National Express: From manual reporting to trusted insight across Finance

National Express UK & Ireland was undergoing significant change. As the £0.6 billion turnover transport business brought its Bus and Coach Finance teams together under a single FP&A and controlling structure, leadership was also pushing for a more insight-driven approach to decision-making.

That ambition quickly exposed the limitations of existing processes and systems. Financial data was scattered across multiple systems, spreadsheets, and manually maintained reports. Historical acquisitions had left the business with multiple charts of accounts, while reporting practices varied across teams, making it difficult to create a consistent view of performance.

Additionally, teams relied heavily on outdated Excel-based processes with limited version control, making it difficult to validate data and deliver timely information to stakeholders.

The burden fell heavily on Finance. Preparing board reports meant pulling data from multiple sources, tracking down previous versions of files, and manually reconciling figures before they could be trusted. As Kate Green, Director of FP&A UK & Ireland, recalls, the process was “very stressful and very frustrating for everybody involved.”

More concerning was the lack of confidence in the numbers themselves. Instead of helping leaders understand performance and make decisions, Finance spent much of its time validating data and resolving discrepancies. As expectations from the executive team grew, those manual processes became increasingly unsustainable.

National Express chose Jedox to create a single source of truth for reporting, forecasting, and analysis across its UK and Ireland operations. By bringing together financial data from multiple systems, entities, and charts of accounts, the team replaced fragmented reporting processes with a centralized planning and reporting platform.

The initial rollout focused on delivering value quickly. Current and prior-year financial data was loaded into Jedox, giving teams immediate access to standardized reporting and year-over-year analysis. From there, additional data sources and functionality were introduced iteratively, allowing the platform to evolve alongside the business.

Jedox also enabled normalized reporting, helping National Express separate underlying operational performance from one-off events such as rail strikes. This created a more consistent view of performance and helped the business tell the same story month after month using a trusted set of numbers.

Jedox became the core reporting platform for Finance, supporting reporting, budgeting, rolling forecasts, executive analysis, commentary capture, variance analysis, and board reporting. Centralized dashboards and drill-through reporting replaced disconnected spreadsheets and manually assembled reports.

The solution also automated data refreshes, replacing manual uploads with automated integrations that refresh financial data twice hourly. Initial value was achieved in roughly five months, with implementation delivered primarily by National Express’ internal Finance Systems team, allowing for ongoing enhancement and continuous improvement.

Now, Finance teams, operational leaders, and cost center managers work from the same trusted source of information. With reporting and planning centralized in a single platform, the organization has greater consistency, transparency, and confidence in its decision-making processes.

With Jedox, National Express’ Finance teams operate from a far stronger foundation. Reporting, forecasting, commentary, and analysis are all managed through a single platform, giving teams access to trusted, drillable data without the manual effort that previously consumed so much time.

The change has allowed Finance to shift its focus from collecting and validating information to delivering insight. Executive reporting is faster, collaboration is easier, and stakeholders across the business have greater confidence in the numbers they use to make decisions.

“We’ve also used the Excel add-in, which has been a real game changer for the FP&A managers, as it just gave a whole level of flexibility. They can be very agile and meet more ad hoc business reporting requirements. Plus, it took away the need for manual reconciliations.”

Kate Green, Director of FP&A, UK & Ireland

Perhaps most importantly, the team now has the capacity to add value in ways that were previously difficult. Rather than spending reporting cycles reconciling spreadsheets and searching for files, Finance can focus on analysis, challenge assumptions, and support better decision-making across the organization.

As National Express continues its Finance transformation, Jedox provides the platform to expand forecasting capabilities, incorporate additional operational KPIs, and build on a trusted data foundation for future analytics initiatives.