Introduction: The Shift No One Can Ignore
For decades, financial institutions thrived on stability. Tried-and-tested accounting platforms kept balance sheets tidy and regulators happy. But as finance grows more complex — with ESG data, real-time analytics, and cloud-native operations — those rigid systems start to feel like anchors rather than safeguards.
Change isn’t coming. It’s already here.
A growing number of banks and financial firms are moving away from legacy accounting systems, seeking flexibility, scalability, and integration. They’re not just looking for software; they’re looking for a system that grows with them, not against them.
According to BARC’s Financial Consolidation & Group Accounting Survey 24, 31% of organizations still rely on financial consolidation tools that are more than ten years old. That’s a staggering figure in an era where compliance rules evolve yearly and data lives across multiple ecosystems.
So what’s driving this wave of platform migrations? And what does flexibility really mean for financial institutions today?
The Trend: Legacy Systems Are Reaching Their Limits
Legacy accounting platforms once offered security through standardization. They were built to handle predictable processes — month-end closes, reconciliations, audits — not real-time insights or cross-border consolidation.
But here’s the catch: banks now operate in a world that’s anything but predictable.
The latest McKinsey & Company report shows banks’ IT spending reached 10.6% of revenues and 20% of total expenses in 2022. Even more striking: software applications now make up about 60% of total IT expenditures, up from just 38% a decade ago.
In other words, the financial sector is investing heavily in technology — but many are still tethered to accounting tools that can’t keep up.
Why Change Is Accelerating
1. Compliance Is a Moving Target
New regulatory frameworks, sustainability disclosures, and tax-reporting obligations are expanding the scope of accounting. Firms are realizing that rigid systems make compliance harder, not easier.
In the same BARC survey, 41% of finance departments said they’re exploring new functionalities like ESG and tax reporting within consolidation software. It’s no longer enough for a platform to manage transactions — it must also integrate seamlessly with data from environmental, operational, and risk systems.
2. Data Integration Demands Are Exploding
Fragmented systems lead to one of finance’s oldest problems: multiple versions of the truth.
Flexible accounting platforms address this by connecting budgeting, forecasting, and reporting into one consistent framework.
In fact, 42% of companies surveyed by BARC said they now have a single department responsible for planning, consolidation, and reporting. The shift toward unified financial data isn’t a coincidence — it’s a necessity.
3. Scalability Is Non-Negotiable
As institutions grow, so do their complexities: new entities, jurisdictions, and reporting standards. A flexible accounting platform adapts without forcing massive rebuilds.
Compare that with traditional systems — where every new reporting requirement feels like an invasive surgery.
A Look at the Market: Who’s Leading the Change?
One of the clearest signs of the shift comes from product benchmarking. In BARC’s Financial Consolidation & Group Accounting Survey 25, which covered 453 finance professionals across 13 products, 96% of users recommended CCH Tagetik — an exceptionally high satisfaction rate.
And among large-scale implementations, 87% rated the vendor’s support as excellent or good. That kind of endorsement suggests more finance leaders see long-term value in flexible, cloud-based systems.
Cloud Accounting Gaining Ground
The U.S. Department of the Treasury reports that around 91% of banks now use some form of cloud technology, though only 5% describe their adoption as “mature.”
That’s both a sign of progress and opportunity. The cloud lets accounting platforms handle real-time consolidation, secure multi-region data hosting, and scalable computing power — features that traditional on-premise tools can’t easily match.
Comparing Platforms: Where Flexibility Matters Most
Banks evaluating top QuickBooks competitors often discover that flexibility comes in layers:
- Configuration (Can workflows and reports adapt to your internal structure?)
- Integration (Can it pull live data from CRM, treasury, and trading systems?)
- Compliance automation (Does it support IFRS, GAAP, and regional regulations without add-ons?)
- Scalability (Will it support growth across multiple entities or regions?)
These questions go beyond features — they shape how effectively a firm can react to change.
