The Chaos of Disconnected Reporting

The CFO receives an urgent request—an updated ESG filing—triggered by a new reporting rule announced overnight. This sudden demand sends shockwaves through the finance and sustainability teams. Analysts must scramble to extract and reconcile data from multiple, disconnected sources: ERPs, spreadsheets, carbon-tracking tools, and various manual inputs. Each system holds fragments of the truth, but none offer a unified view.

Collaboration quickly devolves into chaotic email threads and siloed communications. Without a centralized platform, version control collapses—multiple people work on different document versions simultaneously, resulting in conflicting figures and duplicated efforts. The constant back-and-forth wastes precious hours and creates bottlenecks.

This fragmented process doesn’t just drain time; it puts the entire reporting cycle at risk. Inaccurate or delayed filings can lead to regulatory penalties, damage investor confidence, and tarnish the company’s reputation. The stress levels soar as deadlines loom, and teams face burnout. Ultimately, the lack of streamlined, connected reporting leads to financial losses from inefficiency, potential fines for non-compliance, and missed strategic opportunities due to unreliable data.

The Power of Connected Reporting

Now imagine a completely different scenario—one where your reporting system seamlessly and automatically links all your financial and ESG data into a single, unified platform. There’s no need to chase down data from different departments, no more emailing countless spreadsheets back and forth, and no more frantic last-minute consolidations. Instead, every stakeholder—whether in finance, sustainability, compliance, or executive leadership—has access to live, up-to-the-minute updates, visible in real time across all reports and dashboards.

Approvals move smoothly through predefined workflows, eliminating bottlenecks and reducing errors caused by manual handoffs. Each update is tracked and documented automatically, so the entire process remains fully transparent and audit-ready. The end result? Reports that are not only accurate but also timely and reliable, enabling confident decision-making and regulatory compliance.

This vision is what connected reporting promises to deliver: a smarter, more efficient way to manage complex, cross-functional reporting challenges.

Powering the Future of Connected Reporting

Connected reporting is made possible by integrating data, documents, and workflows into a single platform where information flows automatically and updates in real time. This eliminates manual data reconciliation, reduces errors, and enhances collaboration across teams and departments. By linking financial and ESG data with automated approval workflows and audit trails, organizations gain transparency, speed, and confidence in their reporting processes.

Workiva is the leader in enabling this transformation. Its cloud-native platform connects disparate systems—from ERPs and GRC tools to spreadsheets and sustainability trackers—into one cohesive environment. With real-time data linking, robust automation, and built-in compliance features,

Workiva helps organizations streamline complex reporting cycles, improve data accuracy, and stay ahead of regulatory demands. Trusted by over 75% of Fortune 500 companies, Workiva empowers businesses to move from fragmented, error-prone processes to efficient, connected reporting that drives better decision-making and stakeholder trust.

Here are 10 ways Workiva is leading the charge toward this future:

1. Connected Data Across All Systems

Workiva Wdata orchestrates data from ERPs, GRC systems, cloud apps, and on-premise tools through over 30 connectors, creating a centralized, live data pipeline. Automated refresh chains pull updated data into spreadsheets, documents, and dashboards with full lineage, eliminating manual errors and ensuring trustworthy data.

2. Real-Time Collaboration with Version Control

Multiple users can simultaneously edit documents or spreadsheets with built-in permissions, comments, and revision history. You can track who made each change and when, jump to collaborators’ cursors, and avoid version chaos—strengthening teamwork and control.

3. Smart Automation & Approval Workflows

Using Wdata’s visual “chains,” data refreshes, transformations, and approval processes can be automated. Multi-step workflows with control gates ensure consistency, compliance, and eliminate manual handoffs.

4. Integrated ESG and Financial Reporting

Workiva supports leading ESG frameworks like GRI, SASB, TCFD, ESEF, and CDP alongside built-in carbon accounting tools. ESG and financial data coexist in a single platform with traceability, reducing fragmentation and simplifying assurance-ready disclosures.

5. Simplified Regulatory Filings

Workiva supports SEC filings (10-K, 10-Q, S-1), SOX compliance, and European ESEF filings with embedded templates, linked data, inline XBRL tagging, and live audit tracking—helping you create compliant filings faster and with greater confidence.

