Compliance, IFRS
Company
Company operates a number of diverse and strong brands. The Company has three reporting segments which in turn consist of several divisions
and subsidiaries. Beyond executive management, each segment has its own Group President and CEO, as well as a Chief Operating Officer.
While separate management teams operate each business group independently, the organization strives to maximize cross-selling, crossmarketing,
procurement and other complimentary opportunities. The Company had struggled with a common problem: too much data and not enough timely or consistent access to it. Spreadsheets and localized solutions helped to rein in some of the information, but it was far from ideal.
and subsidiaries. Beyond executive management, each segment has its own Group President and CEO, as well as a Chief Operating Officer.
While separate management teams operate each business group independently, the organization strives to maximize cross-selling, crossmarketing,
procurement and other complimentary opportunities. The Company had struggled with a common problem: too much data and not enough timely or consistent access to it. Spreadsheets and localized solutions helped to rein in some of the information, but it was far from ideal.
Business challenge
Company knew that effective financial and operational management depends on consistent, accessible analysis of business data – but the use of
spreadsheets and independent solutions across different divisions made this difficult to achieve.
Company Vice-President, Corporate Services:
“Our issue was just getting consistent financial and non-financial data, The problem was not knowing if information was coming in on a consistent
basis across divisions; there were too many ad-hoc requests going on by different people in different formats. The mass of spreadsheets made
our processes inefficient. We just knew that there was a better way to work.”
The challenge was to find a platform that would allow senior management to better access and share information that was critical for timely operations planning. Also required was a unified solution that would streamline planning and forecasting processes and facilitate regulatory compliance.
spreadsheets and independent solutions across different divisions made this difficult to achieve.
Company Vice-President, Corporate Services:
“Our issue was just getting consistent financial and non-financial data, The problem was not knowing if information was coming in on a consistent
basis across divisions; there were too many ad-hoc requests going on by different people in different formats. The mass of spreadsheets made
our processes inefficient. We just knew that there was a better way to work.”
The challenge was to find a platform that would allow senior management to better access and share information that was critical for timely operations planning. Also required was a unified solution that would streamline planning and forecasting processes and facilitate regulatory compliance.
Key reasons for selecting IBM:
• A global as well as local presence, including a close-by implementation team.
• Strong worldwide support.
• A full suite of products that is well integrated, with flexible capabilities.
• Worldwide recognition that IBM Cognos solutions are a BI leader
• Strong worldwide support.
• A full suite of products that is well integrated, with flexible capabilities.
• Worldwide recognition that IBM Cognos solutions are a BI leader
Solution
The company deployed a suite of IBM Cognos solutions, including Cognos Controller and Business Intelligence . In a second phase, IBM Cognos Mobile was
implemented to provide senior executives with mobile access to analytics via their BlackBerry devices.
implemented to provide senior executives with mobile access to analytics via their BlackBerry devices.
Business Benefits
• Delivers simpler, faster access to clear, reliable and timely information.
• Provides automated alerts, helping managers react quickly and keep operations on track.
• Mobile support gives executives all the facts at their fingertips – even while they’re travelling.
• Enhances business insight and efficiency while reducing manual effort.
• Has enabled a successful transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
• Provides automated alerts, helping managers react quickly and keep operations on track.
• Mobile support gives executives all the facts at their fingertips – even while they’re travelling.
• Enhances business insight and efficiency while reducing manual effort.
• Has enabled a successful transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Automated financial consolidation
Company is using IBM Cognos Controller to automate and structure the financial consolidation process.
The solution improved efficiency in preparing financial statements, and has strengthened the company’s internal control
environment to meet compliance and regulatory requirements worldwide.
Controller’s global and localized reporting capabilities also open a world of information to executives and management. Users are based in
Canada, the USA, Europe, Australia, Japan and Brazil, and the system is fully supported by one in-house finance resource.
Says Company VP:
“The information is now standardized and on demand, and it’s aggregated, it’s converted, it’s in local currency and it’s in our reporting
currency,. As an example, (before Controller was implemented) our subsidiary companies were a lot less visible to the executives, but now that’s much improved. So now we don’t need to call local management and ask what’s going on. We already know what’s going on. If there’s a problem in a particular country we can see it immediately, where we didn’t have that visibility as easily before.
The solution improved efficiency in preparing financial statements, and has strengthened the company’s internal control
environment to meet compliance and regulatory requirements worldwide.
Controller’s global and localized reporting capabilities also open a world of information to executives and management. Users are based in
Canada, the USA, Europe, Australia, Japan and Brazil, and the system is fully supported by one in-house finance resource.
Says Company VP:
“The information is now standardized and on demand, and it’s aggregated, it’s converted, it’s in local currency and it’s in our reporting
currency,. As an example, (before Controller was implemented) our subsidiary companies were a lot less visible to the executives, but now that’s much improved. So now we don’t need to call local management and ask what’s going on. We already know what’s going on. If there’s a problem in a particular country we can see it immediately, where we didn’t have that visibility as easily before.
Without Cognos Controller, we just wouldn’t have had the comprehensive, reliable processes we needed to support the IFRS project,” explains Farthing. Since we already had the solution in place, converting to the new accounting standards was actually relatively straightforward as the software is built to handle multiple standards scenarios. I can’t imagine trying to do what we did with a spreadsheetbased solution.”
