Success Story Library
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AssureNET GL - Providing Visibility to Enterprise-wide Transactions and GL Accounts in Today’s Compliance-focused World
Overview
With more than 25,000 employees, ConAgra Foods [NYQ: CAC] is a leading branded, value-added food company, delivering on their vision by simplifying processes, driving greater accountability for results, and collaborating as one integrated enterprise. Along the way, they’ve strengthened EPS performance and increased margins and profits, providing them the means to invest in marketing and innovation.
Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company continues to transform itself into a cohesive company with three business channels - Consumer Foods, International Foods, and Commercial Products. Their four-year-old shared service center in Omaha is also transforming into a unified center by standardizing and centralizing their account reconciliation processes and compliance standards. The company currently reconciles more than 16,000 accounts consolidated into approximately 1,425 reconciliations. The company anticipates these numbers to more than double by the time they are fully implemented.
Challenges
ConAgra wanted to implement one account reconciliation standard across their enterprise (operations exist in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom) using methodology practiced in the Omaha Financial Shared Service Center (SSC). ConAgra’s SSC manages their entire Sarbanes-Oxley and fiscal period close process online through a task management module in their account reconciliation tool. ConAgra wanted to implement the reconciliation tool in a web environment so that financial center employees companywide could use the technology.
Objectives
- Obtain a comprehensive reconciliation tool that was scalable and would grow with the business, including automated tracking. ConAgra had built custom databases in-house to automate account reconciliations, as well as close task monitoring. Through this in-house tool, they also managed peer reviews on account reconciliations, manual journal entries, and desk procedure documentation. They required a tool that would consolidate each of the independent databases into one system environment that could then be implemented enterprise-wide.
- Identify and risk rank new accounts requiring reconciliation. ConAgra wanted to decrease the frequency of account reconciliations from 100% each month to once per quarter based on risk. They needed a tool to help them establish controls and monitor the process.
- Receive assurance that all accounts were reconciled each month on a timely basis. ConAgra’s earlier process brought transparency to only the account reconciliations that were performed within the financial service center (FSC). They received confirmation of completion, but only had visibility when reconciliations were specifically requested. One key objective with AssureNET GL was to create transparency to those accounts reconciled outside the FSC.
- Eliminate reconciliation misfiling. ConAgra wanted a vehicle for account reconciliation storage that would be accessible for the peer review process and internal and external audit, eliminating the need to pull hard copy documents for review.
- Prepare and adequately train the staff for migration to AssureNET GL. ConAgra wanted a system that could be utilized enterprise-wide and was less maintenance-intensive. Their homegrown access databases were pushed to the limit of their functionality. They wanted processes to remain consistent.
Capabilities Provided
Pleased with the efficient management of account reconciliations and compliance policies in Omaha, ConAgra is bringing plants and offices across the US online with the reconciliation and task management modules of AssureNET GL and has plans to rollout the application to all of its global financial groups. When rollout is complete, ConAgra will have the following capabilities:
- Visibility, transparency, and performance reporting of the reconciliation process each period
- Support for all types of balance sheet reconciliations, including various types of asset and liability accounts
- Workflow management that allows prioritization
- Proactive identification of current and potential compliance issues
- Reporting templates - the company currently uses four templates - reporting features continue to be developed
- Remote access to reconciliations for 11 offices in Q4 2007 and possibly to offices outside of the Americas in 2008
- Tools to detect and manage risk and tools to test the quality of completed reconciliations
- Management of entire Sarbanes-Oxley and fiscal period close process
Testimonial
“AssureNET GL will help us maintain consistent and disciplined accounting processes. The product’s paperless, on-line environment not only drives cost savings, but also provides the necessary visibility and transparency needed in today’s complex and compliance-focused climate. AssureNET GL will be a significant part of our Comprehensive Accounting Excellence program.” - Mary Ferry, Director Financial Accounting
Other Information
To learn how you too can better manage the entire Sarbanes-Oxley and fiscal period close process with AssureNET GL, contact Trintech today.
