Solutions for the Financial Services sector
UNIT4 has over 30 years’ experience in meeting the needs of financial services companies worldwide, through a range of financial management software, solutions and services.
Accounting for change in the financial services sector
CFOs in the financial services sector are enduring an unrelenting series of changes. Whether it is new regulations, demands for transparency from investors, M&A activity or new growth opportunities in emerging markets, CFOs are continually challenged to adjust to changes while simultaneously being asked to do more, with fewer staff.
Change and your financial system
The issues
While change can be good, it can wreak havoc on a financial system and your accounting team’s lives. Change can directly affect reports, financial processes, controls and the integration touch points to operational and front-office systems. This keeps the financial staff under constant pressure to make sure financial integrity and compliance are continuously maintained. This can be particularly stressful if your organization has manual processes, relies heavily on spreadsheets or is using an inflexible and unsophisticated accounting system.
The UNIT4 CODA solution
In the financial services sector, accounting systems must go far beyond the basics of book-keeping to keep pace. At UNIT4 CODA, we believe that a financial system must literally account for and expect change, whether it is caused by an acquisition, a new set of controls or closing down a line of business. We’ve made it our business to set the global standard for financial software that helps dynamic financial services organizations adapt to changes simply, quickly and cost effectively.
Read more about how UNIT4 CODA accounts for change.
Automating controls – continuous compliance
The issues
With SAS 70 always looming and demands for transparency and compliance on the increase, financial managers shouldn’t have to settle for manual processes and flimsy controls. This can become challenging when controls and processes lie outside the realm of traditional accounting systems, encompassing new subsystems, manual processes, ad hoc spreadsheets and even new employees.
The UNIT4 CODA solution – our Link™ control framework
UNIT4 CODA has solved this real-world problem by building a control management framework, which ties other systems, manual processes and authorizations into one visible and auditable process flow. The CODA Link architecture’s Control Framework simply “lays over” all the disparate processes, providing visibility of the control activities buried inside the business. It is particularly effective for period closes, where it can dramatically reduce the number of days and man-hours required to complete this major, recurring task.
Read more about CODA Financials’ Link control framework.
Financial services clients
Today, over 5,000 organizations around the world, including over 250 of the world’s leading Insurance, Banking, Asset Management and other financial services companies, rely on our total commitment to delivering state-of-the-art, change-embracing finance software, such as the award-winning CODA Financials global accounting solution.
Our financial services clients include:
- AXA – one of the largest financial service providers in the world.
- Allianz Cornhill Insurance plc – one of the UK’s leading insurance companies, providing a full range of insurance cover for both commercial and personal marketplaces.
- Barings – owned by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, has a variety of business lines including institutional investments, mutual funds, private clients and alternative investments.
- Standard Life Investments – a leading investment company, offering clients a truly global approach.
- Wesleyan Assurance – a mutual financial services company providing specialist financial advice to UK clients.
- Ambac Assurance Corporation – a large financial insurance subsidiary of Ambac Financial Group, Inc.
- Amlin plc – a large specialist insurance and reinsurance underwriting group, listed on the London Stock Exchange.
- Intrum Justitia – Europe’s leading Credit Management Services company with operations in 22 countries
- Newcastle Building Society – one of the largest and strongest mutual building societies in the UK.
- Picture Finance Ltd – a consumer finance business that offers secured personal loans to UK homeowners.
- Russell Investment Group – a global investment services firm offering goal-oriented investors a full range of tailored solutions.
Capabilities for the financial services industry
The following capabilities make CODA Financials particularly well suited to meet the specific requirements of your sector:
- Single financial model
- Eliminates time lags, sub ledgers, reconciling and unnecessary integration
- Instantaneous or perpetual close
- Real time reporting
- Up-to-the-second reporting of cash, fund positions, profitability etc.
- Full range of reporting tools available, from online browsing to multidimensional data marts
- Easy and secure Microsoft ®Excel® integration
- Multidimensional analysis
- Infinite ways to classify, measure, and analyze the business
- Flexible analysis of funds, portfolio, cash accounts, products and services
- Unparalleled currency management and exposure analysis
- Advanced allocations
- Flexible allocation rules to distribute administrative and service fees across products, funds, companies, portfolios etc.
- Real-time or batch integration – for “joined-up” working with your trading and operational systems
- Can expose all accounting logic, security and financial validation to any other application
- Provides secure, real time accounting web services to other applications
- Automated processes and controls
- Extends and automates financial controls across operational processes, applications and people throughout the organization
- Continuous, visible and auditable compliance controls
- Self-documenting processes and audit trail
- Global – “multi-everything”
- Multi-company, Multi-fund, Multi-currency, Inter-company
- Designed for diverse and global operations
- Independent close calendars by fund or company
- Centralized or de-centralized financial operations
Contact us for more information about how we can help financial services organizations to embrace change!