reconciliations done right: automate and scale your bank and credit card reconciliations
TRANSCRIPT
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
CPE credits and supplemental information
We are issuing 1 CPE credit To be eligible for CPE credit, please answer three (3) out of the four (4) polling questions throughout the duration of this webinar. An email with a link to the CPE Course Evaluation Form will be emailed after the webinar.
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation 3
Today’s Speaker
Susan Parcells, CPA, CGMA Director, Finance Transformation & Product Expert BlackLine
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
Polling Question 1
a) 0 - 50 b) 51 - 100 c) 101 – 1,000 d) Over 1,000 e) Not sure/Don’t know
How many account reconciliations is your company performing on a monthly basis?
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
AGENDA Identify best practices around bank and credit card account reconciliations Discuss challenges around performing bank and credit card account reconciliations Explore different ways to perform these types of reconciliations including using spreadsheets, using NetSuite and using BlackLine Learn how BlackLine’s Transaction Matching and Reconciliation Management solutions can help companies of all sizes can address the challenges around not only the bank and credit card reconciliations but all balance sheet accounts, helping to ensure accurate financial data.
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
ACCOUNT RECONCILIATIONS
What is it?: The process of verifying the integrity of data between independent records (such as a bank statement, vendor statement, etc.) and a company’s internal financial records. Why perform account reconciliations? To ensure the accuracy of the company’s internal financial data.
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
BANK ACCOUNT RECONCILIATIONS
What is it?: The process of verifying the integrity of data between bank records and a company’s internal financial records. Why perform bank account reconciliations? • Ensure the bank balances are correct and accurate along with the
company’s internal financial data. • Protect against fraud
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
ACCOUNT RECONCILIATION REQUIREMENTS
CFOs / CEOs need to attest the correctness of the financial statements and internal control systems of their entities and corporate group.
The purpose of reconciliation management is to provide reasonable assurance as to the accuracy of financial data at a specific point in time.
The focus of account reconciliation is on the correctness of account balances because they directly roll-up into the financial statements.
It is the process of comparing account data (on balance or item level) that exist in two systems or locations (outside of systems, e.g. on paper), analyzing variances, and making required corrections, so that the information is accurate.
There is a significant qualitative nature of Account Reconciliation. The assessments have to be documented by relevant calculations, clear and complete explanations, and copies of supporting documents in compliance with company policy.
The process and results of reconciliations must be easy to track and verify, and may be checked and signed-off by auditors.
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
ACCOUNT RECONCILIATION BEST PRACTICES Account reconciliations should be:
All inclusive Accurate Completed and reviewed in a timely manner Support the appropriate accounting principles Constantly reviewed and improved
A few extra tips: Maintain a well documented policy that is up to date Keep desktop procedures up to date Provide adequate training
Polling Question 2
a) 1 - 4 hours b) 4 - 8 hours c) 2 - 3 days d) More than 3 days e) Not sure/Don’t know
How long does it take your accounting team to perform the bank and/or credit card reconciliations?
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
AGENDA Identify best practices around bank and credit card account reconciliations Discuss challenges around performing bank and credit card account reconciliations Explore different ways to perform these types of reconciliations including using spreadsheets, using NetSuite and using BlackLine Learn how BlackLine’s Transaction Matching and Reconciliation Management solutions can help companies of all sizes can address the challenges around not only the bank and credit card reconciliations but all balance sheet accounts, helping to ensure accurate financial data.
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
What are some of the challenges or risks? The process is manual and time consuming Often reliant on spreadsheets which may contain errors Little to no standardization across the reconciliations, making it difficult for reviewers, management and even auditors to quickly understand the data. Lack of visibility into statuses and risk Unclear ownership and workflow Lots of supporting documentation, binders, boxes which take up space and can easily be misplaced. Policies and procedures are often outdated or even non-existent Accountants may know the steps to prepare the reconciliation but not truly understand what is going on in the account
Polling Question 3
a) Too manual/too many spreadsheets b) Too time consuming c) Little to no visibility into statuses and risks d) Ensuring all balance sheet accounts are reconciled e) All of the above
What are the biggest challenges your company faces around the reconciliation process?
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
AGENDA Identify best practices around bank and credit card account reconciliations Discuss challenges around performing bank and credit card account reconciliations Explore different ways to perform these types of reconciliations including using spreadsheets, using NetSuite and using BlackLine Learn how BlackLine’s Transaction Matching and Reconciliation Management solutions can help companies of all sizes can address the challenges around not only the bank and credit card reconciliations but all balance sheet accounts, helping to ensure accurate financial data.
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
AGENDA Identify best practices around bank and credit card account reconciliations Discuss challenges around performing bank and credit card account reconciliations Explore different ways to perform these types of reconciliations including using spreadsheets, using NetSuite and using BlackLine Learn how BlackLine’s Transaction Matching and Reconciliation Management solutions can help companies of all sizes can address the challenges around not only the bank and credit card reconciliations but all balance sheet accounts, helping to ensure accurate financial data.
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
ISSUES WITH EXISTING PROCESSES RECAP Human error Inefficient process Formula issues Lack of Standardization Lack of Visibility – Details – Errors not identified and fixed on a timely basis
Lack of Visibility - Status Searching for supporting documentation Lost reconciliations Printing costs Storage costs Difficulty managing cash
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
BlackLine Transaction Matching Accurately match and reconcile millions of transactions in minutes.
User Configurable Matching Rules | Automatically Create Reconciling Items Full Audit Trails | Data Import Wizard
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
BlackLine Account Reconciliations Eliminate spreadsheets, and increase efficiency, control and visibility.
Rules Driven Automated Reconciliations | Templates for Every Account Easy to Use Dashboards
Polling Question 4
a) BlackLine b) Excel c) Other third-party software d) Internally developed tool/system e) Doing manually
How is your company currently handling account reconciliations?
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
Expectation of Accuracy
Compliance Creep
Shift to Real-Time
Operational Complexity
INCREASING DEMANDS
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
Now is the time to automate processes and provide increased control and visibility across the entire Modern Finance organization
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
Decrease risk and enforce
controls
Provide visibility into processes
Increase efficiency
MODERNIZING THE WAY FINANCE & ACCOUNTING WORK
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
THE BLACKLINE PLATFORM
TECHNOLOGY
PRODUCTS
SOLUTIONS
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
REAL RESULTS. REAL ROI.
Strong ROI with an average 3-6 month payback from labor savings
MeadWestvaco Corporation ROI: 495% Payback: 2 Months
Cox Communications ROI: 227% Payback: 6 Months
Education Management Corporation ROI: 138% Payback: 10 Months
The world’s most trusted solution for Finance Controls and Automation
QUESTIONS?
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Susan Parcells 818.223.9008 [email protected] https://www.blackline.com