DETAILED PROGRAMME
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
9.00 AM
Registration and pre-conference coffee
9.30 AM
KEYNOTE – MARKET SUMMARY
Gary Simon, Group Publisher FSN and author of the best seller, “Fast Close to the MAX”
Where are financial reporting systems headed?
This session examines the rapidly changing landscape for group financial reporting and provides an analysis of the drivers for change together with an unbiased assessment of how the key vendors are responding to;
- the challenge of complexity, for example, IFRS, IFRS for SME’s, local GAAP and multi-GAAP reporting
- the need to merge controls and compliance with regular group financial reporting and its potential impact on the statutory audit
- the issues around the “Last Mile” of group reporting, document production (management and statutory), version control and integrity.
- the demand for better visibility and technologies that support collaborative working across the global finance function
- regulatory demand for digital reporting, XBRL filings and its relevance to the enterprise
- novel forms of reporting such as environmental reporting and integrated tax reporting
10.15 AM
COLLABORATION IN FINANCIAL REPORTING
Dave Benson, Group Financial Controller, Keller Group plc
For many organisations the group reporting process is a mechanical and unthinking process in which the finance organisation is effectively confined to operational silos where each reporting unit in the same organisation is cut off from the other and the key processes in which they are stakeholders. The ‘disconnect’ between the finance organisation and the process makes it impracticable to share best practice and to respond efficiently to change. For example, research shows that information workers spend around 25 percent of their day simply looking for the basic information needed to do their job. Furthermore the cost of correcting an error is around 80 percent higher than processing an item correctly the first time.
In this session Dave Benson looks at how a unified database is providing a sound basis for collaboration in the finance function and beyond. He also discusses how the Group plans to leverage Microsoft technologies such as SharePoint 2010 to remove organisational and geographic barriers in the financial close process (and other oprational processes) so that structured and unstructured information can flow unimpeded and authorised users can have visibility of information and the supporting process.
11.00 AM
Morning coffee and supplier exhibition
11.30 AM
WHY ARE CONTROLS AND FINANCIAL REPORTING MERGING?
Iain Wadie, Director, Operational Control, Group Finance, Barclays Plc
The 2009 financial crisis has brought about a reassessment of the priorities around the financial close. Whilst speed and accuracy remain supremely important there is a growing appreciation of the need to simultaneously manage risk and controls if reported results are to be regarded as reliable. There is also a pressing need to improve the efficiency of the financial close process in order to absorb constantly growing regulatory reporting demands without adding to headcount.
Historically neither traditional ERP systems nor consolidation applications provide the systems architecture or breadth of functionality needed to track issues, close tasks and controls in a single unified environment.
This session explains how to manage close tasks, issues, disclosures and controls across the enterprise, monitoring their status at every step of the way providing complete visibility of the status of tasks and controls at the point that the CFO prepares to ‘sign off’ the balance sheet.
12.15 PM
THE CHALLENGES OF MANAGING THE END-TO-END REPORTING SUPPLY CHAIN
Nick Jarman, Partner PwC
Over the last two decades the Financial Close process has relied heavily on a hotchpotch of technical solutions based principally on consolidation software, ERP systems and spreadsheets. Inevitably, the concept of a continuous workflow through the Reporting Supply Chain is completely lost in this loose assembly of fractured applications. Yet it is workflow and collaboration that is the foundation of an effective financial close process. The question is what sort of architecture can cost-effectively provide this level of management control and visibility?
In this session Nick Jarman looks critically at the reporting supply chain, assesses the principal organisational and technical impediments and (based on the experience of working with a large number of multinational organisations) suggests what constitutes leading edge practices, organisations and systems architectures.
12.45 PM
LUNCH, NETWORKING AND EXHIBITION
14:15 PM
iXBRL THE REGULATOR’S VIEW
– WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO TO COMPLY BY APRIL 2011?
Julian Hatt, Customer and Stakeholder Engagement, HMRC
The date from which Company Tax Returns will have to be filed online, with accounts and tax computations in iXBRL format, is fast approaching but how well prepared are you? You have probably heard of XBRL but how does it differ from iXBRL? What exactly does the law require you to do and by when? What tools, techniques and solutions are available to help you both now and in the medium term?
In broad terms compliance is divided into two halves. From 1 April 2011 onwards, all companies and organisations will have to file their Company Tax Returns online for any accounting period ending after 31 March 2010. The CT600 tax return will remain in XML format but tax computations must be filed in iXBRL format. Additionally, organisations that have to prepare accounts under the Companies Act 2006 must file accounts in iXBRL (other organisations may file their accounts as a PDF but may choose to use iXBRL).
In this session Julian Hatt provides a practical assessment of the rapidly crystallising iXBRL landscape, the current state of preparedness and the broad options available for the submission of accounts in iXBRL format. He will use his extensive experience of speaking to large corporates to clarify common misunderstandings about the legal requirements and give practical pointers and tips to help you prepare. He will also provide an up to date assessment of how the marketplace for Integrated Software Applications, Managed Tagging Services and Conversion Software Applications is developing.
Finally there will be an opportunity to ask questions and discuss the future potential of iXBRL as a method of collecting and distributing financial information.
15.00 PM
XBRL INSIDE THE ENTERPRISE – IS THERE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN XBRL?
Ralf Frank, Managing Director with DVFA - Society of German Investment Professionals and Chair of XBRL Int’l Best Practice Board
XBRL is now the de-facto global standard for electronic reporting of financial information. It has been enthusiastically adopted by regulators around the world who can leverage the technology to standardise their processes and enhance their effectiveness. XBRL data also provides a rich repository of readily accessible information that can be used by the investment community and individuals to support investment decisions. But where do corporate entities fit into this feeding frenzy? Where are the benefits in XBRL and is there competitive advantage for providers of XBRL tagged information?
15:45 PM
Tea, networking and exhibition
16:15 PM
THE LAST MILE – WHY ALL THE FUSS?
Bivek Sharma, Partner, KPMG
Historically the focus of “Fast Close” initiatives has been on the delivery of group statutory or management consolidations. Little attention has been given to the task of presenting financial information in internal Board Packs, published 'glossy' Annual Reports and Accounts, or in PDF documents on the internet – let alone statutory filings in XBRL.
Over the years these tasks have grown more burdensome as the variety of disclosures, reports and formats has grown. Part of the difficulty is the number of players involved in the final throes of the group consolidation process. The finance department clearly has primary responsibility for marshalling the final numbers, but the presentation is altogether a different matter. Investor relations, external PR bodies, internal auditors, the company secretary, external auditors, the Board, CFO and even printers have a stake in the final look of a document.
Yet in systems terms, high quality document production sits uneasily with group reporting applications. The scope for error as structured and unstructured information is transcribed from reporting system to Excel, PowerPoint or Word or from the group system to a file format acceptable to external printers is significant. A further strain is the need to maintain version control over documents as well as strict security and confidentiality over the information they contain; a position that is exacerbated by fractured systems, a convoluted process and the increasing number of people involved in the final stages of document production.
So what techniques, tools and strategies are available for automating the so called “Last Mile” of finance?
