Reduce Risk: Stop Preparing Your CAFR by Passing Around Emails

In a previous post we introduced you to the idea that IBM’s Cognos Disclosure Management can improve your CAFR process by:

  • Reducing risk
  • Saving resources
  • Cutting costs
  • Decreasing cycle times
  • Improving organizational insight

Now we’re going to explain how Cognos Disclosure Management reduces your risks.

Most CAFR producers are stuck using outdated, manual systems to produce their reports.  As a simple example, let’s imagine that part of your team is working on an Excel spreadsheet.

One person, Bill, starts it, then another person, Sally, edits it and saves an extra copy on her machine. Now we already have a problem: there are two different versions of a spreadsheet that could be mistakenly passed around.

So Sally makes her edits and emails a copy back to Bill for him to look at.  Bill downloads it and mistakenly saves a copy to a shared folder, accidentally enabling employees without proper clearance to view it.

Additionally, now Sally and Bill have both been working on two separate versions, and somehow they wound up with some minor discrepancies between the two that must now be fixed.  They spend hours checking and re-checking their facts and figures, feeling more and more pressure as their deadline approaches.

Do you see what I’m getting at?  There is LOTS of room for error in this process. Here are just a few of the risks Sally and Bill have potentially created:

  • Unintended submission of incorrect information
  • Premature disclosure of information
  • Failure to comply with internal controls for sensitive information
  • Late submission

With IBM Cognos Disclosure Management, you will automate previously manual processes. Situations like Bill and Sally’s just won’t happen. Instead, you will dramatically reduce risk in your CAFR process because:

  • Your reports data will be linked directly to your source data
  • You will have automated internal controls and checklists
  • The system maintained audit trail will be clear and correct
  • You can use your prior year’s report as a template for your next report

If that sounds good, just wait until a future post in which we explain how IBM Cognos Disclosure Management can increase the capacity of your existing resources.

Want to learn more now?  Contact us today to find out how Cognos Disclosure Management can reduce risk for your CAFR process.

Questions? Contact Us!

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