Drivers of the Shift
1. Rising Cost of Maintaining Legacy Platforms
Legacy software isn’t just slow — it’s expensive. Maintenance contracts, on-prem hardware, and limited vendor support consume budgets that could fund innovation.
McKinsey’s analysis shows that between 2013 and 2022, banks’ tech spending grew 38%, largely to sustain outdated infrastructure. That’s unsustainable.
Cloud platforms offer subscription-based pricing, automatic updates, and better scalability — meaning cost predictability replaces maintenance chaos.
2. The Data Imperative
Financial institutions no longer treat accounting data as historical. It’s strategic.
Boards and regulators expect real-time insights, predictive analytics, and scenario modeling — none of which fit neatly inside static spreadsheets.
As Technological Forecasting & Social Change notes, 71.9% of banks have a digital roadmap, but only 43.8% are on schedule. Slow data integration is one of the main reasons. Flexible accounting systems shorten that lag by automating consolidation and syncing with data warehouses directly.
3. New Types of Risk Management
Flexible accounting tools aren’t only about efficiency; they enhance visibility into risk.
When financial institutions can pull live data from multiple subsidiaries, they can spot liquidity or exposure issues sooner.
That’s why more banks are integrating finance, compliance, and risk analytics under one roof — a move supported by the 42% integration rate noted by BARC.
The Compliance Perspective
Regulators aren’t slowing down.
From ESG disclosures to IFRS 17, compliance now requires not just accuracy but adaptability. Financial executives recognize that compliance processes can’t remain static — they must evolve alongside regulatory frameworks.
Flexible accounting platforms make this possible by:
- Automating multi-GAAP and multi-currency reporting.
- Offering audit trails that meet diverse jurisdictional standards.
- Allowing rule-based configurations instead of code rewrites.
The goal isn’t just to “stay compliant.” It’s to stay ahead of compliance.
Long-Term Benefits of Flexible Accounting Systems
1. Strategic Agility
When finance teams no longer wrestle with outdated tools, they gain something rare: time to think.
Instead of spending weeks on manual consolidation, they can analyze performance, run forecasts, or test acquisition scenarios. Flexibility isn’t a feature — it’s a business enabler.
2. Cost Predictability
Cloud-native accounting systems convert large capital expenditures into manageable operating costs. And since updates and backups are automatic, the hidden costs of maintenance disappear.
3. Workforce Efficiency
Automation reduces error-prone manual entries. Cross-functional teams can collaborate in real time rather than waiting for month-end uploads.
And that makes retention easier too — few finance professionals want to wrestle with decade-old software forever.
4. Competitive Advantage
According to Wolters Kluwer, companies using flexible consolidation tools report higher satisfaction rates and better support outcomes.
That’s not just a tech story. It’s a competitive one. Institutions that can close books faster, adapt to new reporting rules, and produce insights on demand will always move ahead of those waiting on legacy systems.
The Future of Accounting in Financial Services
Here’s the takeaway: flexibility isn’t about replacing what works. It’s about preparing for what’s next.
The Treasury’s cloud report suggests only a small fraction of banks have mature cloud operations. But as ESG reporting expands and real-time analytics become standard, that number will grow fast.
Financial leaders now face a choice — evolve gradually or be forced to change abruptly. The institutions already investing in adaptive accounting systems won’t just meet compliance; they’ll define the next era of financial management.
Conclusion: The Freedom to Grow
The finance sector is moving from rigidity to resilience.
The evidence is everywhere — in how 31% of firms still cling to decade-old software, how 91% are exploring cloud adoption, and how banks are diverting one-fifth of their budgets to IT.
This shift isn’t about replacing accounting tools; it’s about giving finance the flexibility to respond to new challenges, new regulations, and new growth opportunities.
Because when accounting stops being a constraint, it becomes a catalyst.
And that’s exactly what forward-thinking financial institutions are discovering — one flexible platform at a time.
