This workflow outlines the key steps to prepare consolidated financials in GATHER.nexus. Each step builds on the previous one, from defining company ownership through to reviewing the consolidated result in the Working Paper.
1) Set Up Subsidiaries
Start on the Company screen and define how each company fits into the group's ownership structure.
For each subsidiary:
Set Subsidiary Company to Yes.
Select how the company joined the group:
Acquired an existing company
Formed a new entity
Select the Holding Company.
Enter the applicable acquisition or incorporation date.
Enter the ownership percentage.
For an acquired company, enter the Purchase Consideration and currency.
Record Intercompany Accounts where applicable.
Record any subsequent Step acquisitions or Disposals.
The platform calculates the applicable NCI based on the ownership structure.
2) Create the Group and Review Ownership
Add the relevant companies to a Group and review the Ownership structure & effective % section.
The platform:
Identifies the top-most parent.
Shows the ownership chain.
Calculates effective ownership % down the ownership chain.
Calculates NCI as 100% minus effective ownership.
Shows the calculation behind each effective ownership percentage.
Re-bases the ownership structure when the selected top-most parent changes.
Handles separate ownership chains independently when a Group contains more than one chain.
These ownership and NCI figures are used by the consolidation process.
3) Set Up the Group Reporting Template
Set up the Group Reporting Template (GRT) used for the group's Working Paper, consolidated Reports, and Group Budgets.
You can:
Import a GRT from CSV.
Choose a ready-made template.
Build a template manually.
The platform automatically adds the consolidation accounts required for group reporting.
These accounts are identified as Platform generated and are locked. Locked platform-generated accounts cannot be hidden or deleted.
Where applicable, the platform also creates subsidiary-specific child accounts under the relevant consolidation accounts.
After setting up the GRT, map each company's QuickBooks Online or Xero chart of accounts to the appropriate group reporting accounts.
Do not map source-company accounts to Platform generated consolidation accounts. These accounts are populated by GATHER.nexus through the consolidation calculations and journals.
Mapping is optional, so source accounts can remain unmapped where required.
4) Generate and Review Consolidation Journals
The platform automatically generates the applicable consolidation journals using the ownership and acquisition information configured for the companies in the Group.
The automatic Balance Sheet journals are:
Pre-Acquisition Journal
NCI Journal (Current Year Earnings)
NCI Journal (Retained Earnings)
Step Acquisition Journal
Disposal Journal
Auto FX Journal (Auto FX 1)
The Pre-Acquisition Journal applies to subsidiaries that were Acquired as an existing company. It is not created for companies that were Formed as a new entity.
The applicable journals are generated based on the relevant ownership, acquisition, step acquisition, disposal, and foreign-exchange information.
Generated journal amounts can be edited where an adjustment is required.
Changes to ownership or acquisition information that affect consolidation cause the related automated journals to be recalculated.
5) Review the Consolidated Result in Working Papers
Use the Working Paper to review the group's figures and the consolidation adjustments applied to them.
The Working Paper provides:
Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet tabs.
A month-by-month layout.
Aggregated and Consolidated columns.
Individual company columns when an Aggregated month is expanded.
Automatic consolidation journal Debit and Credit columns on the Balance Sheet.
Exchange-rate information for translated company figures.
Clickable calculated figures that open the calculation behind the amount.
For the Profit & Loss, Profit Attributable to Minority Interest appears directly below Net Profit After Tax in the Consolidated column.
For the Balance Sheet, the Aggregated figure plus the applicable consolidation journal debits and credits equals the Consolidated figure.
This allows you to review the consolidated result and trace the calculations and consolidation adjustments applied by GATHER.nexus.
Consolidation Workflow at a Glance
Step | You do this… | Where |
1 | Set up subsidiaries, ownership, acquisition or incorporation details, and any step acquisitions or disposals | Company screen |
2 | Add companies to a Group and review effective ownership and NCI | Group screen |
3 | Set up the GRT and map company accounts to the appropriate group reporting accounts | Group Reporting Template |
4 | Review the automatically generated consolidation journals and make any required adjustments | Working Paper |
5 | Review the consolidated result and open calculated figures to see the working behind them | Working Paper |
Need help? Visit gather.nexus, click the chat icon in the bottom-right corner, or contact support for assistance.