The Problem
CohnReznick's advisory practice works at the sharp end of financial reporting, supporting companies navigating IPO readiness and rigorous SEC filing requirements. But the underlying workflow was highly manual. Like many advisory teams, CohnReznick's financial reporting process was built on a chain of Excel files and Word documents with multiple versions.
In practice, that meant:
- Manual tie-outs: Every Excel change required a manual update across every Word reference.
- Version control: Potential version control issues if updates were made on a local (versus the shared) version.
- No external access: Sharing drafts with outside parties meant having to manually incorporate any of their feedback.
- Formatting overhead: Tables and footnotes required constant manual attention in Word.
The team had no clean way to give external stakeholders controlled access to review and comment on documents without resorting to static draft distributions that couldn't be easily updated.
Formatting consumed billable time. Keeping tables, footnotes, and financial statements correctly formatted across spreadsheets and documents required constant manual attention — time that could have been spent on higher-value client solutions.
The solution
CohnReznick Advisory adopted Inscope to replace the Excel-Word workflow with a centralized, live environment - one that preserved the familiar Excel-native experience their team relied on while eliminating the manual overhead around document production.
- Live sync: Data flows instantly from Excel into the financial statements. No manual re-entry, no version control issues.
- Excel-formatted tables: Inscope carries through column widths, indentation, and formatting exactly as structured in the source file, preserving existing workbook investments.
- Controlled external access: Auditors and management are invited as viewers via a shared link — able to comment, review, and run Inscope's AI Assistant without touching the underlying data or source file.
- Version history: Named draft milestones and a built-in comparison tool gives the team a clean way to manage review cycles.
Outcome
By consolidating financial statement preparation into Inscope, CohnReznick's advisory team reduced the manual overhead that had long been an accepted cost of complex reporting engagements.
- No more version drift: A live sync environment means changes happen instantly, eliminating the potential for version control issues.
- Cleaner review cycles: Auditors and management access documents as viewers, removing the risk of untracked edits and replacing static draft distributions.
- Client time refocused: Reducing formatting and version control overhead has freed consultants to focus on the financial analysis and advisory work that drives additional value.
- Scalable across the portfolio: Each client engagement lives in its own secure instance, giving the team a consistent, organized workflow as the practice grows.
"When you're managing a large book of client engagements, you can't afford to have version control or formatting slow you down. Inscope gives our team the confidence to move fast without sacrificing accuracy."
— John Keefe, Senior Manager CFO Advisory, CohnReznick Advisory