Transforming SAP Finance Data Quality for a Global Bank

Automated controls and workflows eliminated reconciliation issues and improved SAP ROI for a global banking institution.
Client
A global banking group
Industry
Banking and Financial Services
Region
Global, 19 markets
Time to value
16 weeks across two waves
99.4%
First-time-right rate on finance postings
19
Company codes on a single control framework
3.1x
Return on the SAP investment within 18 months
The challenge

What was standing in the way

Journal entries and finance master data were being corrected after posting rather than validated before it. Reconciliation differences surfaced late in the close, and each one required a trace back through nineteen company codes to find where the entry had originated.

The finance function had the people to absorb this. What it did not have was a close calendar with any slack left in it.

  • Reconciliation differences discovered during close rather than at entry
  • Corrections posted without a consistent approval trail
  • Nineteen company codes applying finance rules differently
  • Close calendar with no tolerance for a single late issue
The solution

How Promenta approached it

Promenta applied validation and approval to finance transactions at the point of entry, using the existing SAP authorisation structure rather than a parallel one. Supporting documentation is attached to the entry itself, so the evidence and the transaction never separate.

  • Pre-posting validation on journal entries and finance master data
  • Approval thresholds by company code and value band
  • Supporting documentation attached at the point of entry
  • Automated reconciliation checks run continuously through the period
  • One finance control framework across all 19 company codes
The results

What changed

The first-time-right rate on finance postings reached 99.4 percent, which took the reconciliation work out of the close rather than merely speeding it up. The group measured a 3.1x return on the associated SAP investment inside eighteen months.

  • 99.4 percent first-time-right rate on finance postings
  • Reconciliation work moved out of the close window
  • 3.1x return on SAP investment within 18 months
  • Consistent finance controls across all 19 markets
Improving data quality at the point of entry did more for our close than any amount of additional reporting ever did.
Group Financial Controller
Global Banking Group

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