Consolidation on a monthly basis? It is possible!

Discover how our partner VGD brought speed in consolidating at Vivaldis Interim.

 

 

Vivaldis Interim is an important niche player in the temporary employment market. After the takeover of a German group of temporary employment agencies, the business processes had to grow along with it. Our partner VGD CFO Services offered them the guidance and experience to optimize their financial reporting.

Towards uniform, reliable and rapid financial reporting

“Due to our continued growth, certain systems were no longer adequate for an organisation of our size,” explains Walter Deprins, Group CFO at Vivaldis. “Due to the various new companies and holding companies in our group, the financial part became more complex with different accounting packages, new systems and legacy systems. As a result, BrightAnalytics was quickly chosen to convert the financial and operational data from these different systems into reliable reporting in an automated and uniform manner.”

The professionalisation of the finance department went even further. Until recently Vivaldis outsourced the consolidation of figures to an external organisation. Since this is a labor-intensive exercise, consolidation was done only once a year. Far too little to be able to switch quickly and make decisions. Vivaldis wanted more ownership over these financial processes.

VGD as an experienced partner

“We were looking for a partner with thorough financial and structural knowledge,” Walter Deprins continues. “A partner who spoke our language and had experience with management and statutory reporting. BrightAnalytics recommended VGD.”

Philippe Van den Bossche, CFO Services Manager at VGD: “Vivaldis wanted to consolidate on a monthly basis. Therefore, we had to find a way to automate and speed up these consolidations. Especially for the intercompany eliminations, the most labour-intensive part, it was important that reporting was faster. Together with Vivaldis we worked out the automation and refined the reports. This way they can now analyse and interpret the figures faster.”

Building the right measurement tools for strategic decisions

From these monthly consolidations came the further demand for a clear and uniform view on the cash flow of the Vivaldis Group.

Walter Deprins: “In our sector, you have to be able to predict well. The interim sector is always one of the first to feel the trends in the market. Positive trends, but also negative ones. So we need good measuring instruments to be able to make important strategic decisions about investments, for example. In a mature organisation like ours, we really need to be on the ball. Thanks to a cash forecast that is delivered quickly and reliably, we can do that.”

The start of further optimization

The monthly consolidation made Vivaldis want to review other business processes as well. “Sometimes your work is 70% finished, but for the next 30% you have to question the previous processes and see if they can be improved”, Walter Deprins explains.

Philippe Van den Bossche: “We worked closely with Walter and his colleagues. This allowed us to quickly implement improvements and achieve quick wins in certain processes. The basic questions we asked ourselves were always the same: ‘With which information can shareholders and management assess the strategy and performance of Vivaldis? And what is the most efficient way to get that information?’”

“VGD’s experience in this area was one of the most crucial elements of the collaboration for us,” concludes Walter Deprins. “Philippe and his team thought along with us and asked the right questions with us. Thanks to their guidance, we were able to move very quickly and create action plans.”

 

Source: VGD, https://blogbe.vgd.eu/nl/optimaal-beheer/cfo-services/case/snelle-efficiente-financiele-rapportering-bij-vivaldis-interim, October 22, 2019

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