Streamline Excel Consolidation Model

I currently run a quarterly consolidation workbook that produces subgroup and holding balances as well as the note disclosures for the audit file. The file grew from a handful of entities to several dozen and now the simplest refresh triggers long pauses or outright freezes... (Budget: $15 - $25 USD, Jobs: Data Analysis, Data Management, Data Modeling, Data Processing, Excel, Excel Macros, Excel VBA, Financial Modeling, Microsoft Office, Visual Basic)