GSW Manufacturing's finance team was running frequent, inconclusive budget reviews. Variance explanations required manual investigation every cycle because nobody trusted the source numbers. The root cause: fragmented ERP inputs had allowed three categories of error to accumulate — duplicate entries, misclassified GL codes, and intercompany noise — across 48 ledger lines. The intervention combined a unified data layer and explicit validation rules with AI-assisted reconciliation: models ranked suspicious postings (near-duplicate journals, GL misfits, intercompany outliers) so humans closed exceptions faster. In the first pass, $400K in hidden costs surfaced.
The $400,000 wasn't new spending — it was always there, silently embedded in duplicate records and misrouted GL codes. The intervention was not a cost-cutting programme. It was a data accuracy programme that made invisible costs visible. Machine-assisted pattern detection narrowed the search space; finance owned the final classification and sign-off—keeping automation on the safe side of auditability.
Adapted from: GSW Manufacturing FP&A Case Study, Limelight FP&A 2024| Entry ID | Category | Amount ($) | Error Type | Hidden Cost ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GL-2400 | SG&A | 13906.49 | Clean | — |
| GL-2401 | Labour | 22856.86 | Clean | — |
| GL-2402 | SG&A | 64253.42 | Clean | — |
| GL-2403 | R&D | 38753.75 | Duplicate | $38753.75 |
| GL-2404 | Labour | 23612.87 | Clean | — |
| GL-2405 | R&D | 20907.01 | Clean | — |
| GL-2406 | R&D | 38561.59 | Clean | — |
| GL-2407 | Overhead | 69754.44 | Duplicate | $69754.44 |
| GL-2408 | Depreciation | 17772.75 | Clean | — |
| GL-2409 | Overhead | 17438.36 | Clean | — |
| GL-2410 | Overhead | 13176.82 | Clean | — |
| GL-2411 | Overhead | 72799.55 | Clean | — |
| GL-2412 | Depreciation | 8476.04 | Clean | — |
| GL-2413 | Raw Materials | 82849.26 | Clean | — |
| GL-2414 | R&D | 28454.26 | Clean | — |
| GL-2415 | Depreciation | 33930.80 | Misclassified | $4101.10 |
| GL-2416 | SG&A | 23231.86 | Interco Noise | $1439.65 |
| GL-2417 | Labour | 74318.69 | Clean | — |
| GL-2418 | Logistics | 55854.76 | Clean | — |
| GL-2419 | Overhead | 33421.66 | Clean | — |