The Very Group increases efficiency in reconciliations using Oracle Cloud EPM
The retail group automates reconciliation processes with Oracle Cloud EPM, achieving a 44% auto-close rate per period.
United Kingdom | Fashion
“In our experience, Oracle Cloud EPM Account Reconciliation was straightforward to implement and has provided significant process improvements. It is built on its own cloud infrastructure, so it’s easy to run and maintain without the need for a third-party cloud infrastructure.”
The Very Group is one of the UK’s largest integrated digital retailers and flexible payments providers. As part of an effort to digitally transform its finance processes, the company wanted to further improve its reconciliation process.
In previous processes, data downloaded from the company’s general ledger was used to updated templates, taking roughly five minutes to update each. Creating 500-plus reconciliations to be prepared each month required significant time. The Very Group searched for a solution that would decrease this preparation time. Additionally, the company designed a range of automated rules in its reconciliations over time. It was important that a future system would be able to integrate the logic behind these rules without being exposed to bugs.
Why The Very Group chose Oracle
The Very Group selected Oracle Cloud Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) Account Reconciliation for the efficiency of its built-in workflow. By detecting low-risk, low-activity accounts to automatically reconcile, Oracle Cloud EPM Account Reconciliation enables organizations to close efficiently without compromising quality. Providing a full audit trail and compliance dashboards, the system also can facilitate governance in its user’s reconciliation processes.
Results
The Very Group has gained significant resource savings through Oracle Cloud EPM Account Reconciliation. Notably, a process that previously required significant time to prepare reconciliations has been reduced to only two minutes per period.
As a result of using automation rules designed with custom conditions, The Very Group achieved auto-close rates of up to 44% in a period, significantly reducing the manual workload for employees each month and shortening the month-end close. Additionally, the system automated the management of amortizing transactions. Adopting Oracle Cloud EPM Account Reconciliation also allowed the company to increase the frequency of its data integration process. Historically, the organization would refresh its balances twice a period. Now, its automated general ledger and subsystem balances refresh at least twice a day in a matter of just minutes, assuring reviewers and approvers that they are working with the most up-to-date balances.
With fewer reconciliations to manage, the finance team devotes more time into investigating differences in balances and increasing the quality of adjustments and balance explanations. Using customized and available out-of-box reports provided further support to the company in conducting analysis and providing attestation.
Partners
Oracle Consulting supported The Very Group with its implementation of Oracle Cloud EPM Account Reconciliation. Through the Oracle Consulting team’s expertise in using the conditional rules capabilities of Oracle Cloud EPM Account Reconciliation, The Very Group’s reconciliation process now features auto-prepare and auto-approve rules for reconciliations with no unexplained differences for the period. Tapping the velocity and capacity of Oracle Cloud, the team also helped The Very Group develop data-loading processes that are sustainable whether the reconciliation team works in the office or from home.
About Customer
he Very Group is one of the UK’s largest integrated digital retailers and flexible payments providers. Combining over 2,000 brands in fashion, electronics, home, and more, The Very Group provides a digital shopping experience to its customers. Through Very Pay, the company also provides flexible payment options, elevating the shopping experience.