In the last post, New Scope in Account Reconciliation Cloud Service (ARCS): Add-Ons, we discussed how ARCS sets you up to easily add on additional scope to your existing application and scale your solution. However, not all changes are brand new. Clients are often concerned with being pigeonholed based on their “Day 1” decisions. A common question I am asked during a design session is “Can I manually enter this reconciliation today, but create new feeds to automatically load the data tomorrow?” The answer is a resounding YES, and it provides clear added value to the next phase of any ARCS (or ARM) project. It can be a viable project strategy to set up reconciliations using an Account Analysis format on “Day 1” and change to a Balance Comparison format when automated data loads are built on “Day 100.”
[Screenshot 5a: Reconciliation 100-1000 is setup with a Balance Comparison format in Sep 2017.*]
[Screenshot 5b: The previous period’s reconciliation can be viewed in the Prior Reconciliations tab.*]
[Screenshot 5c: Reconciliation 100-1000 was previously setup with an Account Analysis format in Aug 2017. The format of a profile can be changed while maintaining the Prior Reconciliations link.*]
Depending on how this change is made, it is even possible to keep the modified reconciliation “linked” to the previously completed reconciliations even though the Format has changed, such as in Screenshots 5a – 5c. The ease with which ARCS allows you to change Reconciliation Methods (via Formats) gives you the flexibility to not bite off more than you can chew in the beginning of a project.
Changing Reconciliation Methods is often related to new integrations. Moving from the manual “fat fingering” of data to directly loading general ledger and sub ledger balances through Financial Data Management Enterprise Edition (FDMEE) or Data Management combined with the inbuilt auto-reconciliation tools can bring a “quality of life” change for end users as well as added confidence in the data’s integrity. It is always a best practice to pull data from the source. Creating the integration from the general ledger is typically part of the initial scope. The usual candidates for building additional feeds after the first project phase are the sub ledgers related to fixed assets, accounts receivables, and accounts payables. However, the most “bang for your buck” as it relates to what integrations to build depends on your line of business and specific company requirements.*
*Note that adding multiple general ledger feeds introduces additional complexities beyond the scope of this article. Please consult with your Oracle partner before adding to your application.
In some cases, the greatest efficiencies to your existing reconciliation process are gained in utilizing the power of ARCS Transaction Matching. This module is better suited to handle massive data volumes at a transactional level. As an example, instead of performing just a reconciliation of the balance sheet’s intercompany balances in ARCS Reconciliation Compliance at the end of the month, an enhancement to this process could be to perform the daily matching process in ARCS Transaction Matching to clear up issues in real time as they arise. This simplifies the month end’s reconciliation. ARCS Transaction Matching is a powerful supplement to an existing reconciliation system and continues to receive special attention from Oracle as seen with the major release of new functionality in Patch 1805.
Just as there are many ways your company can change, ARCS can be modified to match your needs even in a live application. However, sometimes changes are more fundamental than a bit of tweaking such as in an acquisition or the introduction of a new, company-wide general ledger. Or, perhaps, you are just not satisfied with the solution design. Join me in the next post as we discuss the dangerous topic of redesign in ARCS – what is possible…and what it costs.
*Screenshots taken from the patch 1806 release.