Before you begin, make sure you:
Have Group Reporting Templates (GRT) created and fully mapped
Verify your companies are connected and data is current
Have appropriate permissions to create and manage Working Papers
Consider your consolidation frequency requirements (monthly, quarterly, etc.)
Understanding Working Papers
Working Papers in GATHER.nexus serve as your comprehensive consolidation review and completion environment, providing digital audit trails, journal management, and professional financial statement preparation. This powerful module transforms aggregated entity data into polished, stakeholder-ready consolidated financials.
Step 1: Access Working Papers
From your GATHER.nexus main dashboard, locate and click on the Working Papers tile within the Group Financial Reporting section.
(The GATHER.nexus main dashboard showing the Working Papers tile highlighted in red, providing access to consolidation working papers functionality.)
This takes you to the Working Papers management interface where you can create and manage all your consolidation projects.
Step 2: Review the Working Papers dashboard
The Working Papers interface displays your consolidation overview with key management columns:
Key Interface Elements:
Consolidation Name: Descriptive names for each consolidation project
Group Reporting Template Name: Associated GRT for each consolidation
Group Name: Which group the consolidation covers
Complete Consolidation: Status and completion tracking
Action: Options for consolidation management
Initial State: If no consolidations exist yet, you'll see "No group reporting templates entries available at this time."
(The Working Papers dashboard showing the consolidation management interface with column headers and the Start Consolidation button highlighted.)
Step 3: Initiate new consolidation
Click the Start Consolidation button located in the top right corner to begin creating your new consolidation working papers.
This opens the consolidation setup wizard where you'll configure all essential parameters.
Step 4: Configure consolidation details
Complete the Start Consolidation form with your specific requirements:
Essential Consolidation Configuration:
Consolidation Name: Enter a descriptive name that clearly identifies the consolidation
Examples: "Demo Group Consolidation", "Q1 2025 Consolidation", "Annual Statutory Consolidation"
Use naming conventions that support easy identification and workflow management
Year Selection: Choose the financial years for your consolidation
Current Year: Select primary year (e.g., "2025")
Multi-Year Option: GATHER.nexus supports historical five-year consolidations
Strategic Benefit: Enable trend analysis and comparative reporting across multiple periods
Group Selection: Choose the group of entities for consolidation
Select from available groups (e.g., "Demo Group")
Ensure the group contains all entities required for your consolidation scope
Group Reporting Template: Select the appropriate GRT for your consolidation structure
Choose from available templates (e.g., "Demo Group P&L & BS")
Important: Each GRT can support only one active consolidation at a time (Presumably the GRT can be copied and renamed though to use the same GRT for another consolidation)
(The Start Consolidation form showing configuration fields for Consolidation Name, Year, Group, and Group Reporting Template selection.)
Step 5: Start your consolidation
After completing all configuration details, click the Start button to create your consolidation working papers.
The system will process your configuration and launch the comprehensive consolidation interface.
Step 6: Understanding the consolidation interface
Once your consolidation is created, you'll see the comprehensive working papers environment:
(The Complete Consolidation interface showing Demo Group consolidation with financial year Apr-Mar, currency GBP, and comprehensive account structure with Profit & Loss selected.)
Key Interface Components:
Group Information: "Demo Group" with template "Demo Group P&L & BS"
Financial Year: "Apr - Mar" showing your financial period
Currency Display: "GBP" indicating the group reporting currency
Year Selector: "2025 - 26" with ability to switch between years
Step 7: Managing consolidation years
Use the Select Consolidation Years functionality to add or modify years:
Multi-Year Management:
Click on the years selector to modify your consolidation scope
Add Years: Select additional years from the available options (2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26)
Year Limits: "1 of 5 selected (max 5)" shows current usage of five-year historical limit
Apply Changes: Click Apply to activate your year selection
(The year selection interface showing multiple year options with 2025-26 currently selected and Apply button highlighted.)
Step 8: Navigate between financial statements
Switch between different financial statement views using the tab system:
Available Views:
Profit & Loss: Income statement consolidation with revenue, expenses, and profitability analysis
Balance Sheet: Financial position consolidation with assets, liabilities, and equity
Account Structure Display:
Revenue Accounts: 200-Sales, 260-Other Revenue, 270-Interest Income, 4100-Intercompany Revenue
Cost Accounts: 300-Purchases, 310-Cost of Goods Sold, 320-Direct Wages, 325-Direct Expenses, 5100-Intercompany COGS
Period Columns: Monthly breakdown showing Aggregated and Consolidated data for each period
Exchange rate information
Access exchange rate information through the Exchange Rate button:
Currency Translation Approach:
P&L Accounts: Monthly average exchange rates applied for income statement items
Balance Sheet Accounts: Month-end exchange rates applied for financial position items
Multi-Currency Support: Automatic conversion from entity currencies to Group Reporting currency (Currently GATHER.nexus platform supports: GBP, USD, AUD, CAD, EUR, INR and NZD).
