There are several challenges that controllers in global organizations face when supporting the period-end financial close. These challenges present themselves in various ways, including:
- Integrating and validating data from multiple, disconnected sources.
- Translating currency and performing impact analysis.
- Executing intercompany eliminations.
- Performing account reconciliations.
- Supporting tax provisioning.
For a global enterprise, the key to delivering financial results that are both auditable and accurate is to effectively address the root causes of these issues. In most cases, the root cause of these issues is the use of technology. For too long, controllers have been forced to use multiple pieces of software, spreadsheets, or outdated platforms to support consolidations and financial close. No more.
Migrating to a unified and modern software platform such as the OneStream intelligent finance platform is the ideal path to address these challenges, while at the same time simplifying the financial close process through the automation of key processes.
By migrating to OneStream, your organization will also realize improvements in the accompanying areas of planning and reporting, which will lead to better quality financial data that can be leveraged across the enterprise.
Modernize Financial Close Through a Financial Close Solution
The modernization of financial systems through an automated solution such as OneStream will lead to significant improvements in the close process. This will lead to faster financial results delivery, which in turn will also allow more time for analysis and data-based decision-making.
There are several key tasks that automation can streamline.
1. Trial Balance Validation
Finance teams in global enterprises typically spend several days each month tracking down various elements, such as trial balances, research validation, and error correction. The benefit of a modernized approach is the ability to push accountability for tasks such as trial balance validation to finance department staff at the regional level.
This is made possible through a financial data aggregation process that is fast and accurate, which allows finance department staff at the corporate level to focus on analyzing results rather than inputting data.
2. Intercompany Eliminations
When finance staff at the corporate level spend time reconciling intercompany balances, it can add days to the close process. This is further complicated by the need to urge regional or divisional accounting staff to correct accounts.
These problems can be avoided when using a modern system for financial consolidation, as the responsibility that was once held at the corporate level for confirming charges within the company’s regions or divisions can now be transferred to the operating level. Also, intercompany eliminations can be automated, leaving Corporate to deal with only the minor or small exceptions.
3. Currency Translations
Collecting financial results in several currencies can lead to complexities that enterprises would rather not deal with. For example, finance teams are often forced to spend additional time on data collection to understand the impact that exchange rates have on results.
This all changes when using a modern and automated system such as OneStream, as trial balances can be input in local currencies, then translated into the reporting currency. This allows consolidations to happen in several currencies while also allowing for analysis on the impact of currency exchange rates as they relate to financial results.
4. Allocations
Spreadsheets have many uses. However, when you need to perform iterative tasks, such as cost allocations, there are better options. One of those options is an automated financial reporting and consolidation software solution.
OneStream allows for automation of cost allocations while also being capable of updating those allocations as the financial results become updated during the close cycle. Think of the time savings available in this scenario.
5. Account Reconciliations
Within large enterprises, finance staff may need to perform thousands of account reconciliations at the end of a period. This task often leads to additional days of work during the close process, delaying the delivery of financial results to support decision-making.
To avoid this common backlog at the end of a given period, organizations need a modern solution for account reconciliations that integrates with financial consolidation solutions. OneStream checks this box, creating a clear path forward to streamline reconciliations through automation.
6. Financial Reporting
During the close process each month, the bulk of the time is typically consumed by collecting results and completing consolidations. Another time-consuming task is generating reports for stakeholders, such as management.
These processes can be streamlined through the use of OneStream. Then, Finance teams can spend more time performing analysis and stakeholders can receive reports in a timely manner to make informed decisions.
We Help You Utilize the OneStream Intelligent Finance Platform
OneStream unifies several key processes that matter to controllers, including consolidation, reporting, and planning. For organizations that must work through complex accounting and finance situations every month, there is a real opportunity to find time savings, increase the reliability of results, and create more opportunities for necessary analysis.
As a Diamond OneStream implementation partner, we work closely with controllers when implementing OneStream to address complexities in a global enterprise so that you can deliver accurate and auditable financial results on a consistent basis.
We encourage you to learn more about how a modern, unified platform can tackle these challenges and simplify financial close and consolidation, planning, reporting, analytics, and financial data quality for sophisticated organizations.
By having these capabilities within a unified platform, your organization will be able to realize efficiencies that simply aren’t possible when dependent on spreadsheets, traditional processes, or legacy platforms that don’t offer the flexibility of OneStream.
Contact us today for a consultation to discuss how we can support your Finance team’s migration to the OneStream intelligent finance platform. No more struggling through the period-end financial close, consolidation, and reporting process. We make it stress-free migrating to OneStream. Now is the time to modernize Finance so that you can lead at speed in your organization!
