%, custom-developed internal tools by 38%, and only 15% carry out account analysis and reconciliation without relying on Excel or collaborative tools.

Spreadsheet use is not the problem in itself. Excel remains a flexible and familiar analysis environment, and for an individual accountant it is often the fastest way to inspect information. The enterprise control question arises when multiple spreadsheets become the architecture through which a complex close is analysed, justified, documented and approved across subsidiaries and teams. 38% of CFOs surveyed said the multiplication of Excel files makes the close more complex, 35% cited dependence on certain key individuals, 34% lack of coordination between teams and 34% difficulties with traceability and account documentation.

The research suggests finance leaders see room to improve in exactly the activities that determine whether accounts can be relied upon. 53% identified analysis and justification of accounts as something they wanted to strengthen, 50% analytical review of the balance sheet and income statement, and 50% checking and validating manual entries. 67% named improving the reliability of accounts as their overall priority for improving the close, ahead of reducing delays at 57%.

"Any vendor claiming to take Excel away from accountants is misreading the problem. The issue is not Excel in itself. The issue is that a group cannot see which accounts were reviewed, by whom, against what evidence, when that record lives in several hundred workbooks," said François Vallana, CEO of Sixthfin.

Sixthfin Closing structures balance sheet reviews, account analysis and justification, standardises controls across entities, and gives finance teams access to the underlying accounting information. Users can move from an identified balance or exception to individual journal entries and transactions, holding the associated review history, comments and supporting evidence within the platform rather than reconstructing it afterwards.

The distinction that matters for a multinational finance organisation is between using spreadsheets as an analytical tool and depending on them as the principal control environment for the close. Group level control requires visibility over which accounts were reviewed, which exceptions were identified, how differences were explained, what supporting evidence was provided and whether the process was applied consistently across entities. The objective is not to eliminate Excel but to reduce dependence on disconnected spreadsheet processes where analysis, justification and evidence become difficult to monitor at group level.

That distinction also shapes what automation is expected to deliver. In this context automation means three things: automating the controls themselves, so that testing is standardised and repeatable rather than dependent on who performs it; automating analysis across the complete population of accounting data rather than a sample, so that anomalies which are individually small remain visible; and automating balance sheet reviews, so that account analysis and justification are structured, documented and comparable from one period to the next. And in any case ensuring that there is still a human in the loop.

Sixthfin Closing operates across existing ERP environments rather than requiring organisations to replace them. Sixthfin says its technology supports 38 ERP systems and operates in more than 70 countries, with data fed through a configured data exchange mechanism rather than a real time connection to each source system, and that the platform is ERP and chart of accounts agnostic. That matters for organisations which have accumulated different financial systems through acquisitions, international expansion or decentralised technology decisions. More than 1,000 companies and groups were covered by Sixthfin technology in 2026.

Analytical review becomes more consequential as companies shorten the close. 74% of the UK companies surveyed complete their close in three to eight days, while 86% of CFOs identified insufficient time for analysis as a source of stress and 86% identified unreliable data. Reducing the number of days therefore addresses only part of the problem. Where the timetable is compressed without adding capacity for analysis, review and investigation, finance teams have less time to establish whether unusual movements and balances have been adequately explained.

Artificial intelligence is beginning to affect this stage of the process. 84% of surveyed CFOs said they trust AI for the automation of repetitive accounting tasks and 80% for improving the reliability and control of figures and detecting anomalies, although on every application tested fewer than half said they trust it absolutely. AI-assisted anomaly identification can direct attention toward information requiring investigation; it does not remove the need to understand the underlying transaction or to document why an exception is acceptable. Sixthfin combines AI-assisted analysis with structured accounting data and transaction level investigation so that anomaly identification sits inside a broader review process.

For UK enterprises evaluating accounting controls automation, the decision accordingly extends past whether a system can automate repetitive work. Finance teams can also assess whether account justification works across multiple entities and ERP systems, whether analytical review is incorporated, whether controls run across the complete data population rather than a sample, whether users can drill down to journal entries, and whether the resulting evidence remains available to internal control and audit.

With 3% of surveyed UK CFOs using dedicated software against 67% using Excel, account analysis and justification remains one of the least-tooled parts of the enterprise close, and one where the controls surrounding it still depend substantially on fragmented files, individual knowledge and manual evidence collection.

For more information about Sixthfin Closing or to request a demonstration, visit https://sixthfin.com/en/solution/closing/

About Sixthfin

Sixthfin develops financial data control and financial close technology for complex organisations. Its Closing platform structures balance sheet reviews, account analysis and justification, control standardisation, collaborative workflows, documentation and transaction level investigation across multi-entity and multi-ERP environments. Sixthfin technology supports 38 ERP systems, is deployed in more than 70 countries and covered more than 1,000 companies and groups in 2026. The company has offices in London and Paris.

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• Sixthfin Accounting Controls Automation Software UK

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Sixthfin Accounting Controls Automation Software UK

Sixthfin Closing addresses the pain points accounting teams most often encounter during the close. Automated, centralised analyses replace fragmented manual work, which strengthens the reliability of closing procedures and places them under consistent control. Built-in commenting keeps discussion of accounts and exceptions attached to the review itself, so teams across entities work from a single record. Finance teams also get direct access to the underlying accounting data they need to reach informed conclusions on balances and exceptions.