(The Monthly Average Exchange Rates popup showing GBP, AUD, and USD rates for Apr-Jul 2025 with specific exchange rate values.)
Exchange Rate Display Example:
Apr 2025: GBP 1.000000, AUD 0.478463, USD 0.760919
May 2025: GBP 1.000000, AUD 0.481789, USD 0.748448
Jun 2025: GBP 1.000000, AUD 0.479630, USD 0.737622
Jul 2025: GBP 1.000000, AUD 0.481172, USD 0.735859
Consolidation frequency options
Switch between different consolidation frequencies using the Consolidate Frequency dropdown:
Available Frequencies:
Monthly
Quarterly
Semi-Annually
Annually
Group Class wise
Enable Group Class functionality to view consolidation data segmented by business classifications, for example:
Regional Segmentation: View consolidation by geographic regions
Department Analysis: Analyse consolidation by business units or departments
Product Line Reporting: Segment consolidation by product or service lines
For detailed Group Class setup and usage, please refer to the dedicated Group Class user guide: Link
Notes
Add comprehensive notes to your consolidation for audit and compliance purposes:
Notes Functionality:
Single Consolidation Notes: One consolidated note applies to the entire working paper
Popup Interface: Click the Notes button to open the notes editor
Documentation: Record consolidation assumptions, methodologies, and audit support
Save Options: Save notes for future reference and audit trail purposes
Data refresh capabilities
Keep your consolidation current with the Refresh Data functionality:
When to Use Refresh Data:
After updating company connections or account mappings
Following journal additions, deletions, or modifications
After activating or deactivating journals
When Auto FX journals have been added or modified
Refresh Benefits:
Current Data: Ensure consolidation reflects latest entity information
Journal Updates: Capture all journal changes and eliminations
FX Adjustments: Include latest foreign exchange journals and translations
Journal management within consolidation
Add various types of journals directly within your consolidation:
Available Journal Types:
P&L Journal: Standard profit and loss account adjustments and intercompany eliminations
P&L Recurring Journal: Automated recurring profit and loss entries
Balance Sheet Journal: Balance sheet account adjustments and intercompany eliminations
Linked Journal: Journals affecting both P&L and Balance Sheet accounts
For detailed journal creation and management, refer to the dedicated journal user guides for each journal type:
Consolidation completion and sign-off
Complete your consolidation process with proper sign-off procedures:
Completion Process:
Review Phase: Comprehensive review of all consolidation components
Sign-Off: Mark consolidation as completed for audit and approval workflows
Documentation: Ensure all supporting documentation and notes are complete
For detailed consolidation sign-off procedures, refer to the dedicated consolidation completion guide: Link
Saving your consolidation work
Preserve your consolidation progress with the Save functionality:
Save Benefits:
Progress Preservation: Maintain all work and configurations
Collaboration: Enable team members to access and continue work
Version Control: Create save points for complex consolidation projects
Recovery: Protect against data loss during extended consolidation sessions
Common questions
Q: Can I create multiple consolidations for the same GRT?
A: No, each GRT can support only one active consolidation at a time. This ensures data integrity and prevents conflicting consolidation approaches.
Q: What happens if I need to add a sixth year to my consolidation?
A: GATHER.nexus supports a maximum of five historical years. For additional years, please contact support team at support@gather.nexus
Q: How do I handle mid-year entity acquisitions or disposals?
A: Use manual journal entries to adjust for acquisition dates and disposal periods, ensuring proper consolidation treatment for partial-year inclusions. The adjustments account (a GRT code available in both the Balance Sheet and P&L - but outside of the statements themselves) can be used for adjustments which fall outside of the double entry journal system.
Q: Can I change the consolidation frequency after creation?
A: Yes, you can switch between monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual frequencies using the consolidate frequency dropdown.
Q: What if my source data changes after I've started consolidation? A: Use the Refresh Data button to update your consolidation with the latest entity information and journal changes.
What's next?
With your consolidation successfully started, you can:
Add elimination journals for intercompany transactions and balances
Configure Group Class reporting for business segment analysis
Complete sign-off processes for audit and compliance requirements
Generate reports for stakeholder communication
Scale to additional periods using established consolidation templates
Your Working Papers consolidation now provides the foundation for professional, audit-ready financial reporting that transforms multi-entity complexity into strategic business clarity.
Have questions or need assistance❓
Contact our support team at support@gather.nexus