Driving business forward.

Sample Scenario

Task:

As part of the new reporting obligations on sustainability, a number of new tasks were required. These new tasks and associated data had to be defined and collected. In addition to the pure sustainability topics, procedural issues and, if necessary, decisions on software support were also on the agenda.

Performance:

The starting point for the project activities was the determination of the material topics with the help of a materiality analysis. This involves determining those topics that have the highest financial and impact materiality.

Once the topics had been determined, the relevant data sources were identified and associated data was collected. It was also recognized that new data and processes were required in addition to the existing data sources and processes. These new processes were developed and implemented together with experts within the company.

As part of communication with all group companies, regular status meetings were held to ensure the transfer of knowledge, enable a rapid response to unforeseen events and provide space for discussions and queries.

In addition to the pure sustainability topics and newly implemented processes, software support for reporting and CO₂ calculation was also introduced and implemented for the company.
This was accompanied by the creation of documentation on new processes and data sources to make it easier for employees to find their way around the new topic area.

Success Factor:

Thanks to our experience in accounting and process design, TraficPartners can guarantee rapid implementation of the first steps without the need for lengthy training. In addition, the employees have specific expertise in the area of sustainability through their studies and can thus ensure a targeted selection of suitable processes and their documentation as well as successfully organize the necessary coordination meetings with process experts and, if necessary, developers. This means that the experts' day-to-day business is hardly affected and, at the same time, reporting can be driven forward with the help of TraficPartners' technical expertise.

Sample Scenario

Task:

Numerous repetitive tasks are performed as part of the preparation of financial statements according to a defined process. In future, these time-consuming and error-prone tasks are to be handled by a bot (here in BluePrism) to reduce the workload for employees.

Performance:

The starting point for project activities was the determination of suitable processes for automation. Eligibility scoring was used to evaluate the processes. The focus was also on closing activities and preparatory activities.

Once the processes have been determined, a process walkthrough would take place with the experts. This process walkthrough formed a basis for the process description that was subsequently created. The description was created in the form of a click guide and contains a detailed recording of the individual process steps. In addition, regular status meetings were held during the development activities, which enabled a quick response to unforeseen events and provided space for discussions and queries.

To ensure a successful implementation of the process description by the developers, the automated processes were also tested to rule out any discrepancy between the results of manual and automated process execution.

This was accompanied by the creation of a manual for process preparation, for the creation of process documentation and click instructions, as well as the structure for working in the system itself.

Success Factor:

Thanks to our experience in accounting and process design, TraficPartners can guarantee rapid implementation of the first steps without the need for lengthy training. In addition, the employees have expertise in the field of robotics and can thus ensure a targeted selection of suitable processes and their documentation as well as successfully organize the necessary coordination meetings with process experts and developers. This means that the day-to-day business of the process experts is hardly affected and, at the same time, automation can be driven forward with the help of TraficPartners' technical expertise.

Sample Scenario

Task:

Due to staff absences in the accounting department of a globally active company, capacity bottlenecks have arisen. These bottlenecks hindered both the timely preparation of financial statement documents and the continuation of ongoing projects.

Performance:

In order to ensure short-term and customized line support, the activities to be taken on and the required skills were defined first. In the next step, these tasks were discussed in close consultation with employees and the procedure was documented. Thereby, we ensured efficient support for every closing in the fast close and enabled our consultants to familiarize themselves with the process quickly.

We also offered optional support between closings in day-to-day business or with accounting project activities. This enabled us to comprehensively compensate for bottlenecks. Thanks to the important familiarization phase, we were able to take over the discussed activities efficiently and independently during time-critical closing phases.

Success Factor:

Thanks to a close dialogue with employees and a ‘hands-on’ mentality, TraficPartners was able to quickly familiarize itself with new processes and activities. This ensured high productivity in a short period of time. TraficPartners also provided external expertise for temporary tasks or line activities. In this way, we were able to successfully compensate for bottlenecks.

Sample Scenario

Task:

The client's increased focus on new international business and international investors has led to an expansion in reporting. This necessitated a change in the planning and forecasting processes, as the underlying data and systems have changed fundamentally due to an additional accounting standard. Based on the new regulations, new planning and forecasting processes and key figures must be implemented in order to be able to prepare meaningful planning in an international context and thus provide a valid benchmark for future target achievement.

Performance:

In order to expand the planning and forecasting processes, the input data and the necessary processing of this data had to be adapted. The new processes and key figures were designed together with the departments involved.

This joint concept started with a detailed presentation of the new regulatory changes in order to gain a valid understanding of the associated changes in input data and the interactions between individual input variables. In the further course of the expansion, changes to existing key figures were determined and new key figures were defined, which must be mapped in the future planning/forecast process.

