The Challenge

Aiven, a fast-growing technology company based in Finland, struggled to manage its budgeting and forecasting efficiently due to its reliance on spreadsheets.

This approach led to frequent version control issues, manual errors, and time-consuming processes that hindered the finance team's productivity. As the company scaled rapidly, these limitations became more pronounced, making it difficult to maintain accurate and timely financial insights. Additionally, while Aiven recognized the value of advanced scenario planning, the complexity of their existing processes prevented them from adopting it effectively.

Aiven needed a solution that could centralize financial data, streamline forecasting, and support future growth without overwhelming the team.

The Solution

To address these challenges, Aiven adopted Abacum as its FP&A platform. Abacum's centralized system eliminated version control issues by providing a single source of truth for financial data, making it easier for the FP&A team and stakeholders to access accurate and up-to-date information.

The platform’s automation capabilities simplified budgeting and forecasting, allowing Aiven to implement quarterly rolling forecasts with ease. Abacum has provided Aiven with a solid foundation to build and expand its scenario planning capabilities.

Moreover, Kenneth Chen, COO & CFO of Aiven, highlighted the value of Abacum's continuous feature enhancements and responsive support, emphasizing how these aspects have enabled the platform to scale effectively with Aiven's evolving needs.

The Impact

By implementing Abacum, Aiven transformed its financial operations, achieving greater efficiency, accuracy, and transparency. Key outcomes included:

• Streamlined Financial Processes: Aiven eliminated manual spreadsheet management and version control issues, enabling the FP&A team to focus on analysis rather than data management.

• Simplified Forecasting: The ability to roll forward budgets and forecasts effortlessly has saved significant time for the finance team, allowing them to adopt quarterly rolling forecasts without disrupting existing workflows.

• Improved Collaboration: Abacum democratized financial information access, allowing cost center owners and other stakeholders to view and understand their P&Ls easily.

• Time Savings: Automation features have saved significant hours per month for the FP&A team, enabling them to focus on strategic tasks.

• Foundation for Future Growth: With Abacum’s continuous rollout of new features, Aiven is well-positioned to adopt the more advanced capabilities the platform can offer in scenario planning and AI.

The Conclusion

For technology companies experiencing rapid growth and increasing financial complexity, Abacum is the ideal FP&A solution. By integrating all financial data into a single source of truth, automating key processes, and simplifying forecasting, Aiven has not only improved efficiency but also gained the financial clarity needed to scale with confidence.

As Aiven continues to refine its financial processes, the ability to seamlessly adopt advanced features, like scenario planning and AI forecasting and insights, further ensures that the company can respond swiftly to new opportunities and challenges.

Kenneth Chen, COO & CFO of Aiven, summed it up best:

(The main benefit Abacum can offer) is having confidence that the budget that we create every year and the forecast that we do on a rolling quarterly basis, represent the best information we have to drive the business. And also democratizing that information so that all the stakeholders who are contributors to that outcome have the ability to see how the numbers are impacting their direct P&Ls.