We’d like to offer a big thanks to everyone who attended our recent policyIQ solution-focused training session on using policyIQ to manage a monthly Account Reconciliation process. And special thanks to our co-presenter, Patrick Griffiths from Sirva, Inc. Patrick shared his experience and some of the insights he’s gained from implementing a global Account Reconciliation process at SIRVA.

SIRVA’s story

SIRVA has multiple divisions globally and a strong internal control structure. Within this setting, Patrick set out to provide better control and visibility around the Account Reconciliation process. As Patrick emphasized during the presentation, “The timely completion and review of Account Reconciliations is your strongest and best financial control.” As a long-time policyIQ user, Patrick believed the Forms Management feature would help SIRVA manage their Account Reconciliations more efficiently and provide a level of oversight few organizations have.

Goals and Benefits

Heading into his Account Reconciliation implementation, Patrick had identified the following goals, which will likely be familiar to anyone currently working with a manual Account Reconciliation process:

• Insure that all Account Reconciliations are completed timely.
• Provide a method for documented approvals of Account Reconciliations.
• Provide all levels of Management visibility into the Account Reconciliation process.

Like many of our clients who are using policyIQ’s Forms Management feature to automate their manual processes, SIRVA has recognized some key benefits:

• Reconcilers have visibility to the Account Reconciliations they need to complete.
• Clearly indicated due dates.
• Electronic submissions and approvals.
• Reporting and electronic storage of approved Account Reconciliations.
• Shift from manual auditing to continuous auditing.
• Unprecedented level of oversight for all levels of management

Patrick answered a number of questions from our curious attendees. He has also taken the time to answer some additional questions below:

Question: How many people were involved in developing the roll-out of this functionality and then in the maintenance?

Patrick Responds:

Initially I planned and rolled out the pilot to Asia myself but then with the other global divisions I worked closely with the respective controllers to set up their system. I had two training decks, one for administrators and another for users. Each of our divisions has different abilities and resources, so we tailored our approach with each.

For continuing administration there are normal monthly tasks to roll over the recons, and then there are the other support type issues. Originally I handled everything myself but worked to hand off the monthly administration to the businesses (work in progress.) For general support, we leveraged our financial support team to absorb these tasks. They are approved to add an additional FTE if needed, but presently we have been able to manage with the folks we have. We use an automated helpdesk ticket system to keep track of requests which helps a lot.

For larger issues we rely on policyIQ support; they have been great. I contact them myself to limit the traffic to them and coordinate the requests.

Question:  Is it possible to feed accounts balances from individual reconciliations into another reconciliation?

Patrick Responds:

This is not a feature in policyIQ, but it is really not something that I want. Do to the nature of an account reconciliation, I want the preparer to enter all numbers themselves to have better accountability to what is being submitted. This goes to the issue about uploading G/L balances to the recons. I also do not want to do this because I want the preparer to look at the G/L and enter the current balance. If they rely on the uploaded number, it may not be the most current.

Question:  How does SIRVA address changes?  Some users will issue a “corrected reconciliation” form if there are changes after approval has already been granted.

Patrick Responds:

We do the same thing. We will push out a new reconciliation for the revised account to the preparer. If we do not have a need to see the previous approved recon, we assign it to a folder labeled “Misapproved recons”; we set up the security around this folder to only allow admins to see it.

Question:  Can a reconcilation have more than one account per report?

Patrick Responds:

Yes, but it is up to you to decide what you want to have included on a single reconciliation. Generally though, we stick to the one account, one recon rule. There are situations where we do include multiple accounts on a single recon like fixed asset accounts, or intercompany accounts. In these situations, we list out all of the account numbers in the recon so we can keep track of what accounts are being reconciled.

If you missed the session, you can view the recording by clicking here. We’ve also prepared some materials for you to review in your policyIQ Help Guide.

If you would like to speak with a member of the policyIQ team about using policyIQ to manage your Account Reconciliation work, please contact us at support@policyIQ.com.  We’d be happy to work with you and help you better utilize policyIQ!