Forenede Dansk Motorejere (FDM), one of Denmark’s leading non-profit organizations, manages a high volume of financial transactions across its operations. With a lean finance team responsible for maintaining accuracy, supporting audits, and ensuring timely reconciliations, the organization needed a scalable approach to modernizing its financial close processes while maintaining strong financial oversight.

Under the leadership of Finance Manager, Allan Munk, FDM embarked on a journey to improve efficiency, reduce reliance on spreadsheets, and strengthen confidence in the accuracy of its financial data. The organization turned to Trintech to streamline reconciliations, centralize documentation, and create greater visibility into the month-end close process.

By automating with Trintech, FDM has transformed key areas of its finance operations, achieving reconciliation match rates in the upper 90% range while saving the equivalent of at least one full-time employee (FTE).

The Challenge: Managing Reconciliations and Financial Close with Spreadsheets

When Allan Munk joined FDM nearly 15 years ago, parts of the organization’s reconciliation process were already automated with Trintech, and the impact was immediately clear. “I could see that Trintech was a very efficient solution for matching a lot of transactions,” said Munk. “Especially bank reconciliations — it made them very fast and removed spreadsheets.”

Despite these gains, many close and reconciliation processes still relied heavily on manual work, disconnected spreadsheets, and inconsistent documentation practices. As FDM continued evolving its finance operations — including the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central — Munk recognized the need for a more formalized and standardized close process. “I knew we needed a more formal process to close the books and document everything we did,” he explained.

The finance team lacked centralized visibility into reconciliation status, ownership, and supporting documentation. While spreadsheets allowed employees to demonstrate that balances tied out mathematically, they did not always provide confidence that balances were accurate or fully validated. “We could specify that the numbers balance,” Munk said, “but are they correct? Should they be there?”

This lack of visibility created several operational challenges:

• Heavy dependence on spreadsheets and email-based follow-up
• Inconsistent reconciliation documentation
• Limited transparency into close status and accountability
• Risk of errors or overlooked balances
• Difficulty preparing audit support efficiently
• Overreliance on employees with advanced spreadsheet knowledge

“We would like to avoid getting surprises at year-end,” Munk explained. For Munk, improving efficiency alone was not enough. The organization also needed stronger controls and greater assurance that financial data was accurate. “It doesn’t matter if you’re closing the books quickly if the results are wrong,” he said.

Why FDM Chose Trintech

As FDM evaluated options to further modernize its close process, the organization sought a solution that aligned with both its operational needs and organizational size. Munk explored alternatives in the market but found few solutions that delivered the right combination of functionality, usability, and scalability. “I checked what else was in the market, but couldn’t really find anything that suited our size and needs,” he said.

The deciding factors included the ability to:

• Gain visibility into reconciliation progress and status
• Improve audit readiness
• Assign ownership and accountability across the close process
• Strengthen financial accuracy and control
• Centralize supporting documentation
• Reduce reliance on spreadsheets and email chains

“I would very much like to have the full overview of where we are in the reconciliation process, who’s responsible for what, and whether we have documentation for what’s in our books,” Munk explained.

Trintech also gave FDM a stronger framework for validating balances and supporting financial governance. “I think it gives me, as a manager, a better certainty that my numbers are correct,” said Munk.

Beyond the technology itself, FDM valued the partnership and ongoing collaboration with Trintech’s team. “If anyone would ask me, I would say Trintech is a good partner,” Munk said. “The Trintech Connect conference also provides inspiration, solutions, and visibility into what’s coming next.”

Results: Greater Efficiency, Accuracy, and Financial Confidence

Today, FDM’s team leverages Trintech to streamline reconciliations, improve documentation, and monitor close progress more effectively.

One of the most measurable outcomes has been reconciliation automation performance. FDM currently achieves reconciliation match rates in the upper 90% range and continues pushing toward 100%. The automation has also delivered meaningful productivity gains across the finance organization. “I think we save at least one FTE with Trintech,” said Munk. For a finance team of approximately 10 employees, that efficiency gain represents a significant operational impact.

The organization has also dramatically improved audit preparation and supporting documentation. “If you do your work properly, you can very quickly obtain documentation for auditors because you already have all of the necessary information at your fingertips,” Munk explained. “We don’t have to go back and dig up everything.”

Beyond productivity, FDM has strengthened the quality and reliability of its financial data. The organization now has greater visibility into aging balances, unresolved accounts, and potential financial risks before they become larger issues. In one example, improved account review processes helped uncover lease-related deposits tied to agreements that had been terminated 18 months earlier. The system also simplified communication and issue resolution within the finance team. “I can just reject the account and ask my question and wait for it to come back,” he explained. “I don’t want to have to follow up through emails and wonder whether I got a response.”

As a result, Munk says his quality control process is now significantly easier and more effective. “It’s a good tool for financial management,” he said. “I’m beginning to see that as I push my people to improve the quality, I’m getting a better assurance that the numbers are correct.”

Looking Ahead

FDM continues to pursue additional process improvements as part of its broader finance transformation strategy. The organization is currently evaluating ways to further centralize recurring task management and standardize month-end close responsibilities across the team. “There’s always room for improvement,” Munk said.

For organizations still managing reconciliations and close processes manually, Munk believes the value proposition is clear. “If you make a quick cost-benefit analysis and look at how much time your employees spend going through Excel spreadsheets, and how much time you can save, it becomes very clear,” he said.

He also emphasized the importance of reducing operational dependency on individuals with specialized spreadsheet knowledge. “Maybe you have one or two employees who can make some fancy Excel rules, but you become very dependent on those persons,” Munk explained. “You can avoid that.”

For FDM, the transformation has delivered more than efficiency gains. It has created stronger financial governance, greater confidence in the numbers, and a more scalable foundation for the future. “It really gives me a much better certainty of what’s in my books,” Munk said.