If the health implications of COVID-19 aren’t enough to make you feel uneasy, the recent market gyrations are bound to rattle even the most steadfast investor. Turmoil in the financial markets is always unsettling. But there’s nothing like a pandemic to expose shortcomings in your accounting and reporting software.

Particularly in uncertain times like these, clients want accurate answers, and they want them fast. Delays in providing clients with a comprehensive picture of investments can result in costly decisions and missed business opportunities.

While no one can predict the markets, the right accounting and portfolio analysis software can make a difference in mitigating risk. Here’s why:

• Consolidating information can be a nightmare – Investment managers have access to an enormous amount of data from market data providers, custodians, brokers and other disparate sources. However, downloading and aggregating the data can be a challenge, especially for firms with siloed functions or that rely heavily on spreadsheets and manual processes. Spreadsheets are not effective for complex accounting. There is no audit trail to track errors in underlying information, no security or user verification, and the chance of keying error is high.

  Purpose-built accounting software like FundCount imports and aggregates data automatically to reduce the administrative burden of gathering and entering the information manually. Tracking and managing investment activity across various entity structures and assets – from stocks and bonds to alternatives – is faster, easier and more accurate. All the information needed to make investment decisions is consolidated and available on a single platform.

• Reporting speed is critical – Aggregating information is only part of the equation. If you can’t create and deliver reports quickly, information will be stale long before it hits your client’s desk. With markets changing so rapidly, waiting days for your back-office accounting software vendor to turn around a report request is not an option. The ability to create customized reports in minutes – not days – will enable you to provide clients with the timely information they need to manage risk.
• Information must be useful – Throwing data into a one-size-fits-all report template because that was the fastest way to deliver the information will not endear you to clients that are trying to make critical investing decisions. Information must be presented in a way that is useful and that provides valuable insight. That means being able drill down into complex entity structures and sorting or “slicing and dicing” data so reports can be tailored to the specific needs of each client. Reports that include charts, graphs and other visual components are particularly helpful in evaluating complex information to speed decision making.

Let FundCount help you weather the financial turbulence from COVID-19 by providing clients with the information they need when and how they need it. Our portfolio and partnership accounting, real-time multicurrency general ledger, and reporting are seamlessly integrated within one system to provide an aggregated view of exposure across all investments and entities. With FundCount, you and your clients are better positioned to manage changing risk.

Improve client service and gain a competitive edge with accurate information, delivered instantly, from FundCount. Contact us for more information.