6. Built-In AI Assistance

Generative AI is integrated directly into the platform to draft and edit content, answer questions, and suggest improvements—all while maintaining data security and giving admins controls for responsible use.

7. Enterprise-Grade Security & Compliance

Serving over 75% of Fortune 500 companies, Workiva adheres to encryption, multi-factor authentication, audit logs, and standards such as SOC 2 and ISO 27001. Every data operation is traceable for full accountability.

8. Scalable & Cloud-Native Architecture

Designed for organizations of any size, Workiva supports single entities to global enterprises with multiple currencies, reporting frameworks, and geographies. Teams across locations collaborate simultaneously without risk of overwriting work.

9. Extensive Ecosystem & Integrations

Workiva offers APIs and direct connectors to major systems like SAP, Oracle, BlackLine, FloQast, and carbon-tracking tools—seamlessly integrating finance, ESG, GRC, and risk systems into one connected platform.

10. Complete Traceability & Audit Preparedness

Every action—data pulls, edits, comments, approvals—is recorded in a detailed audit trail. Users can filter by user, timestamp, or document and drill back to original sources, making audit-ready reporting straightforward.

What Makes Workiva Unique?

• Fully Connected Platform: Workiva links data, documents, and workflows in real time across finance, ESG, audit, risk, and compliance teams, reducing errors and version control issues.
• Live Data Linking: Update data once and see it reflect everywhere—from reports to presentations to filings—a rare and valuable feature for accuracy and auditability.
• End-to-End Automation: Automated approval routing, task assignments, notifications, and third-party integrations streamline workflows.
• Cloud-Native Collaboration: Multiple teams work simultaneously across geographies without conflict.
• Built-In Regulatory Filing: Supports direct SEC, ESEF, and XBRL filing with embedded tagging and validation.
• Integrated ESG & Financial Data: Unlike many platforms, Workiva combines ESG and financial reporting in one ecosystem.

How Teams Benefit?

• Enhanced Collaboration: Teams can work simultaneously on the same documents and datasets with real-time updates, eliminating version conflicts and reducing email overload.
• Greater Transparency: Built-in comments, permissions, and audit trails make it easy to track changes and hold everyone accountable.
• Reduced Manual Work: Automated data linking and approval workflows free teams from repetitive tasks, letting them focus on analysis and strategic work.
• Faster Decision-Making: With live data and up-to-date reports at their fingertips, teams can respond quickly to internal and external requests.
• Improved Accuracy: Automated data refreshes and validations reduce errors and rework, increasing confidence in every report.

How Organizations Benefit?

• Streamlined Reporting Processes: By connecting disparate systems and automating workflows, organizations reduce cycle times and operational costs.
• Stronger Compliance and Audit Readiness: Comprehensive audit trails and regulatory filing support help avoid penalties and ease external audits.
• Integrated ESG and Financial Reporting: Organizations can unify sustainability metrics with financial data, meeting stakeholder demands for transparency.
• Scalable & Flexible: Whether a small team or a global enterprise, Workiva supports complex multi-entity structures and grows with your needs.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Reliable, timely data empowers leadership to make informed strategic choices that drive growth and sustainability.
• Enhanced Stakeholder Trust: Accurate, timely, and transparent reporting builds credibility with investors, regulators, and customers alike.

Bringing It All Together

In an era defined by data overload, rising regulatory demands, and the growing urgency of ESG accountability, Workiva is not just a solution—it’s a strategic advantage. By centralizing and connecting data across systems, streamlining collaboration, automating workflows, and enabling complete traceability, Workiva eliminates the bottlenecks that have long plagued financial, ESG, and compliance reporting.

With innovations like Wdata, integrated ESG frameworks, real-time collaboration, and AI-powered productivity tools, Workiva empowers organizations to move faster, work smarter, and report with confidence. It’s changing how businesses think about risk, transparency, and performance—ushering in a new standard for connected, compliant, and future-ready operations.

For organizations demanding speed, accuracy, and total control, the future of reporting isn’t coming — it’s already transforming how the world works. It’s connected. It’s trusted. And it’s powered by Workiva.

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