For finance teams, completing the consolidation is only part of the financial reporting process.
Once the numbers have been finalised, they still need to be turned into financial statements, disclosures, management commentary and other reports. For many organisations, this stage continues to involve spreadsheets, word-processing documents and manual processes, creating additional work at an already time-sensitive point in the reporting cycle.
IBM has introduced IBM Controller Disclosure Management, extending the Controller environment beyond close and consolidation into the creation, review and delivery of financial and regulatory reports.
For existing IBM Controller customers, it introduces a new option for connecting trusted consolidated data more directly with the reporting process.
What is IBM Controller Disclosure Management?
IBM Controller Disclosure Management is designed to provide a more structured environment for producing financial and regulatory reports after the consolidation process has been completed.
Its native integration with IBM Controller means financial data can be connected directly with narrative, tables and other report content, reducing the need to repeatedly move and reconcile information between separate applications.
In practical terms, IBM is extending the Controller process from:
Close → Consolidate → Disclose
The wider IBM EPM proposition can also connect this with Planning Analytics, creating a process spanning planning through to disclosure.
Where could Disclosure Management help?
Connecting financial data and narrative
Producing a financial report involves much more than numbers.
Finance teams need to combine consolidated results with commentary, disclosures, tables and other supporting information.
Controller Disclosure Management connects reporting content with data from IBM Controller, helping reduce the manual copying and revalidation that can occur when reports are assembled across multiple tools.
Improving control over the reporting process
Financial reports often involve input from multiple contributors and several rounds of review.
IBM Controller Disclosure Management allows reporting cycles to be organised as projects and includes capabilities such as role-based access and report locking. Previous reports can also be reused to support recurring quarterly, half-year and annual reporting processes.
This provides finance teams with a more controlled environment for managing how reports are created and updated.
Supporting consistency across reports
One of the challenges with manually maintained reports is ensuring that changes are reflected consistently.
IBM uses dynamic links between financial data and report content so that changes to underlying information can be reflected through the reporting process. Formatting rules and precision settings can also be applied to help maintain consistency.
Producing reports for different audiences
Financial information often needs to be distributed in different formats depending on its audience.
IBM Controller Disclosure Management supports outputs including HTML, Microsoft Word and Adobe InDesign, allowing organisations to use the same reporting process to support different publication requirements.
What does this mean for existing IBM Controller customers?
IBM Controller has traditionally focused on supporting the close and consolidation process. Disclosure Management extends that environment further into the reporting lifecycle.
For organisations currently relying on a combination of Controller, spreadsheets, Word documents and other processes after consolidation, the new capability provides an opportunity to look again at how financial reports are produced.
As a newly introduced capability, organisations should consider it in the context of their own reporting requirements and existing processes rather than viewing it simply as an additional Controller feature.
The questions to consider include:
- How much manual work takes place after consolidation is complete?
- How often is financial information copied between systems and reporting documents?
- How are different versions and contributors currently managed?
- How much time is spent checking that numbers and narrative remain consistent?
- Could a more connected process improve control over recurring reporting cycles?
Want to explore IBM Controller Disclosure Management?
HAYNE Solutions works with organisations using IBM Controller across financial close, consolidation and reporting.
If you currently use IBM Controller and would like to understand IBM Controller Disclosure Management, its current capabilities and where it could fit within your existing reporting process, speak to our team.
Contact HAYNE Solutions to discuss IBM Controller Disclosure Management.
