Case Study: Museum of Finance and Industry, Chicago achieves 50% faster variance analysis and reliable revenue projections with Vena Solutions

MSI Chicago Streamlines Financial Reporting To Make More Reliable Revenue Projections With Vena

The Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago), one of the world’s largest science museums, faced slow, manual budgeting and static reporting that required consolidating countless spreadsheets, running dozens of pivot tables and spending up to 10 hours a month in variance meetings. Outdated actuals and limited visibility into assumptions made it difficult to engage stakeholders, explain budgets, or produce reliable long-term revenue projections.

By implementing Vena with a direct integration to Sage Intacct, MSI standardized and automated monthly reporting while preserving an Excel interface for users, added drill-downs and commentary, and enabled real-time extended planning and scenario modeling. The result: a 50% reduction in variance meeting time, on-demand what-if analysis for attendance, staffing and exhibits, stronger cross-functional collaboration, and more reliable, agile revenue forecasting—critical during COVID-19.

Museum of Finance and Industry, Chicago

Aaron Andersen

Finance Director