Why Financial Consolidation Belongs in OneStream — Not Your ERP

For Finance and Accounting leaders preparing to implement a new ERP, one critical decision to get right with your financial systems investment: 

Where should financial consolidation live — in your ERP or in a Corporate Performance Management (CPM) platform like OneStream?

While ERPs are essential for transactional processing, they’re not designed to handle the complexity, flexibility, and audit rigor required for enterprise-wide financial consolidation.

Listen to Episode 67 of the CPM Customer Success Podcast: Consolidation at Scale: Winning the Close Across Entities, Currencies, and Countries

The Problem with ERP-Based Consolidation

ERPs are built to record transactions. But when it comes to enterprise performance management, they often fall short.

Financial consolidation in ERP systems typically requires:

• Custom development or bolt-on tools
• Manual workarounds for intercompany eliminations
• Limited support for multiple Charts of Accounts (COA) or fiscal calendars
• Weak financial reporting and audit trails

This approach increases risk, slows down the financial close, and limits your ability to respond to change.

OneStream is a modern financial software platform designed specifically for enterprise performance management (EPM).

Here’s why more organizations are choosing OneStream software, as their consolidation engine — and why you should consider doing the same:

1. OneStream Is Purpose-Built for Financial Consolidation
   ERPs are built to record transactions. OneStream is built to consolidate financials across entities, currencies, calendars, and hierarchies — with native support for:

• Automated Intercompany eliminations
• Currencies: Foreign currency translation in any desired currency
• Audit-ready logic and traceability 
• Multiple charts of accounts (COA) and fiscal calendars 
• Legal, management, and tax reporting hierarchies

ERPs often require custom development or third-party add-ons to match this level of sophistication — adding cost, complexity, and risk.

Unlike ERP systems, OneStream CPM handles all of this in a single application – no data movement, no third-party tools, no compromises.

2. OneStream Unifies Actuals, Budgets, and Forecasts

In most ERP setups, actuals live in one system, budgets in another, and forecasts in spreadsheets. This fragmentation leads to:

• Manual data movement 
• Reconciliation headaches 
• Delays in decision-making
• Data compiling with fragmented reporting solutions

OneStream consolidates actuals and budgets using the same financial intelligence, enabling seamless variance analysis, faster close cycles, and more confident reporting.

This unified approach is a core part of OneStream implementation best practices, and a key reason why finance teams are moving away from ERP-based consolidation.

3. OneStream Reduces Risk and Supports Audit Readiness

For public companies or those preparing for IPO, auditability is non-negotiable. OneStream offers:

• Full audit trails — every action is tracked 
• Drill-back to source systems without leaving the platform 
• Built-in controls and workflow guidance for users

This is especially valuable for public companies, global enterprises, organizations with complex financial integration needs, companies facing audit fatigue, or operating in a never-ending close cycle.

4. ERPs Break Down in Multi-Entity, Multi-Structure Environments

ERPs work well when an organization never plans on acquiring new companies with other ERPs

• You have one ERP instance
• One standard chart of accounts 
• One fiscal calendar

But as soon as you add subsidiaries, acquisitions, or regional variations, ERP-based consolidation starts to break down.

OneStream supports:

• Multiple charts of accounts 
• Multiple fiscal calendars 
• What-if analysis / Pro forma consolidations for M&A scenarios 
• Multiple hierarchy reporting that provides dynamic management reporting across legal, management, and tax views

              Enabling this flexibility is a hallmark of the OneStream consulting services provided by Nova Advisory, and a key OneStream differentiator from traditional ERP tools.

5. OneStream Is Scalable, SaaS-Based, and Microsoft-Friendly

OneStream runs on Microsoft Azure and integrates with:

• Excel, PowerPoint, and Word (via add-ins) 
• Power BI (via native connector) 
• Open APIs for HR, CRM, and operational data

It’s a fully SaaS solution that scales from mid-market to global enterprise — with clients ranging from $200M to Fortune 10.

6. Strategic Flexibility for the Future

Whether your organization is acquisitive, restructuring, or simply growing fast, OneStream gives you the flexibility to:

• Start with consolidation, FP&A, or a OneStream Solution Exchange solution — and expand later 
• Model future-state structures and what-if scenarios 
• Avoid rework and reimplementation as your business evolves

Final Thought: Ask the Right Questions Before You Commit

Before locking in your ERP architecture, ask:

1. Can my ERP handle multiple Charts of Accounts (COA) and fiscal calendars?
2. Will I need to consolidate across different hierarchies or ownership structures?
3. How will I manage audit requirements and internal controls?
4. What happens when we acquire a new entity or expand internationally?

If the answers raise concerns, it’s time to consider OneStream.

Next Steps

To discuss these considerations for your specific situation with a Nova Advisory thought leader, contact us here: Are you ready for clarity? | Nova Advisory.

As the leading OneStream Diamond partner, we bring deep expertise in OneStream consulting to help you evaluate the right path for your consolidation strategy — and ensure it aligns with your business goals.

Fill out the form on our website Start Your OneStream Project | Nova Advisory to start the conversation.