Genworth, a leading provider of Lifestyle Protection and Mortgage
insurance, has reduced the time its monthly financial close processing
takes to complete, using ONE Automation. Utilizing Automic’s
sophisticated workload automation tools Genworth has been able to
alleviate the pressures and obstacles often associated with delivering
on time, accurate and reliable figures for its month-end financial close.
Agility and efficiency through Automation
A recent Gartner report discussed the evolving financial controls and
automation landscape, arguing, “Financial process and close management
solutions present an opportunity for finance strategists by providing
controls throughout the accounting period and improving enterprise
collaboration.”1 Further to this point the report asserted
that, “Software that targets financial close process improvements has
begun to change how finance teams work during the close, increasing the
efficiency of the finance team and dramatically reducing the risk of
missed steps and errors.”2
Previously, Genworth’s IT Ops department relied on basic operation
system tools to manage its workload with staff needing to intervene when
problems occurred resulting in delays producing financial reports. With
Automic One Automation Genworth has used intuitive design tools and
reusable objects, as well as the ability to manage complex dependencies,
to map its process flows. Genworth has used automation to remove manual
interventions and avoidable delays from its financial close processing
and achieve a 74% reduction in the time it takes to close its books - a
phenomenal accomplishment.
Paul Ryan, IT Production Operations Manager at Genworth comments:
“Historically we thought manually, but we had to begin relying more on
automation. Working with Automic has changed how we think about
operations. ONE Automation has become an enabling technology that we’ve
applied across our business to address various infrastructure
challenges. As a team, we’ve gone from being invisible to highly visible
within the company.”
Realize significant, measurable business value
By using Automic execution data, IT Operations were able to further
optimize the process by 50%, identifying job dependencies to restructure
the flow, reduce idle time and risks to the overall process.
Ryan continued, “Instead of relying on information that key individuals
carry around in their heads, we’ve been able to capture and document how
our systems work and what to do when things go wrong. ONE Automation not
only provided us with the ability to automate our workload, it also
allowed us to document our process flows and map the dependencies.”
About Genworth
Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW) is a leading Fortune 500 insurance
holding company dedicated to helping people secure their financial
lives, families and futures. Genworth has leadership positions in
offerings that assist consumers in protecting themselves, investing for
the future and planning for retirement – including life insurance, long
term care insurance, financial protection coverages, and independent
advisor-based wealth management – and mortgage insurance that helps
consumers achieve home ownership while assisting lenders in managing
their risk and capital.
About Automic
Automic, a leader in business automation, helps enterprises drive
competitive advantage by automating their IT factory - from on-premise
to the Cloud, Big Data and the Internet of Things. With offices across
North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, Automic powers over 2,600
customers including Bosch, PSA, BT, Carphone Warehouse, Deutsche Post,
Societe Generale, TUI and Swisscom. The company is privately held by
EQT. More information can be found at www.automic.com
1 Gartner, Inc., “Enhanced Finance Controls and Automation
Fills the Gaps in ERP and CPM Processes”, 13 October 2014, John E. Van
Decker, Christopher Iervolino
2 Gartner, Inc., “Enhanced Finance Controls and Automation
Fills the Gaps in ERP and CPM Processes”, 13 October 2014, John E. Van
Decker, Christopher Iervolino
Copyright Business Wire 2015