Quality data is supposed to be the backbone of good decision-making. In theory, it powers smart forecasts, tidy optimisation models, and confident strategic plans¹.
In practice? It often looks like someone squinting at an Excel workbook called “FINAL_BUDGET_v17_USE_THIS_ONE.xlsx” and whispering, “I think these numbers are right.”²
And that’s where the trouble begins.
Benjamin Franklin famously said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”³
He did not say, “If you plan to use three disconnected spreadsheets, two manual uploads, and last month’s data, you’ll be totally fine.”²
Good planning depends on good information. Which raises an uncomfortable question:
How confident are you—really—that your end-of-month numbers are accurate and up to date?
If your instinctive answer is “mostly?” you’re not alone. Surveys consistently show that business leaders have far less faith in their financial data than they’d like to admit. Fewer than one in three executives say they’re confident their data is accurate enough for forecasting. Even at the C-suite level, only about half describe themselves as completely confident⁴.
That’s not a data problem. That’s a sleep-at-night problem.
Let’s be clear—Excel isn’t evil. But using Excel as the backbone of enterprise budgeting and reporting is like using a whiteboard to run an airline. It works - until it really, really doesn’t.
Multiple contributors mean endless emailing of files. Small changes trigger full reconsolidations. One broken formula can send teams back to square one. And heaven help you if someone edits the wrong version.
Entire organisations end up re-validating budgets because of a single cell error buried three tabs deep.
Even Excel’s biggest fans admit it has limits. The good news? Those limits don't need to define your options.
Modern budgeting and forecasting platforms don’t throw Excel out—they put it in its place².
Detailed calculations can still live in controlled workbooks, but they feed into a central system with proper version control, structured data entry, and real-time visibility. No more guesswork about which numbers are current. No more waiting weeks for answers.
Iterations that once took days now take hours. Sometimes minutes.
Yes, switching systems takes effort. But repeating the same broken process every month and hoping for better outcomes? That’s not tradition—that’s self-inflicted pain.
A long-established mining operation, recently divested by a major miner, needed to rebuild its budgeting and reporting capability using only legacy Excel outputs while bedding down a new ERP.
Instead of doubling down on spreadsheets, they implemented the Ramesys Budgeting, Forecasting and Reporting solution. Excel models were rapidly converted into a driver-based database platform and standardised Power BI dashboards were deployed within weeks, giving site-wide visibility over both actual costs and budget.
That’s when the real benefits kicked in:
• Management changes that once took days were completed in hours.
• Errors dropped. Validations shrank.
• Operations team were empowered through transparent, drill-down dashboards
• Clear executive reporting was delivered with challengeable budgets and dependable forecasts
Better data. Fewer errors. Faster insight. Smarter decisions. Real savings.
That’s the actual holy grail of budgeting—and it’s no longer mythical.
About Ramesys Global
For over two decades Ramesys Global has helped mining companies to achieve a transparent understanding of their cost performance, develop a cost-conscious culture and create a single source of truth that helps managers make better decisions, faster.