Automating Manual Close, Consolidation & Reporting Activities with BlackLine
Gonzaga University strengthens controls, reduces risk, and improves efficiency by streamlining and automating their accounting close, consolidation, and reporting processes with BlackLine’s integrated solutions.
The Challenge
Gonzaga University has been modernizing its accounting operations since 2017. Early phases of the optimization focused on addressing manual financial close activities, such as account reconciliations. Gonzaga selected BlackLine as its partner to adopt leading practices and reduce manual work. Pleased with their progress, the Gonzaga team shifted its focus to downstream consolidation and reporting activities that were still highly manual and spreadsheet-dependent.
To complete their preexisting monthly record-to-report process, accountants extracted trial balance and other data from their Ellucian Banner ERP system and worked in spreadsheets. Once there, they consolidated, recorded top-side adjustments, and produced a balance sheet and income statement, which were then circulated via email for review and sign-off. Hours were spent on this work, which lacked visibility, limited agility, and introduced risk to critical processes.
Why BlackLine
BlackLine’s comprehensive solution offering was seen as an opportunity to extend optimization downstream across record-to-report. With underlying accounting data already in BlackLine, Gonzaga could eliminate manual effort and centralize consolidation and reporting activities using the purpose-built capabilities of BlackLine Financial Reporting Analytics. In addition, Gonzaga recognized that the solution could enhance its group-level variance analysis. With Financial Reporting Analytics up and running quickly without IT involvement, Gonzaga could run Ellucian data in BlackLine with process automation that would save time, improve visibility, and strengthen controls.
“Other BlackLine products work really well for us and have provided solutions to problems we have been trying to solve,” says Michelle Soss, Associate Controller at the 7,300-student institution in Spokane, Washington. “When we saw the consolidation capabilities of Financial Reporting Analytics, we knew it made sense to add the solution.”
The Results
Unified Record-to-Report. One of the most notable benefits the Gonzaga team has realized is the value of having a centralized platform to execute their record-to-report activities. By unifying processes, Gonzaga reduces inefficiencies and minimizes risks associated with fragmented workflows. This centralization also enables better visibility into key financial data across the organization, allowing faster, more informed decision-making.
Eliminated hours of manual work each month. Automating what had been labor-intensive manual consolidation is freeing up time for the small accounting team to focus on higher-value tasks. That builds on huge efficiency gains already realized by Gonzaga through other BlackLine solutions over the years.
“With BlackLine financial reporting, we no longer do manual work in Excel,” says Soss. “Everything is automated and in one place. It’s now very easy to see preliminary results, what is complete, and what is still open.”
Improved visibility and timeliness. Management now has on-demand access to timely consolidated financial data in Financial Reporting Analytics—one month faster than previously possible and without emailed spreadsheet reports. BlackLine also drives rigor and visibility with reviews and financial statement signoffs. Speed is increased because BlackLine allows accountants to work on quarterly reports simultaneously - instead of working through reconciliations and variances step-by-step toward final numbers that aren’t going to change.
Strengthened quality and controls. Gonzaga is incorporating documentation such as work papers into Financial Reporting Analytics to spare stakeholders from hunting for supporting information. By using the solution in the latter stages of a BlackLine-powered record-to-report process, Gonzaga is improving quality and controls across consolidations and the overall close.
Streamlined external audits. External auditors have read-only access to minimize back-and-forth exchanges, enhancing visibility and further streamlining audit processes for Gonzaga and audit teams. “Our auditors and management love Financial Reporting Analytics because they can begin at the highest financial statement level and then drill into more detail,” Soss says.
Minimized financial and operational risk. Confidence in financial data integrity has risen by moving away from spreadsheet work that can suffer from manual data entry mistakes, formula errors, and version control issues. BlackLine automation has reduced the financial and operational risks of spreadsheet usage while ensuring access to up-to-date information.
Readied for continuous GenAI optimization. Gonzaga looks forward to continued AI advancements from BlackLine that will build on successes with even greater efficiency. For example, BlackLine is implementing AI-generated variance analysis and reports to help Gonzaga’s finance team communicate results to the CFO. These AI capabilities review data and comments across BlackLine to create a drafted financial summary that the finance team can revise and share with stakeholders.
“It is exciting to see what the BlackLine developers are working on with GenAI solutions,” Soss says. “They listen to our input and incorporate it into their product. Having these solutions will help us reduce manual work and focus more time on providing better quality work.”
Education
Ellucian Banner
United States
Midsize
Reduced time and cost associated with overtime
Eliminated duplicate efforts
Streamlined processes and improved controls
Improved employee morale by shifting staff to focus on higher-value activities
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