RSMUS.comBlackLine’s recent Best Practice Summit in Los Angeles featured engaging content and inspiring client success stories. As the event sponsor, RSM US LLP’s data and digital services team participated and hosted a special booth, making the most of this exciting opportunity.
Here are a few key takeaways from the day:
Continuous improvement
BlackLine is meeting clients where they are and paving the way forward with continuous innovation to solve the challenges of the chief financial officer. Through optimization with achievable transformation goals and an AI-powered road map, BlackLine is innovating how companies perform record-to-report functions. During the Best Practices Summit, BlackLine highlighted key ways clients can transform their processes using standard BlackLine technology such as applying rules-based administration, using templates and making the most of one’s data.
A detailed demonstration of how clients can improve the accounts receivable process was reviewed, outlining seven steps for process optimization. The demo allowed clients to see the transformed accounts receivable process and understand how this process could be applied at their own companies. The segment drove home the point that automating repetitive manual tasks and connecting BlackLine module solutions can save time each month and enable people to focus on more value-added tasks.
Optimization strategies for finance champions
An important segment of the Best Practices Summit was the “From good to great: BlackLine optimization strategies for finance champions” session. This session, led by Samantha Rittenhouse of RSM, discussed how RSM successfully helped finance champion Arishma Sharma of The SaveMart Supermarkets transform her finance processes using BlackLine technology. Arishma shared her journey of automation at SaveMart. She was able to reduce her closing days by implementing BlackLine Account Reconciliations, Journals and Transaction Matching. SaveMart is continuing their BlackLine journey and Arishma provided a key piece of advice to other customers: “Try to automate as much as possible while on the transformation journey, including linking reconciliations and journals—optimize today.” Without a doubt, hearing firsthand from a finance champion left a lasting impact on the audience and kept them actively engaged.
BlackLine’s innovation and AI road map
To wrap up the day, BlackLine provided attendees with an overview of some newly introduced and exciting technologies. Beginning with the new close operations dashboard, Bob Davenport of BlackLine previewed the single view clients can utilize to manage all their closing activities. This new dashboard allows users to gain visibility with a “close clock,” simplified completion metrics and revamped tiles for Reconciliations and Tasks.
Another new feature displayed was the updated to-do dashboard, which allows users to see their work across all roles and products within a single unified view. But the most innovative and exciting new feature highlighted at the Best Practice Summit was Blackline’s AI-powered road map. The first AI initiative displayed was that of the document description summarizer, which scans the document being attached and generates a description of its contents for the user. The variance automation AI feature automatically summarizes explanations at the consolidated variance level for users. The Journals Risk Analyser will allow users to identify potential fraud, flag unusual journal transactions, and uncover internal control and risk issues.
These are just a few of the new AI items on BlackLine’s road map that clients are eager to access. The Best Practices Summit was memorable and allowed users to see how they can continue to innovate and transform on their BlackLine journey.
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