Acceles

Background

A financial services provider with assets exceeding $30 billion conducted its monthly closing process using a mainframe-based general ledger. The closing was batch processed and lasted a minimum of three business days. Any interruption in mainframe service would directly impact the ability of the financial staff to close within that window. Most often, the closing cycle extended by one or two days due to problems processing on the mainframe system.

All executive reporting was performed using Excel worksheets, which was extremely time-consuming. Financial information had to be re-keyed into spreadsheets, which required a re-checking of all data to validate its accuracy.

The eliminations process between the parent company and its subsidiaries was also a manual process, requiring two staff members during the three-day close.

The financial staff desired to:

Reduce dependence on the mainframe for the closing process
Automate processes
Eliminate re-keying of information
Increase time available for analysis during the closing cycle
Automate the executive reporting process
Provide reconciliation between the new system and the mainframe general ledger
Ensure that the new system met all internal and external audit and tax requirements

The Solution

Acceles conducted a complete analysis of the existing closing processes and the underlying chart of accounts, then selected Hyperion Enterprise as the software tool to assist in the reengineering of the closing process.

Opportunities for the automation of the eliminations, tax recording, and financial reporting processes were identified. Once these processes were automated, time became available for increased analysis during the close.

The porting of the closing process from the mainframe to Hyperion Enterprise enabled the financial reporting staff to consistently maintain a three-day closing window. Enhanced reporting capabilities also produced superior results during the close.

The project plan included three full tests before going live at the scheduled start of the client's new fiscal year. All objectives were met on time and within budget. A subsequent project to incorporate an earnings estimation process followed the close reengineering, and was also completed on time and within budget.