Top Ten Problems Solved by Infor SunSystems Cloud in the Financial Services Sector. Problem #4: Slow Financial Close and Reconciliation
In this blog, the fourth in our series, we highlight the impact of slow financial close and reconciliation. In financial services, slow financial close and reconciliation is more than just a matter of efficiency; it is a matter of structural risk.
The reconciliation problem
Reconciliations are essential for accuracy, but they are also one of the biggest bottlenecks in the financial close. They rely heavily on manual processes, which are prone to error. They may involve drawing data from multiple systems that are not fully in sync with your general ledger. Discrepancies require investigation. Errors discovered late in the process cause a cascade of delays. Journals need to be reversed; reports re-run.
The knock-on effect of these problems is that they delay the financial close. Senior management depends on timely and accurate information to support decision making. In regulated sectors such as financial services, the close process feeds capital, liquidity, and regulatory reporting. If it’s slow, the organisation is effectively flying blind.
How SunSystems Cloud from LAKE can help
SunSystems addresses the underlying causes of the reconciliation problem in a number of ways. Here are a couple of examples:
Fewer Reconciliations
The first and most powerful way is to remove the need for some reconciliation. SunSystems is a unified ledger for general ledger, sales, purchasing, cashbook, fixed assets, and projects. This eliminates the need for ledger reconciliation. It carries the added benefit of simplifying real-time reporting. Postings occur instantly. All accounts are always up-to-date and balanced. There are no delays.
SunSystems is also ideally suited to multi-entity accounting. It reduces the number of ledgers you need and streamlines reporting across entities.
Automation to Drive Efficiency
The second SunSystems feature to highlight is automation. An example of which is intercompany posting to automate journal entries across business units. These ensure entities are synchronised, thus minimising reconciliation differences and discrepancies.
Another example is automated bank reconciliation that facilitates daily reconciliation rather than, say, at month end. Bank statements are imported electronically and matched according to rules set by you. You can even auto-create bank-generated journals for posting of fees and interest payments.
Automation also has a major part to play in the import of data from third-party systems. SunSystems Cloud combines API and import functionality with validation and routing to keep systems in sync and eliminate errors.
In addition to automation, SunSystems includes powerful workflow capability. Payment Authorisation, for instance, ensures payments are routed to the correct manager, approved quickly, and logged with clear rejection or approval reasons.
Take the next step
In the next blog in this series, we highlight the impact of inefficient procurement and cost controls.
To find out how Infor SunSystems Cloud from LAKE could help your organisation, download a copy of our SunSystems Cloud Beginner’s Guide – Commercial.
By Paul Barns