Practice 05 · Assure after
The MIS is the mirror of the business. We make sure it is true.
Designing and preparing the monthly pack that promoters run the business on, reconciling it to the books, and advising on what it shows.
Pricing, credit, hiring and capex are decided on the monthly MIS, usually within days of it landing. Nobody audits it. We fix the measures, build the pack from the ERP and the books, reconcile it every month, and say what moved and why.
- Three versions of last month’s margin, depending on who you ask.
- A measure that changed its formula quietly between months.
- Division heads reporting numbers the finance team cannot tie to the books.
- A board or a lender who now wants a monthly pack.
A wrong MIS is worse than none. Decisions get made with confidence on numbers that do not reconcile, and the error surfaces at the year-end audit, after the price list, the credit limits and the hiring plan have already moved.
- DesignAgree the measures that matter and write down how each is calculated, so this month compares with last month and last year without anyone redoing the numbers.
- Each monthPack built from the ERP and the books, reconciled to the trial balance, delivered after close with commentary on margins, working capital and variances.
- ReviewWhere we are also the internal auditor, management prepares the MIS and we review it, so the same team never checks its own work.
- Monthly MIS pack with fixed definitions.
- Reconciliation of revenue, margin, debtors and inventory to the trial balance.
- Commentary: what moved, why, what to look at next.
- Business advisory where the pack keeps pointing at the same decision.
Questions
Asked before the first call.
Do you prepare the MIS or review it?
Either, but not both for the same client where we are also the internal auditor. The same team never checks its own work.
Which systems do you work from?
Any ERP or accounting system that exports a trial balance and transaction listings. Tally and Zoho are common; SAP and Oracle are fine.
How quickly after month-end?
Typically within five to seven working days of close, depending on how clean the close is. Tightening the close is often the first piece of advice.
Is this management consulting?
The pack is the instrument. The consulting is what we say about it: pricing, credit, working capital, capacity. We do not sell strategy decks.
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