Independent Banker - February 2020 - 13

First Federal Savings Shortens Close and Audit
Timeline With Month-End Close Automation
Number of balance sheet accounts: ~300
Implementation time frame: 20 Hours
External auditors: Moss Adams
HOW IT ALL STARTED
Founded in 1915, First Federal Savings started in Twin
Falls, Idaho with fi ft een people who had a mission to
build a loan company. Since making its fi rst loan in
1916, in the amount of $700, First Federal Savings has
remained true to its roots and mission while growing
its current asset size of almost $600 million. Th e bank
currently has 11 branches throughout Southern Idaho.
Prior to implementing ART, First Federal Savings'
reconciliation process was completely manual with
the use of Excel spreadsheets. Th e accounting team's
process was not only ineffi cient, but decentralized,
which caused many delays with other projects. Th e
team was also experiencing several issues around
locating supporting documents during audits, which
only increased the number of deadlines missed.
Finally, the team took the initiative to explore
solutions that would streamline the reconciliation
process. First Federal Savings wanted to be more
effi cient, focusing on how to streamline the review
procedure. With internal and external auditors always
asking the accounting team for missing documents,
the team needed to establish a centralized and
standardized closing process. First Federal Savings
essentially wanted a solution that was effi cient and
off ered a way to keep everything in one place.
Th e team also wanted a product with archiving
features that allowed them to go back and fi nd
supporting documents faster and easier.
WHY ART?
* System functionality: One of First Federal Savings'
requirements for a reconciliation tool was to enable
a simpler review process, while also allowing
visibility into the status of each account. With ART,
reconciliation reviewers are able to track progress,
providing effi ciency and transparency to the
reconciliation workfl ow.
* Fast implementation: First Federal Savings needed a
solution that would not disrupt the team's schedule
as they were already struggling to maintain
deadlines due to the previous manual process for
reconciliation work. ART was implemented in 20
hours.
* Audit Trail: With ART's document attachment and
sign-off functionality, the team no longer needed to
dig through old fi les to fi nd supporting documents
for audits. Today, the team has signifi cantly
shortened the process by centralizing all historical
items along with electronic sign-off s.
THE RESULTS
ART has enabled First Federal Savings to:
* Shorten the external auditing process.
* Create internal audit effi ciencies.
* Review faster and more effi ciently.
* Lower risk through high quality reconciliations.
* Report status in real-time.
* Instantly access reconciliations and support.
* Sign-off electronically.
* Alert users of upcoming deadlines via emails.
* Establish a centralized and standardized closing
process each month.
" Because ART has increased our accounting team's
effi ciencies, it's a no brainer the team is able to work
on other tasks. It has shortened the time it takes to
complete fi nancials. " - Controller
info@SkyStem.com // 646-833-3177 // SkyStem.com
http://www.SkyStem.com
Independent Banker - February 2020

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