Ann Furlong Director of Operations, APAC BlackLine Systems

Financial software company BlackLine Systems, together with enterprise application software leader SAP AG (NYSE: SAP), will be leading a discussion group at the Mastering SAP Financials conference this week in Melbourne.   The roundtable session entitled “Closing with Confidence:  How Automating Processes Can Help Companies Comply” will offer first-hand insight into the benefits and return on investment (ROI) organisations can realise by automating key governance, risk and compliance (GRC) processes by leveraging cloud-based tools and technology. 

Account reconciliation is an underappreciated, yet critical, control to help ensure financial integrity.  Maintaining multiple sets of standards, including IFRS, GAAP or statutory accounts, creates an even more onerous burden when closing the books.  Session attendees will learn how automation of the account reconciliation and financial close processes is a critical step on the path to ‘closing with confidence’ and ‘staying clean’ – while reducing stress for risk managers and keeping the auditors happy at the same time.

Featured Speakers:

• Ann Furlong, Director of Operations, APAC, BlackLine Systems

• Stephanie Hudson, Finance Lead, SAP Australia and New Zealand

Participants in the roundtable discussion will learn:

• How automating processes can help organisations achieve a quicker, more accurate financial close and ultimately ‘clean’ reports
• Steps to take to minimise the amount of manual labor required for each financial close
  
  
• How they can use cloud-based solutions alongside the SAP® ERP Financial application to improve compliance, reporting and how to integrate legacy systems
  
  
• How they can manage auditor access when using a web-based system
  
  
• How to ensure security when hosting sensitive financial data ‘in the cloud’ – key considerations, questions to ask upfront

• How to further ensure data quality when handling massive amounts of financial data

• Best practices for import/export to/from SAP solutions

BlackLine is an SAP gold partner in the SAP PartnerEdge® program.  The company is also a participant in SAP Store, the online e-commerce channel or “e-channel” for enterprise solutions and services from SAP and its partners, designed to provide SAP customers with information on relevant, complementary technology solutions that are certified by SAP.

BlackLine was named a 2011 SAP Pinnacle award finalist in the “Software Solution Newcomer of the Year” category.  SAP Pinnacle awards are presented annually to the “best and brightest” of the SAP partner ecosystem, recognizing partners that have excelled in developing and growing their partnerships with SAP and driving customer success.

At the end of last year, the company announced that the BlackLine Financial Close Suite for SAP® Solutions has become an SAP-endorsed business solution – joining the ranks of fewer than 40 other software offerings globally.

To learn more, visit BlackLine at Mastering SAP Financials in booth No. F4.  BlackLine plans to present again with SAP on similar topics at the upcoming SAPPHIRE® NOW conference, being held June 3 to 5 in Orlando, Fla.

About BlackLine Systems
BlackLine Systems was the first to develop and offer a commercially available Balance Sheet Account Reconciliation solution.  An experienced provider of software to companies from the Fortune 100 to beyond the Fortune 1,000, BlackLine provides quick-to-implement, scalable and easy-to-use applications that automate the entire financial close process to help improve financial controls for companies of all sizes.  With more than 90,000 users in over 100 countries, BlackLine software applications complement existing Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Governance Risk and Compliance (GRC) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.

BlackLine offers clients its enterprise-class financial software in a simple and secure SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) platform.  With a proven track record and a commitment to customer success, BlackLine seeks to reduce the burden the financial close places on accounting and finance professionals. 

BlackLine headquarters are in Los Angeles, with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, London, Melbourne, New York City and Sydney to serve the company’s growing global client base.  For more information, please visit www.blackline.com.