Triathlon Ireland has completed a major upgrade of its finance systems, working with AccountsIQ and ExpenseIn to streamline reporting, reduce manual administration and create a more connected view of the organisation’s financial performance.

The work reflects the growing operational demands running National Governing Bodies, with Triathlon Ireland supporting more than 20,000 athletes and sanctioning over 250 events nationwide each year across triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and aquabike.

As the sport has grown, so too has the complexity of managing memberships, grants, event income and day-to-day operations. For a lean finance team, that had created pressure around month-end reporting, management accounts and the need to maintain accuracy, transparency and control across multiple areas of activity.

The challenge identified by Triathlon Ireland was that many of its financial processes had become too manual. Month-end and management reporting relied heavily on spreadsheets, multiple data exports and repeated validation, creating bottlenecks and slowing the availability of information for decision-making.

“A lot of our month-end management account processes were very manual. Reporting was time-consuming, and month-end often became a real bottleneck,” said Eric Harmon, Finance Controller at Triathlon Ireland.

A further issue was the lack of integration between systems. Data had to be exported, checked and re-imported, often more than once, adding duplication and increasing the risk of error.

“The biggest issue was that our systems simply didn’t talk to each other,” said Harmon.

Triathlon Ireland implemented AccountsIQ as a cloud-based finance platform designed to consolidate financial data into a single source of truth. The system has automated key processes around reporting and month-end, removing many of the manual workarounds that had built up over time.

A central part of the project has been the integration with ExpenseIn. Expense information now flows directly into the finance system, with receipts attached, improving accuracy and eliminating duplicate data entry.

The result has been a marked improvement in efficiency. Processes that previously took hours, or in some cases days, can now be completed in minutes. The finance team also has real-time access to more accurate information, giving Triathlon Ireland greater visibility and control over its financial position.

“AccountsIQ has really transformed how we manage our finances. What used to take hours of manual work can now be done at the click of a button,” said Harmon.

The change has also shifted the role of finance from being heavily process-driven towards providing faster insight and stronger support for strategic decision-making across the organisation.

For Triathlon Ireland, the project is an example of the kind of behind-the-scenes investment that supports the continued growth of sport. As participation, events, and governance expectations increase, the systems required to run a National Governing Body must keep pace.

With the new platform in place, Triathlon Ireland says it is now better equipped to manage that growth, with more efficient workflows, stronger reporting and greater confidence in the information available to staff and leadership.

“There’s never a perfect time to change finance systems, but the efficiencies you gain from AccountsIQ make it completely worthwhile,” said Harmon.

 

Triathlon Ireland and Accounts IQ are full members of Sport for Business.

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