Challenge
- The existing chart of accounts did not properly support the creation of roll forward schedules, resulting in labor intensive, manually prepared schedules and reconciliations
- Account reconciliations were processed via Excel and manual Envision SQL queries, which meant these files were not standardized, and were maintained on the individual user’s computers
- SOX controls were not addressed in a standardized manner due to the manual preparation of the documentation
Solution
- A chart of accounts rationalization exercise was performed to streamline roll forward components to be built into the ARM solution
- Account Reconciliation Manager (ARM) was leveraged to handle over 10,000 reconciliations, ranging from Account Analysis to Balance Comparisons for the ERP and relevant sub-systems
- A standard process was created for account reconciliations and workflow sign-off
- The manual Envision queries were replaced by detailed transaction queries leveraging FDMEE and linked to the individual account reconciliations within ARM for centralization and ease of use
- Allowed the viewing and filtering of 30,000+ transactions to import in to ARM on a per-user basis
The solution has been running in production since 2015
Benefits
- Account reconciliations were standardized and enhanced across the organization, taking advantage of efficiencies in the process
- The efficient workflow process within ARM enabled the managers to sign-off on the reconciliations on-line without printing, manually signing, and then storing documents
- ARM was utilized to validate sub ledger data feeds into the general ledger, providing visibility to errors much earlier in the close cycle
- ARM now maintains the reconciliations, workflow audit trail, and official SOX sign-off for all reconciliations