Allocation Engine: building a unified cost allotcation model

In many companies, cost allocation processes have been managed in Excel for years. Over time, allocation methodologies become increasingly complex, accumulating exceptions, manual adjustments, and multiple local files. As a result, the process becomes difficult to maintain, validate, and scale.

In this talk, I will share our experience of building an Allocation Engine — a unified solution for allocating expenses and other income. It brought together eight different allocation methodologies, automated the calculation process, and established a single source of data for financial analytics.

I will walk through the project journey – from business requirements analysis and solution design to analytical data marts, automated quality controls, and BI dashboards. I will also discuss the key decisions that helped make allocation results transparent, traceable, and trustworthy for business users.