The newly defined planning and forecasting process was supported by a new IT application. We ensured the technically correct implementation of the new requirements in the IT application by assuming the interface function between the specialist and IT departments, both in communicating the requirements and through the technical tests.

All of the changes to the processes and key figures required a series of training courses for employees in order to ensure efficient work under the new conditions. The training courses were both designed and carried out by us in consultation with our client.

Success Factor:

Our in-depth technical expertise in IFRS standards and our knowledge of planning and forecasting processes enabled us to work quickly and purposefully with our client's team of experts. The same applied to the collaboration with IT, which we were able to organize smoothly thanks to our experience and knowledge from similar implementation projects.

Sample Scenario

Task:

With the introduction of a global minimum tax for international groups, it became necessary to determine the tax rate in accordance with IFRS in each country in which the company operates. In most cases, this is in addition to determining the tax according to national regulations. Therefore, the tax department is dependent on the supply of (new) information from the various countries in order to determine the minimum tax rate.

Performance:

The activities began with thematic coverage of the tax requirement log. Supplying departments were determined and responsibility for data points was defined. This was followed by the determination of existing data points and the definition of missing data points (GAP analysis). New data was then added to existing processes and new processes for generating and supplying data were defined. This included processes and data from central accounting as well as data from operating sites and subsidiaries abroad.

A system was selected for structured recording of data and for the subsequent tax calculations. In addition to implementing the purely tax-related requirements in the system, special attention was also paid to the customer's specific process flows and defined responsibilities during implementation.

Success Factor:

Thanks to our in-depth knowledge of the finance sector combined with many years of practical experience in reporting processes, we were able to start work immediately in collaboration with the specialist departments and thus implement time-critical issues quickly. Our experience in carrying out GAP analyses is a guarantee for targeted identification of relevant “data gaps”. Our process know-how helps us to efficiently eliminate gaps by eliminating gaps by establishing practical processes for data delivery/processing.

Sample Scenario

Task:

New regulatory requirements and a more international orientation of the client's reporting and key figure structure required a redesign of reports and key figures. Conventional indicators and previous processes for determining data were only valid to a limited extent. In order to manage the Group, new meaningful key figures had to be determined and management parameters for the business had to be adapted to the new regulatory conditions.

Performance:

The starting point of the activities was the development of the adjusted data basis. New data points and changed correlations also required the use of adjusted and new performance indicators. In particular, the informative value of key figures and the target values of figures had to be defined. Reports also had to be adapted and redesigned. Management reports and analysis reports were created in order to provide those involved with a quick and clear presentation of the results. Workshops and training sessions were held to introduce the new KPIs in response to these changes in business management.

In addition to the changes in content, due to the adjusted regulatory requirements, a system changeover was also carried out in the reporting system.

Tests had to be carried out on the system and the correct linking of data had to be ensured. The detailed knowledge of the regulatory requirements through the structure of the accounting system and the understanding of the process led to a quick set-up and allowed the direct consideration of individual special reports to map business-specific special cases.

Success Factor:

In addition to the knowledge of the underlying accounting processes, the know-how of the customer business and its specific requirements was also a success factor for the creation of reporting. This ensured compliance with regulatory requirements and the smooth design of the reporting. The workshops were also successful thanks to the knowledge of the business and customer processes, and the customer's employees were quickly able to create and use reports.

Sample Scenario

Task:

The standard setter has introduced a new IFRS standard. This change in regulatory requirements has a massive impact on the customer's accounting system and required a redefinition of logics and processes. In addition to the change in content, the accounting software also had to be changed.

Performance:

First of all, the regulatory requirements and their impact on the client's processes had to be defined. New data points and processing logic for this data were required and were defined by us. This included the complete posting and processing logic in accounting and formed the basis for the programming of the new software.

Due to various customer-specific requirements, the standard software had to be tested intensively after programming. These tests focused on the correctness of the content of the processing in the system. The target specification here was the accounting logic developed at the start of the project, according to which the data is to be processed.

Once the definition and test phase of the project was complete, the newly developed content and processes had to be passed on to the customer's experts.

This was done via training sessions, which presented the new features step by step according to thematic clusters. We also provided technical support during the transition from the previous software to the new solution and ensured the completeness of the data and correctness of the processing in this step as well. We also supported the ongoing process in the new system at the beginning of its first use in order to ensure error-free reporting and to be able to support the customer with any questions.

Success Factor:

The technical expertise with regard to IFRS standards and the knowledge of processing logic in the finance sector, coupled with end-to-end project support from the definition phase to the go-live, enabled us to provide the customer with tailor-made support and successfully introduce the software, taking into account the new regulatory requirements.