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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 AED

Al 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.

Parent company Al Noor Holding LLC UAE, AED Zoho Books
  • 100%
    Sub-holding Al Noor Regional UAE, AED Zoho Books already in AED
    • 70%
      Al Noor Saudi Saudi Arabia, SAR Excel trial balance Excel trial balance 30% minority interest translated into AED
    • 60%
      Al Noor Egypt Egypt, EGP Excel trial balance Excel trial balance 40% minority interest translated into AED
  • 100%
    Al Noor India India, INR Zoho Books translated into AED
  • 100%
    Al Noor UK United Kingdom, GBP Xero 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 and Finconsol compared for a UAE holding company
SpreadsheetFinconsol
Subsidiaries on different systemsEach file reshaped by handZoho Books connected; the rest by one trial balance template
Rates into AEDTyped each monthSuggested from published rates; you can type over them
Holding company loansMatched against each subsidiary by handCompared pair by pair and eliminated
Partner's shareA side calculationMinority interest from the ownership percentage
Numbers after the boardThe file can still changeThe month is locked

How Finconsol handles a holding company

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  • Zoho Books
  • Xero
  • QuickBooks
  • Excel or any other system

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?
Yes. Each subsidiary is translated from its own currency into the group's reporting currency, dirhams for a UAE holding company that reports in AED. Closing rates are used for the balance sheet, average rates for profit and loss and historical rates for equity.
Which systems can the subsidiaries use?
Zoho Books companies connect directly and refresh every night. Companies on Xero, QuickBooks or any other system upload a monthly trial balance in an Excel or CSV template. All of them are consolidated in the same group accounts.
Can one group have a sub-holding company that is reported on its own?
Yes. A holding company's sub-group can be reported separately, as well as inside the group as a whole. That suits a regional holding that owns several operating companies.
How do we handle loans from the holding company to its subsidiaries?
Finconsol compares what the holding company holds against what each subsidiary holds, pair by pair, every month. The smaller side is eliminated by an entry in Finconsol, apart from the companies' books. Anything not eliminated stays visible on a list until it is resolved.
What about subsidiaries where we have a local partner?
Enter the ownership percentage and Finconsol calculates the minority interest for the partly owned company. The group statements show it separately from the shareholders' share.
Can the board get one pack each month?
Yes. A board pack is built from the board summary, with key figures, budget against actual, ratios and commentary. Once it is final it is locked, so the numbers cannot move after the board has read them.
How long does it take to set up?
Most groups are live in a day. You add the companies, map their accounts to the group chart and see the first group accounts the same day.

See your group in one picture

Thirty minutes, on a group shaped like yours.