United States
Norge
Sverige
Suomi
UK
DanmarkMillennium Consulting joined Xledger’s experts to discuss why legacy systems become misaligned with an organisation’s strategy, despite embedding and supporting daily finance tasks, and the risks and benefits of migrating to a modern system.
Our recent Xledger webinar, Modern Finance Made Simple: The Case for Moving Beyond Legacy Systems, explores what legacy systems really are and why so many organisations eventually choose to move away from them.
The panel consisted of Chris Peall, Xledger Partner & Director of Professional Services at Millennium Consulting, Drew Murray, Partner Development Manager at Xledger UK, and Ben Stone, Product Manager at Xledger UK.
Throughout the discussion, the panel unanimously agreed that finance transformation is about recognising when systems no longer support decision‑making, scalability, or an organisation’s future.
Learn how to migrate to Xledger or get in touch with our dedicated team to discuss how Xledger can support and map your digital transformation.
What does ‘legacy system’ really mean?
Drew kicked off the conversation by posing the question, “What does ‘legacy system’ really mean?” The panellists explained that the term ‘legacy system’ is often misunderstood. In its strictest sense, it refers to technology that is outdated or no longer supported; however, in practice, most organisations use the term far more broadly.
Chris explained that legacy systems are usually defined by their age and their inability to support changing business strategies. “Typically, it’s a solution that’s been in place for a very long time, and the organisation feels like they’ve outgrown it. Their requirements have changed, and maybe that’s because they haven’t made any changes to it in years – technical or functional – but the system can’t keep pace.”
Adding to Chris’s observation, Ben highlighted how this misalignment occurs behind the scenes. As businesses scale, reporting, group accounting, and compliance requirements gradually become more complex, and without realising it, the organisation’s finance system no longer supports financial control and resilience.
As a result, finance teams find manual workarounds that compensate for the system’s lack of oversight, creating a fragile ecosystem that technically works, but functionally jeopardises control, security, and flexibility.
When do manual processes become warning signs?
One of the clearest signs of legacy system misalignment is an over-reliance on spreadsheets and excessive manual workarounds. When spreadsheets sit upstream in finance processes, they typically indicate that core systems are not organising data in the way that supports the organisation.
Chris outlined that, while spreadsheets aren’t an inherent problem, over-dependence on them often points to deeper structural issues: “Excel isn’t the problem – it’s what Excel dependence is trying to tell you. If organisations could turn off Excel for a day, they may find themselves in a lot of trouble that wasn’t obvious before.”
When this reliance goes unnoticed or unsolved, over time, the consequences compound. Different teams extract and manipulate data in different ways, leading to conflicting versions of the truth. As a result, decisions are made on inaccurate data, financial confidence erodes, and finance teams spend more time reconciling numbers than analysing.
Chris described a familiar scenario many finance leaders will recognise: “You sit in a room, someone presents the data, and someone else says, ‘That’s not right.’ At that point, you’re making decisions based on numbers you don’t even agree on. But when you’re truly using data, viewpoints should be aligned: data is either true or misleading. When there’s a conflict, then the whole business is impacted.”
He continued to share a practical example from earlier in his career, describing a finance team responsible for manually inputting invoices. “The team used a legacy system, and were excellent at what they did,” he said, “but the moment there was a spike in volume, everything fell behind. We ended up months behind on understanding how the business had actually performed.”
In these situations, the cost of legacy systems is not just inefficiency. It affects purchasing decisions, planning accuracy, and the organisation’s ability to respond to market conditions in real time.
Modern Finance Made Simple: The Case for Moving Beyond Legacy Systems
Watch the full webinar to learn how moving away from legacy systems to cloud-native solutions supports financial control.
The risk of excessive manual workarounds
Another theme that emerged during the webinar was the concentration of knowledge. Over time, heavily customised or manually supported systems become dependent on a small number of individuals who understand how everything fits together.
Chris highlighted this as a major warning sign. “If you’ve got a couple of deep subject matter experts, and when they’re on holiday or off sick, you’ve got a problem, that’s a strong indicator you’ve outgrown your solution.”
This reliance increases operational risk and makes change feel even more daunting. Ironically, the longer organisations delay modernisation, the harder it becomes to imagine moving away at all.
“If you genuinely believe you can’t get away from the system,” Chris summarised, “or you use it and feel that you’re stuck in the past, that’s a sign you need to change.”
The role of AI in modern finance systems
Artificial intelligence (AI) featured prominently in the discussion, but with an important note of caution. While AI is increasingly embedded in modern finance platforms, it should not be treated as a superficial selling point.
Ben emphasised that value comes from practical application rather than novelty. “AI shouldn’t be window dressing,” he said. “It needs to remove bottlenecks, reduce risk, and help teams scale without adding more manual work.”
According to Ben, the most impactful uses of AI included improving data capture, supporting automated posting, assisting with reconciliations, and enabling more sophisticated forecasting and scenario analysis. These applications directly address the inefficiencies that legacy systems struggle to overcome.
Ben also reminded attendees that AI is not entirely new to finance. “We’ve had statistical analysis and machine learning in accounting systems for years,” he noted. “What’s changed is the computing power that allows it to be far more effective and accessible.”
Have confidence when identifying the need for change
Confidently migrating from legacy to cloud was another recurring topic in the discussion. The panel offered sage wisdom surrounding peer referencing, project sponsors, and staff buy-in.
Ben advised, “When looking for a new finance system, make sure it aligns with what your organisation needs. It’s sometimes easy to sit back and keep what you already have, because too many options are too much information. But get advice, speak to consulting firms, and talk to similar-sized organisations. That way, you’ll see the right path in terms of what you need the software to do, today and in the future.”
Chris illustrated the need for an unbiased project sponsor, noting that “every ship needs a captain,” he says, “because decisions need to be made objectively when priorities conflict.”
Modernisation is about progress, not hype
Drew concluded the webinar with a reminder that moving away from legacy systems is not about chasing trends or adopting technology for its own sake. It is about ensuring finance systems support the organisation as it exists now and where it is heading in the future.
Modern finance platforms, supported by automation and AI, provide organisations with the tools they need to make faster, more confident decisions. Legacy systems, by contrast, often represent the business an organisation used to be.
If your organisation needs to migrate from a legacy system, book your free demo with our expert consultants to understand how Xledger can facilitate a seamless, value-adding transition.
Article
5 Reasons to Migrate From a Legacy System
When faced with the market demand of migrating from a legacy system, many businesses are deterred by the unfamiliarity of a true cloud-based system. At Xledger, we understand that the unknown is intimidating, but the journey of implementation and the benefits it creates are always worth the leap.
Guide
Moving Beyond Legacy Systems: Future-Proofing Finance
Download our guide to discover:
- Why legacy systems hold organisations back and how they limit growth
- The risk of poor data and outdated processes and the impact on decision‑making
- How cloud migration transforms finance, enabling real‑time insight and agility
- and much more…
Webinar
Reclaim Your Year End – Strategies for a calmer close
In this 30-minute webinar, Jacinta Magee and Rachel Stimson from The CFO Centre will share strategies that SME finance leaders are using to transform their year-end process from an annual crisis into something far more manageable.
Get in touch
Have any questions on Xledger’s finance software?
Get in touch with one of our dedicated team.
Contact person
