What is CCH Tagetik and who is the platform suitable for?

CCH Tagetik is an integrated corporate performance management platform that helps organisations to unify financial planning, consolidation, reporting and analysis in a single solution. The platform is aimed primarily at medium-sized to large enterprises and groups with complex financial processes that require scalable, compliant and future-proof corporate management. The following sections answer the most important questions regarding the range of functions, target groups, differences from competitors and the typical implementation process.

What are the key features offered by CCH Tagetik at a glance?

CCH Tagetik combines four core functional areas: financial planning and forecasting, financial consolidation, reporting, as well as analysis and scenario modelling. All areas operate on a single shared database, which eliminates manual data transfers between systems and significantly improves data quality.

Planning, budgeting and forecasting

In the planning domain, CCH Tagetik enables the development of integrated planning processes that connect different business areas. Companies can set up rolling forecasts, standardise budgeting processes and perform scenario analyses to prepare for various market developments. Real-time data access ensures that decision-makers can access current figures at any time, rather than having to rely on outdated exports from different source systems.

Consolidation and reporting

Automated financial consolidation is one of the platform's most powerful features. CCH Tagetik handles intercompany eliminations, currency translations, and the preparation of compliant financial statements according to IFRS or HGB. Standardised reports can be configured for various stakeholder groups, including the supervisory board, management, and external auditors. Live data access ensures that reports are always up to date and do not need to be refreshed manually.

For which company sizes and industries is CCH Tagetik suitable?

CCH Tagetik is primarily suited to medium-sized to large enterprises and corporate groups with multi-layered structures that have complex requirements regarding consolidation, planning and reporting. The platform can be used across industries, but has proven particularly effective in capital-market-oriented and regulated sectors.

Typical applications include:

Industry and manufacturing: Groups of companies with multiple subsidiaries and international structures that require a unified planning and reporting basis
Insurers and financial service providers: Companies with high regulatory requirements for transparency and traceability
Handel: Companies with complex group structures and the need for rapid, consolidated financial statements
Market research and services: Organisations that need to consolidate large amounts of data from various sources into unified reporting

Smaller companies with simple structures and manageable planning requirements will generally not exhaust the full functional range of the platform. The added value of CCH Tagetik unfolds where complexity exists: many company codes, international currencies, different accounting standards or strict compliance requirements.

How does CCH Tagetik differ from other CPM solutions?

CCH Tagetik differs from other CPM platforms primarily through its integrated approach, which combines planning, consolidation and reporting on a single platform without system discontinuities. While many competitors heavily develop individual functional areas but require interfaces between modules, CCH Tagetik operates on a common database.

Specific distinguishing features compared to other solutions:

Fully integrated platform: No data transfers between planning and consolidation module necessary as both run on the same engine
Regulatory depth: Built-in support for IFRS, HGB and other standards that would have to be replicated in generic BI solutions
Scalability: The platform grows with the requirements, from group planning to the legal entity
User interface: Modern, browser-based interface, accessible even to business users without an IT background

Compared to solutions like SAP BPC or IBM Planning Analytics, CCH Tagetik positions itself as a more finance-focused platform that places the professional requirements of controlling and group accounting at the heart. Furthermore, compared to pure BI tools like Power BI, CCH Tagetik offers native process control, workflow management and close control.

What prerequisites should a company meet before implementing Tagetik?

Before the introduction of CCH Tagetik, a company should have clearly defined requirements for its financial processes, have a stable database in its source systems, and possess the internal readiness for a structured transformation process. Technical and organisational prerequisites are equally crucial.

On the technical side, it is recommended beforehand:

Documentation of the existing planning, consolidation and reporting processes
Clarification of the applicable accounting standards (IFRS, HGB)
Definition of the group structure, company codes and intercompany relationships
Defining project responsibilities on the corporate side

On the technical side, companies should check:

Which source systems supply data (SAP, ERP, accounting software) and in what quality
Whether a cloud or on-premise solution is preferred
what internal IT resources are available for data interfaces and ongoing operations

Companies that properly structure their processes prior to implementation benefit significantly faster from the new platform. A common mistake is attempting to transfer existing, poorly defined processes one-to-one into the new system, rather than using the rollout as an opportunity for process optimisation.

What does a typical CCH Tagetik implementation look like?

A typical CCH Tagetik implementation follows a structured phased model, leading from requirements analysis through technical configuration to productive operation. The duration varies depending on the project scope, but for medium-sized groups it often lies between six and twelve months.

The essential phases of a Tagetik implementation include:

Requirements analysis and design: Capture of functional requirements, definition of the solution design and creation of a specification sheet
System configuration and data modelling: Setting up the group structure, chart of accounts, currencies and consolidation logic in the system
Data integration: Integration of source systems via interfaces, data validation and coordination with existing systems
Testing and quality assurance: Parallel operation with existing solutions, comparison of results and troubleshooting
Training and go-live: User training, handover to live operation and hypercare phase for security

Agile project methods such as Scrum have proven successful in CCH Tagetik projects, as they enable rapid feedback cycles and facilitate adjustments during implementation. Crucial to project success is close cooperation between the consulting team and the internal departments, especially Controlling and IT.

When is the right time to switch to CCH Tagetik?

The right time to switch to CCH Tagetik is reached when existing processes in Excel or legacy systems noticeably restrict efficiency and data quality, closing processes take up too much time, or regulatory requirements can no longer be reliably met with the current solution.

Concrete signals that indicate the right time:

Month-end or year-end closes take longer than necessary and tie up a disproportionate amount of resources
Planning processes run across numerous Excel files without central version control
The company is growing through acquisitions and the group structure is becoming more complex
Regulatory requirements (e.g. through IFRS 17 or new sustainability reporting) demand structured, traceable processes
Managers receive reports too late or in different versions from various sources

Strategically, a switch is also advisable if a company is planning an ERP migration anyway or introducing a new financial strategy. The introduction of a integrated CPM platform running in parallel with such transformation projects saves double effort and creates a future-proof database from the very beginning.

How Gramke Consulting assists with the introduction of CCH Tagetik

Gramke Consulting supports companies as a certified CCH Tagetik partner from the initial requirements analysis to productive operation and beyond. The team combines deep expertise in group accounting, IFRS and controlling with technical implementation competence in CCH Tagetik, IBM TM1 and adjacent systems.

Overview of services:

Design and requirements analysis: Structured capture of functional requirements and development of a tailored solution design
End-to-end implementation: Full technical implementation of planning, consolidation and reporting solutions on CCH Tagetik
Data integration and interface development: Integration of source systems such as SAP, ERP and other data sources via RESTful APIs and ETL processes
Graduation support: Continuous support with monthly, quarterly and year-end closing processes during ongoing operations
Training and coaching: User training and induction coaching for finance and controlling teams
Process optimisation Identification and implementation of potential improvements in existing reporting and forecasting

With more than 30 successfully completed projects at companies such as Talanx AG and Vaillant GmbH, Gramke Consulting has a proven track record in Tagetik implementation for complex corporate structures. Get in touch now and find out how your finance organisation can benefit from a structured CPM solution.