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Ventana Research Study: Reducing Time and Costs Under Sarbanes-Oxley

Sponsored by Cognos

Date:Wed, Apr 20, 2005
Time: 2:00 P.M. ET
Duration:1 hour
Cost: Online FREE

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Summary

The new regulatory environment under Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and the SEC continues to be a catalyst for change. SOX has forced companies to rigorously formalize what were once informal processes, which will have an impact on more than just financial controls. Systems and processes required for regulatory compliance can have a positive impact on cost, time, and quality aspects of financial reporting.

Nowhere is this change more evident than in the processes guided by Finance. Finance departments are evaluating their own organizations and seeking better ways to deliver existing processes, especially those associated with financial consolidation.

Reporting and consolidation are issues that should have been "resolved" years ago. Global 5000 companies have been deploying reporting and consolidation software for decades. Despite hefty reporting systems investments, obtaining useful information on a timely basis remains more difficult than it should be. Consequently, it takes longer to complete the financial close and distribute management information.

In this one-hour web seminar, Robert Kugel, CFA, VP & Research Director - Financial Performance Management of Ventana Research will share the results of a recent study: Financial Consolidation and Reporting – Reducing the Cost and Time for High Quality Processes under Sarbanes - Oxley.

The study quantifies issues confronting Finance and IT organizations in the new environment and explores:

  • how current monthly/quarterly closes consume too much time for finance organizations and take too long to complete
  • the exposure in financial controls and the absence of a “chain of evidence” in accounting and management reports to senior executives
  • how long it takes companies to perform the monthly/quarterly/annual close, and how long it should take
  • how long it takes to generate management reports, and how much faster they should be completed
  • what percent of personnel time is spent collecting data
  • how important it is to contain the cost of SOX compliance? How difficult will it be to comply with shorter external reporting intervals?

    The session also highlights best practices and solutions to address critical issues and how to “compliance-proof” consolidation and financial reporting processes.

    Join Ventana Research and Cognos for this free webcast, and discover your next steps toward achieving compliance.


    • Presenters
    • Robert D. Kugel

      Robert D. Kugel

      CFA, VP & Research Director -- Fin. Perf. Mgmt, Ventana Research




    Transcript

    The type of information CFO likes to provide is information that assists you in doing your jobs better, and so to that end, this webcast talks about the new standards in corporate accountability and regulatory governance; the type of demands that they place on your finance organization; and the next steps in streamlining your financial information to get more timely and accurate financial reports and information.

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