60 subsidiaries transition consolidation and controlling process from disconnected Excel

SAMSON’s group controlling department in Frankfurt is responsible for financial controlling and the aggregation of financial data across the organization including financial consolidation. SAMSON owns around 60 companies worldwide in 40 countries. In the past, reporting and financial statements were generated in Excel. The high manual effort limited the level of detail and the frequency of planning and reporting activities. It was inadequate for group controlling. The reporting processes and deliverables lacked standardization and transparency. This was another reason why collecting and processing data in individual Excel sheets was no longer an option.

As a result, the finance team decided to switch to a complete FP&A software solution for planning, reporting and financial consolidation as soon as possible. The new CFO recommended Jedox because of his positive experience with the software. A particular advantage for the finance team was that Jedox is Excel-friendly. Operating autonomously, and using SAMSON’s own resources, this allowed the new reporting environment to be quickly set up internally and implemented across the controlling departments of the global group companies.

It was also important for the finance team to be able to host the system in their department without IT support, and to be able to add new capabilities of application as needed. Thanks to its high flexibility and intuitive handling, Jedox was able to meet these requirements. With the IDW PS 880-certified “Jedox Financial Consolidation“ solution they could also display financial statements in Jedox – a key argument for SAMSON’s finance team to switch to this powerful Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) platform.

Everything went exactly as the finance team had planned. In just under three years, it had implemented its change management program and migrated sales and financial planning, group controlling, and group consolidation to the Jedox solution across the entire organization. The implementation was broken down into a series of manageable steps that quickly produced tangible results.

The first step was to build up the urgently needed sales controlling in May 2020. Sales planning for the subsequent year was created with Jedox as early as July 2020. After a reorganization of the sales department, the newly created structures were mapped in Jedox, with the planning process being redefined accordingly.

Excel-like web-based sales and financial planning

In order to stay on schedule, a hybrid approach was used for the initial planning. Planning data was queried in the companies using Excel packages that already contained the new sales reporting structures. At the same time, the project team set up the corresponding data models in Jedox. The feedback from the subsidiaries, added to the Excel packages could then be imported directly into the Jedox database. Planning data for multidimensional analyses sorted by business units, sales markets (industries), key account customers, product groups and regions were thus available in one central database.

By November 2020 the project team had set up another Jedox data Cube for financial planning consisting of revenue planning, investment planning, HR planning, strategic planning and reporting. The reporting system, which includes sales and financial planning, reporting with subsequent evaluation and analysis processes, was gradually expanded and enhanced to create a comprehensive group controlling system.

In terms of technology, connecting all subsidiaries via the web was a major step forward, allowing them to enter their plan data/actuals into Jedox as part of system-controlled, role-based workflows and to retrieve their reports at the same time.

Audit-proof financial statements

In 2022, SAMSON also migrated its financial consolidation from Excel to Jedox’s certified consolidation solution, this time with the support of Jedox experts. After the quick implementation and set-up of the consolidation model, the first financial statement according to the German Commercial Code (HGB) was created with Jedox Financial Consolidation as of December 31, 2022. There was no need to generate a backup consolidation in Excel.

The companies in the consolidated group submit their certified annual financial statements via the Jedox web-based interface, which had already been established throughout the organization thanks to the group controlling solution and change management efforts. The consolidation processes are now controlled by workflows, regulated by clear responsibilities and documented in the system in an audit-proof manner. Standardized entry screens, defined approval routines and automated data aggregations, currency conversions and intercompany matching ensure high data security and quality.

Hans Werner, Director of Group Controlling at SAMSON AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, emphasizes the benefit of having historical data available for comparisons and time series in future consolidations. It is also important to him that, despite the high degree of automation, all steps of the consolidation process are traceable and the origin of the metrics are transparent in Jedox.

SAMSON has a universal reporting system for all subsidiaries around the world. Thanks to the standardization, automation and traceability of all data entries and processes, Jedox guarantees a transparent, audit-proof and efficient statutory reporting including financial consolidation. Hans Werner notes: „We perform all core activities in one system and keep all data in one central database – for an integrated sales and financial controlling, management reporting and financial consolidation.”

Easy transition from Excel

Hans Werner considers the smooth transition from Excel to Jedox a great achievement: „The gradual, ‘open-heart’ implementation was a huge success. We started on a small scale and then steadily increased the scope, complexity and frequency of reporting. Our 60 or so subsidiaries went along without any objections.” Looking back, he realizes: “How could we ever believe there was no alternative to Excel? As single point of truth, Jedox quickly erased the Excel chaos from our memory.”

Corporate controller Torsten Szpak confirms the positive response within the group:

“Our subsidiaries see that they benefit from a structured reporting and a unified system they can also use for their own reporting, always with the same data pool.”

Finance is managing a future-proof platform. ESG reporting is up next.

The group controlling department operates the Jedox platform and channels the requirements for group-wide expansion to other functional areas. Finance is responsible for the implementation of applications, while the specialized departments manage and use their own data. In addition to finance and sales, HR started to use the reporting solution, which production and other departments may also use in the future.

The company is also planning to implement ESG reporting in Jedox. It is a similar process to financial consolidation and requires ESG data to be collected across divisions, processed and presented in reports. With the globally recognized Jedox platform, the group is perfectly equipped for sustainability reporting.

“Jedox is accepted across all our subsidiaries worldwide. Controllers and finance teams like to work with the Excel-friendly software, and we’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback.”

– Torsten Szpak, Speaker for Group Controlling and Group Finance, SAMSON AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT