The following SC&H Group blog post reveals how executives are meeting their business and compliance needs by implementing Oracle Financial Consolidation and Close Cloud Service (FCCS) to accurately and transparently shorten their close cycle.
Despite the increasing use and benefits of technology, today’s corporate close cycles are continually lengthening. In fact, over five years ago, 70 percent of companies completed their monthly close in six days, while only half do today, according to a recent Ventana benchmark report.
Facing Various Pressures that Lengthen the Close Cycle
This difficulty in achieving timely close cycles is primarily due to various external, internal, and cost pressures.
For instance, market regulators are demanding more comprehensive, transparent, and consistent disclosure of financial information. Moreover, as companies struggle to comply with local and global regulations, the quality of their financial reports is facing greater public and stakeholder scrutiny.
In addition, executives are facing numerous internal challenges that complicate financial data consolidation and increase work in the close process. A sampling of these challenges includes implementing technology that enhances specific company needs, correctly integrating data, and maintaining a standardized financial model.
Further, some executives lack the resources to close in a timely fashion. As a result, accuracy is often compromised, causing inadequate analyses of results, costly errors in the current or next period’s reporting, and harmful business decisions.
Implementing Oracle FCCS for Efficiency, Transparency, and Accuracy
As many executives are discovering, implementing a formal solution can vastly improve their ability to gain a dependable, efficient, and compliant close and consolidation process. In fact, the success rate in shortening close cycles increases from 15 percent to 77 percent when companies implement a formal solution, according to the Ventana report.
Therefore, forward-looking executives are working with an Oracle-Hyperion EPM consultant to implement Oracle FCCS, thereby integrating a formal consolidation solution that can be tailored to fit their business needs. FCCS can be configured with required features and pre-seeded content that allows executives to identify and address their key consolidation and close challenges.
For example, the pre-configured consolidation model in FCCS makes it easy for executives to quickly and cost effectively meet global and local reporting requirements like IFRS and GAAP, and additional standards and requirements can be added as needed.
Also, to minimize public, stakeholder, and regulator scrutiny, FCCS provides a strong compliance framework with auditing, segregation of duties, and transparent calculations, as well as pre-built cash flow, balance sheet, and income statement functions that let executives report with assurance and accuracy.
Furthermore, FCCS addresses management and legal entity consolidation needs with built-in connectivity to core source systems (e.g., ERP) and detailed data source tracking, including data management, journals, intercompany eliminations, and manual input.
Ultimately, forward-thinking executives are working with Oracle-Hyperion EPM consultants to implement Oracle FCCS for an end-to-end solution with complete visibility into all close, consolidation, data collection, and reporting activities. In the end, executives are achieving quick, customizable financial close and consolidation processes with transparency, accuracy, and simplicity.
Want to learn more about how your company can improve its financial close, consolidation, and reporting abilities? Contact SC&H Group’s Oracle-Hyperion EPM and BI Consulting team today to discuss how to more effectively, efficiently, and accurately manage your financial, operational, and strategic information.