Transaction Lifecycle Management Briefing Center

Q.

Why consider a utility model?

A.

Reconciliation and exception management have long been considered the "back office of the back office," viewed as the behind-the-scenes functions that were noticed only when there was a major process breakdown that impacted the firm's bottom line. Today, it's become apparent that these processes are critical barometers of operational effectiveness — and they offer organizations a significant opportunity for cost reductions and efficiency improvements.

Firms that have taken an enterprise-wide view of reconciliation and exception management through establishing a central utility have been able to optimize these functions. When done right, utilities promise better, more flexible application of resources, lower costs, unified technical architectures or platforms, best practice synergies and improved staff retention.

The return on investment can be impressive. Larger firms report ROI of 25 percent to 100 percent and break-even within one year in well-managed and well-implemented applications.

Q.

What's the value proposition for an enterprise reconciliation and exception management utility?

A.

A reconciliations utility can substantially transform the operations of any organization.

In general, reconciliation activities have not kept pace with current business and technology developments and in many cases, this has left a globally disjointed and ineffective group of processes and technologies clustered throughout organizations. Disorganized processes and technologies are not cost-effective and do not make the most of an organization's resources.

Organizations must clarify the different components of their global reconciliation strategy to gain value, taking an enterprise-wide view of these functions.