finit solutions arm_deep_dive_feb_2014(1)

www.finitsolutions.com

Getting the Most out of EPM:A ‘Deep Dive’ into Account Reconciliation Manager

February 28, 2014

Jay Hampton

[email protected]

http://www.finitsolutions.com/

www.finitsolutions.com- 2 -

About Finit In business over 11 years: Company

founded in July 2002. 60+ employees in 20+ states (mostly

East Coast, South, and Midwest) 80+ HFM Clients Recognized as the Market Leader in

ARM/FCM Recognized as the World Leader in

FDM Project Work and FDM Customizations

50+ Planning / Essbase Clients Finit has managed many of the

largest EPM projects in the U.S. Our employees are generally CPA’s,

MBA’s, and have extensive Product and Financial Reporting Backgrounds

Implementation Services Full cycle implementations Infrastructure and Data Services Project / Program Management Product Upgrades Redesign / Enhancements Dedicated Support – Finit Answers Access to Hyperion SME’s (Dedicated

support team and guaranteed response times)

Customer Service Focus Flexible Time and Material support

packages with a ‘Pay as you Go’ option

Technical and Admin / Functional Support

Contact Greg Barrett ([email protected]) for info

Finit Overview


mailto:[email protected]


Finit Solutions Introduction

Finit as a company: Who we are….Why? How?



We believe in making and delivering personalized financial reporting solutions and experiences for others. Making Solutions with Personalized Experiences

We value craftsmanship, authenticity and solution making

We believe in listening, questioning and analyzing the issues and wishes of those we work with.

We look to build relationships, not as company to company but person to person.

We are honestly aligned to the cause of those we work with.

We are Makers and Doers who roll up their sleeves and dig in.

WHY is Finit Here?



Running Finit like a Family

Finit has no debt or external owners.

This lets us keep focused on the customer in all cases as Finit’s goal is not to maximize profit but maximize the value we add to clients.

All owners are involved in the business.

We do not use contractors, employees only.

Finit’s compensation model is based upon client satisfaction with consultant’s work, not utilization / chargeability.

HOW do we achieve our beliefs?



Below are Finit’s core values

These are the same values we ask you to provide consultant feedback on

Finit Values



Our values, culture and approach to becoming a trusted advisor to clients has led to 100% customer success for every Finit client (200+ and counting) and for every Oracle Hyperion project (over 350+ and counting).

Finit’s Client Service



Some Finit Clients


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http://www.costco.com/Home.aspx?cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_logo&lang=en-US

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http://www.brinkscompany.com/

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Jay Hampton

Partner with Finit Solutions

10 Years experience with Hyperion EPM Software

Financial Close Primarily (HE, HFM, FDM/ERPi, FCM)

Cincinnati, OH

Annabelle’s Webinar Debut!

About the Presenter



Financial Close Manager (FCM) Overview

Account Reconciliation Manager (ARM) Overview

Standard Process Flow

Set Up and Configuration

New Features currently available in 11.1.2.3

“Potential” New Features soon to be available in 11.1.2.3.500

Lessons Learned from implementations

Agenda



Financial Close and ARM Overview



Released with EPM 11.1.2.0 Part of the EPM Suite Integrated with Shared Services and Workspace Currently 2 Products are Part of Financial Close

Close Manager Task Management Solution – “…anything that needs to be done during the close process…”

Reconciliation Manager

Road map calls for More “modules” Supplemental Data Manager Journal Entry Manager

Financial Close Overview



Account Reconciliation Manager designed to Manage and Monitor your Global Account Reconciliation Process General Ledger Reconciliations (aka “Balance Sheet Reconciliations”) Consolidation System Reconciliations Tax Reconciliations Any other reconciliation that performs a periodic validation of an

account balance

Competes against: Excel Based Reconciliations Other Account Rec Tools

Trintech AssurenetBlackline

Requires ERPi (FDMEE) for Data Integration Component Cannot load General Ledger data via FDM Classic

ARM Overview



ARM solves a compliance documentation problem

Manages the reconciliation processes and stores evidence that reconciliations occurred

Key characteristics of accounting reconciliationsThey are process-specific

Focused on period-end balances

Generally managed by corporate accounting or shared services

Performed by divisional accountants world-wide

May use reconciliation compliance software

Accounts Reconciliation Manager (ARM)



Risk of missing accounts

No visibility into the status of completion

Incomplete explanations

What happens if the balances change? Are reconciliations updated?

Inability to report across reconciliations

Risk of lost reconciliations

Risks with Excel Account Reconciliations



Process Flow



ARM Overview – Workflow

Load Balances

Auto Reconciliation

Email Notifications

Preparation

Review

Late Notices

Monitoring

GL System Balances Sub Ledger Balances ERPi (FDMEE) Data load

adaptors provided for: Oracle E-Business Suite 11i,

12 Oracle Fusion Financials PeopleSoft Enterprise

Financial Management 9.0, 9.1

JD Edwards Enterprise version 9.0

SAP ERP Financial 4.7c, ECC 6.0 enhancement pack 4.0+

Flat Files




Load Balances

Auto Reconciliation

Email Notifications

Preparation

Review

Late Notices

Monitoring

Auto Reconciliation

Zero Balance Accounts

Accounts under a certain threshold

Accounts with No Activity



Auto Reconciliation




Load Balances

Auto Reconciliation

Email Notifications

Preparation

Review

Late Notices

Monitoring

Email Notifications

Sent at designated times

Reminders that reconciliations should begin




Load Balances

Auto Reconciliation

Email Notifications

Preparation

Review

Late Notices

Monitoring

Preparation

Configurable Formats

Adaptable to each account type

Instructions

Attach supporting docs

Loadable transactions



Preparation – Source Balances



Preparation – Adjustments to Source




Load Balances

Auto Reconciliation

Email Notifications

Preparation

Review

Late Notices

Monitoring

Review

Comments

Tickmark features

Approval and rejection workflow



Review




Load Balances

Auto Reconciliation

Email Notifications

Preparation

Review

Late Notices

Monitoring

Late Notices

Sent at designated times

Sent only to users who have missed a deadline

Notifications continue until work is complete



Email Reminders / Late Notice




Load Balances

Auto Reconciliation

Email Notifications

Preparation

Review

Late Notices

Monitoring

Monitoring

Status of reconciliations

Aging analysis

Warnings

Debit / credit violations

Aging violations



Monitoring



Set Up and Configuration



1) Identify Accounts and Data Sources to Reconcile

Note: Level of Account Reconciliation is Very Important!

GL Account Level? GL Account + Cost Center Level? GL Account + Legal Entity Level? Etc.

2) Create Account Reconciliation “Profiles” and assign attributes and Reconciliation Preparers and Reviewers

3) Configure ERPi (FDMEE) to Map and Load General Ledger Data to Profiles

4) Create Monthly Reconciliations from Profiles

5) Load General Ledger Data into ARM

6) Open Reconciliations to Users

ARM Set Up Simplified



Two Types of Reconciliations (Formats) Balance Compare Automated comparison of source

system and subsystem balances Accounts payable Accounts receivable Inventory Fixed Assets

Can “source” from Sub-Ledger

Account Analysis Justification of the source system

balance Prepaids Accruals Intangibles Any other account where the balance is

not derived from a subsystem



PropertiesCharacteristics of the account reconciliation

InstructionsVisible to end users

WorkflowControls the ‘who’ and ‘how often’ of the reconciliation process

CurrencyAccess

Who can modify and maintain the account reconciliation

AttributesCustomizable properties

HistoryTo see property changes

Profile Set Up



Account ID Account – Company / Account – Cost Center / etc.

Name/Description

Risk Rating - High, Medium, Low

FormatBalance Compare

Account Analysis

Normal Balance – Debit/Credit

Auto Reconciliation – Yes/No

Manually Enter Balances – Yes/No

Profile Set Up - Properties



Profile Set Up - Properties



Profile Set Up - Instructions



Preparer

Frequency

Start Day Offset

Duration

Newer versions support Groups

Reviewers

Can add as many as you want

Frequencye.g. 1 Reviewer for Monthly, 2 for Quarterly

Duration

Profile Set Up - Workflow



Profile Set Up - Workflow



Single – All reconciliations done in one common currency

Multiple – if reconciliations are done in more than one currency

Entered: Balances and transactions in the currencies in which they occurred

Functional: Balances and transactions in the currency associated with the entity that owns the account

Reporting: Balances and transactions in the currency used for system-wide reporting

Can enable/disable per Profile

Profile Set Up - Currency



Profile Set Up - Currency



Commentators

Can view and add comments to Reconciliations

Supports Users or Groups

Viewers

Can view but not comment on Reconciliations

Supports Users or Groups

Profile Set Up – Access



Profile Set Up - Access



Custom AttributesAllow for different ways to Group or “Tag” Reconciliations for

analysis and tracking purposesExamples we’ve seen:

Profile Set Up – Attributes

GL System Legal EntityGeographical Location Shared Service CenterHFM AccountAction PlanReview MethodReview Date

Type Journal Entry NumberReconciliation Frequency Business Unit SegmentReconciliation GroupResponsibility Group



Profile Set Up - Attributes



Profile Set Up – History



New Features:11.1.2.3 (Currently Available)11.1.2.3.500 (Next Release)



Net Activity Attribute from Prior ReconciliationCalculates the activity

on any reconciliation profile / account from the last reconciliation.

Displays as an amount along with the Beginning Balance, Ending Balance, Explained Balance, etc.

FCM / ARM Changes in 11.1.2.3



Can Hide Options from Reconciliations Formats

Can choose to Hide an item such as Adjustments to Source Systems, Net Activity, etc.




Can have Summary Reconciliations that pull from child reconciliations.




Improved User Assignments of Reconciliations A user can assign a backup Can assign a group to a reconciliation (with members existing in the

group). The group exists as a Native group in Shared services. A user can request a workflow be reassigned to another user.




Improvements to Auto Reconciliations (5 new methods added) Balance is zero & no activity exists Balance is within a range (based on prior reconciliation amount) Balance is within range and no activity (based on prior reconciliation amount) No Activity (based on prior reconciliation amount) Balance match (# tolerance) – less or equal to a tolerance amount.




*Until they’re actually released, all Future Release Enhancements are subject to change

Guidance provided by Heather Lynds FCM/ARM Product Manager (best PM at Oracle!)

The following items are “likely” but not guaranteed to be included Improvements to reconciliation layoutEnhanced attribute configuration optionsNew custom attribute typeAction Plans for reconciliation transactionsQuestions for all rolesDefault dashboards and list views

Potential* New Features in 11.1.2.3.500



Long Account Description

Improvements to Reconciliation Layout



Displaying Individual Segments


The configuration option is at the Format level, enabling customers more granular control over display options (rather than forcing a single configuration)



Displaying Individual Segments


If configured to display individual segments, each segment is displayed separately, preceded by the segment label



New Other Attributes Section


Attributes assigned to the Attributes tab on the Format or Profile dialogs will now appear in the Other Attributes section



Renaming standard transaction attributes

Attributes have been exposed in Manage Attributes and limited edits to changing the name

Enhanced Attribute Configuration Options



Removing / Re-ordering Standard Transaction Attributes




Configuring Access Privileges


Access privileges can be assigned to both standard and custom attributes assigned to Formats or Profiles. Edit behavior depends on role assigned access, and the type of attribute (action plan attributes have different behavior than other attributes)



Displaying Format Attributes on the Profile


Enables Administrators to see a comprehensive view of attributes that will appear in the Other Attributes section of reconciliations, including attributes added to the Format Attribute tab and the Profile Attribute tab



Copying Reconciliation Attribute Values back to the Profile


Applies to all types of custom attributes; enables authorized roles to contribute information & files that should be stored on the profile and carried forward from period-to-period



Prior versions of ARM support only a single “Text” type custom attribute; this attribute displays only a single line of text

Added new attribute type “Multi-Line Text” with optional attachments section

New Custom Attribute Type



The multi-line text attributes can be assigned anywhere custom attributes can be assigned

Format Attributes & Transaction tabs

Profile Attributes tab

Assignment includes the access privileges feature

New Custom Attribute Type



Typical Use Case

Action Plans for Reconciliations

Primary use case is to enable workflow users to edit Action Plan attributes after completion of their workflow responsibilities.



Questions for All Roles



Configuring a Set of Default Portlets

Default Dashboard and List Views

Administrators now have a second dashboard icon on their toolbar: Public Dashboard. Whatever portlets they configure on this dashboard become the default portlets that new users will see.



Configuring Portlets


Each portlet has a “Save as Default” option available to Administrators. It saves the column configuration and applied filters as the default, causing these settings to apply to each new instance of the portlet.



Configuring List Views


Each List View (Profile, Reconciliation, & Transaction) also has the Save as Default option available to Administrators. It saves the current column configuration as the default configuration to apply to all new users.

The Restore to Default option can be used by any user to reset the view to match the default view.



Lessons Learned



Start Simple and Continue to Evolve

Use ARM as a chance to Standardize Recon Process

Use ARM as a chance to Drive Process Change

Plan to Expand ARM

Sub ledgers

Analytics

Leverage Custom Attributes

Leverage Complete Data Loads

Ability to Export / Import Profiles via Excel

Tips/Tricks/Lessons Learned



Reconciliations should be consistent

Use ARM as an opportunity to standardize the recon process

All accounts don’t need to be reconciled the same but all the same accounts should be reconciled consistently

e.g. Cash can be reconciled differently than AR, but AR should be reconciled consistently across the organization

Opportunity for Standardization



Most companies deal with Reconciliations on a ‘Reactive’ basis

Proactive approach would be to tie Recons, Mapping, etc. into the account activation

Add ARM process to new GL account request

Who’s the reviewer, what are the attributes, etc.

Opportunity for Process Change



Consider relationship between GL accounts and your Consolidation Chart of Accounts

If supporting multiple ERP’s and source systems ARM can help bridge the gap and limit exposure

e.g. What % of your Balance Sheet balances are reconciled?

ARM Beyond a Transactional Recon Tool



Provide additional views of the recons

Future reporting enhancements will allow for better analytics based on attributes

Simple to create and update

Leverage Custom Attributes



Complete Data Loads



All Profile Properties are in columns, can save as .csv and import

Import / Export Profiles Via Excel



Questions?

Email us for a copy of the slides or link to the

recording.

Presenter

Jay Hampton

[email protected]

[email protected]

General Questions

Greg Barrett [email protected]

Joe Mizerk [email protected]

Thank you for attending!






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