CA&S is a key player in the African FMCG sector, operating across multiple countries and providing sales, merchandising and distribution services to some of the world’s biggest brands. With around 40 entities and 15,000 employees, the group plays a critical role in helping global brands reach consumers across the continent. CA&S is also listed on both the JSE and Botswana Stock Exchange, bringing the added responsibility of reporting to shareholders and regulatory bodies with accuracy and efficiency.
Pain points
As the business grew and regulatory requirements increased, the finance team needed a way to keep up with the growing complexity of group consolidation. The team was using tried-and-tested Excel-based processes, but with tighter deadlines and more data to manage, it was clear that spreadsheets alone weren’t going to be sustainable.
“The risk of human error was just too high, and consolidating data for reporting became time consuming, especially when rolling over prior-year budgets while simultaneously managing year-end audits,” explains Bernadien Naude CA(SA), Group Finance Manager at CA&S. “
The challenge wasn’t about whether we could do it, but about how much time and effort it was costing us.”
Implementing Finnivo®
CA&S chose Finnivo® largely due to familiarity and trust; the group’s FD had worked with a previous version of the platform before, and the team knew it would deliver the results they needed. Implementation was a collaborative effort between the internal finance team and Finnivo® consultants, using CA&S’s existing reporting templates and historical data to build a solution tailored to the group’s requirements.
Initially, the approach was to make the transition with minimal disruption, but as the team gained a deeper understanding of Finnivo®’s capabilities, they refined the process further by consolidating everything into a single, streamlined template.
“We made the decision to go all-in and do it properly,” says Naude. “That meant bringing everything into one structure and setting it up for long-term efficiency.”
The benefits
The change paid off quickly. Finnivo® provided standardisation across all reporting, reduced the risk of manual errors, and gave the finance team access to features like drill-down capabilities, which made analysis and troubleshooting far easier.
“For me, the confidence that nothing’s been accidentally overwritten or deleted is a huge benefit, and has allowed us to focus on the bigger picture as a team,” says Naude.
While some team members naturally took time to adjust, the general feedback has been positive.
Standardised reporting has also helped improve accuracy across the group, and while Naude admits that it’s hard to quantify the exact time savings, the reduction in manual workload has been significant.
What’s next
CA&S is now looking at using Finnivo®’s report-writing tools to further simplify AFS generation, as well as unlocking additional features that can support even more efficient reporting across the group. Having the security of a consolidated data history gives the team increased confidence for the future.
Would you recommend Finnivo®?
“Absolutely,” says Naude. “My advice to other companies is don’t take shortcuts. Take the time to work with the Finnivo® team and get it right from the start and you’ll see the benefit.”
For CA&S, Finnivo® has not only streamlined its reporting processes, but also laid the foundation for faster, more accurate financial management that supports the needs of a growing, listed business.