Consolidation software for UAE holding companies
Finconsol consolidates a UAE holding company and its subsidiaries in other countries and currencies into one set of group accounts in dirhams. Zoho Books companies connect directly, companies on any other system upload a monthly trial balance, and loans and fees between group companies are removed before the board sees the numbers.
Al Noor group: six companies, one reporting currency
Group reports in AEDAl Noor Holding LLC in the UAE reports in dirhams and owns Al Noor Regional (UAE, AED, 100 percent), Al Noor India (India, INR, Zoho Books, 100 percent) and Al Noor UK (UK, GBP, Xero, 100 percent). Al Noor Regional owns Al Noor Saudi (Saudi Arabia, SAR, Excel trial balance, 70 percent, with a 30 percent minority interest) and Al Noor Egypt (Egypt, EGP, Excel trial balance, 60 percent, with a 40 percent minority interest). Each company is translated into AED.
- 100%Sub-holding Al Noor Regional UAE, AED
already in AED
- 70%Al Noor Saudi Saudi Arabia, SAR
Excel trial balance 30% minority interest translated into AED
- 60%Al Noor Egypt Egypt, EGP
Excel trial balance 40% minority interest translated into AED
-
- 100%Al Noor India India, INR
translated into AED
- 100%Al Noor UK United Kingdom, GBP
Xero translated into AED
The holding company sits in the middle of every currency
A holding company in the UAE tends to own businesses wherever the owners found an opportunity: a trading company in India, a services business in the UK, a distributor in East Africa. Each has a local accountant, a local system and a local currency.
The owners and the bank look at one set of numbers in dirhams, and the finance team in the UAE has to produce it.
- Each subsidiary reports in its own currency. Rupees, pounds, shillings and dollars must all land in AED.
- Local accountants, local systems. The files that arrive depend on who prepared them.
- Loans and recharges from the holding company. Money moves down to subsidiaries, and both sets of books record it.
- Local partners. Some subsidiaries are owned jointly, so the group must show the partner's share.
How groups do it today
Most holding companies receive a trial balance from each subsidiary and build the group in a spreadsheet. It depends on one or two people, and each month starts again.
| Spreadsheet | Finconsol | |
|---|---|---|
| Subsidiaries on different systems | Each file reshaped by hand | Zoho Books connected; the rest by one trial balance template |
| Rates into AED | Typed each month | Suggested from published rates; you can type over them |
| Holding company loans | Matched against each subsidiary by hand | Compared pair by pair and eliminated |
| Partner's share | A side calculation | Minority interest from the ownership percentage |
| Numbers after the board | The file can still change | The month is locked |
How Finconsol handles a holding company
Set up the structure
Add the holding company and each subsidiary with its currency and ownership percentage. A regional sub-holding can be reported on its own as well as inside the group.
Bring in each company
Companies on Zoho Books connect directly and refresh every night. A company on Xero, QuickBooks or any other system uploads its month-end trial balance in an Excel or CSV template, checked on the way in.
Map once to the group chart
Every company's accounts are mapped once. A new account stops that month and is named until it is mapped.
Translate into dirhams
Closing rates apply to each balance sheet, average rates to profit and loss and historical rates to equity. The translation reserve is calculated so the group balance sheet balances.
Eliminate and lock
Holding company loans, recharges and investments are eliminated by an entry in Finconsol. The month is then locked.
What you get
- Group statements in AED: balance sheet, profit and loss, cash flow and fund flow, for any month, quarter or year, with comparisons.
- A consolidation worksheet with a column per company and the group total, tied to the statements.
- Reporting groups for a sub-holding on its own.
- Budget against actual per company and for the group.
- Dashboards and board packs your team builds without code.
- Drill-down from a group figure to the company and the account behind it.
A subsidiary that keeps its books in pounds, rupees, shillings or any other currency is translated into dirhams by the same method.
Connects to Zoho Books. Works with Xero, QuickBooks, or any system that exports a trial balance.
Good to know
- Zoho Books connects directly. Xero, QuickBooks and every other system join by trial balance upload today; direct Xero and QuickBooks connections are coming soon.
- Nothing is written back to the subsidiaries' books. Eliminations and adjustments live in Finconsol.
- Most groups are live in a day, and past months can be loaded once.
Questions
Can a UAE holding company consolidate subsidiaries in other countries?
Which systems can the subsidiaries use?
Can one group have a sub-holding company that is reported on its own?
How do we handle loans from the holding company to its subsidiaries?
What about subsidiaries where we have a local partner?
Can the board get one pack each month?
How long does it take to set up?
See your group in one picture
Thirty minutes, on a group shaped like yours.