ERP meets GRC: NetSuite and Diligent join forces for next-gen financial reporting
Today’s boards demand clarity, speed, and strategic insight. Yet even with robust tools, delivering real-time financials in the right context, format and cadence for governance decision-making remains a challenge.
That’s where Finance Reporting powered by NetSuite comes in. Purpose-built to bridge the gap between financial data and board-level insight, it enables a seamless, informed and secure approach to financial oversight.
Consider this:
An Oracle NetSuite ERP user can access real-time financial data and valuable insights but delivering that information in a board-ready format and with the right context can take extra time.
Likewise, a Diligent Boards user relies on having clear, current financial data surfaced directly in their governance dashboard — without manual effort or the risk of outdated reports.
Finance Reporting powered by NetSuite works where both systems — and their users — meet.
What Finance Reporting powered by NetSuite is
Finance Reporting powered by NetSuite is a Diligent application that connects with NetSuite via the SuiteCloud platform, extending reporting capabilities within the Diligent One Platform.
It grants organizations a clean line of sight into financial and human capital metrics. The ERP-style insights it provides are backed by Diligent’s industry-leading board education and resources steeped in governance best practices.
Who it’s for
Private companies providing monthly or quarterly reporting to their board and investors and those operating in regulated markets. A nonprofit demonstrating sound financial oversight to its donors. The school board or city council increasing transparency to build community trust. These organizations all share one key challenge: “It’s essential to have reliable, real-time financial data,” in the words of Diligent CEO Brian Stafford.
NetSuite provides this information while Diligent serves up the governance technology and know-how. Read on to learn about four important ways this partnership drives business value.
4 key ways NetSuite and Diligent drive business value together
1. More efficient data management
Even today, preparing data for a board or investor update, compliance obligation, public meeting or strategic opportunity — like a merger or acquisition — is a hands-on, labor-intensive enterprise.
Exporting massive data sets to spreadsheets. Conducting manual analyses, again and again. Pulling it all together with board-ready meticulousness. Wrangling the formatting and file structure. Worrying, throughout the process, that a single out-of-date figure or data-entry error by a team member might scuttle your efforts and erode hard-earned trust from leadership. Worrying further that a typo or oversight in email “to” fields can cause sensitive information to get into the wrong hands.
Finance Reporting powered by NetSuite is built for these challenges, streamlining every step of the reporting process and providing a backstop against common forms of human error. Diligent’s own accounting department saves as much as 12 hours every month thanks to this new application.
“I don’t have to repull the data every single time,” Ginsberg says. “We can focus more on the analysis and the explanation of what happened, and less about validating the information is consistent with the last report and deciding how to present what happened and then figure out why.”
Here’s a quick synopsis of how it works: NetSuite data populates directly into the Diligent One Platform, which in turn surfaces financial and personnel metrics directly into reporting templates. The most repetitive manual processes are simplified or automated, while the most strategically important and unique steps along the way remain firmly under human supervision with control of what information is shared, when and with whom in the control of our client.
2. Built-in governance best practices
Importantly, Finance Reporting powered by NetSuite reporting templates are based on governance best practices. What are the top metrics boards want to see related to financial health? What are the latest requirements and protocols for audit reports and ESG?
Diligent’s already asked industry experts these questions and incorporated what we heard into best-practice reporting templates. As an added bonus, Finance Reporting powered by NetSuite puts research and other practical media at users’ fingertips to build institutional knowledge, along with courses on effective governance to expand workforce know-how.
For compliance and audit teams, that means less guesswork on how to present detailed financial and operational information. It also means less time spent kerning, formatting or honing their skills as an amateur designer. Tool like Diligent Smart Book Builder can help to streamline this process behind the scenes. For their part, Ginsberg and his team bid farewell to PowerPoint decks and pivot tables.
Over the long term, an even more important advantage for users across the public and private sectors is that Finance Reporting powered by NetSuite frees up more time for strategic analysis of organizational performance.
3. Contextual commentary
Presentation matters — even for the most nuts-and-bolts financial reporting. Finance Reporting powered by NetSuite gets that. It has a place for your strategic, data-based insights: front and center, right at the top of your team’s report to the board and other stakeholders.
We know that making data clear and digestible, while answering “why this matters,” are essential for sound decision-making. That’s why Diligent’s visual reports can be customized with commentary, highlighting key takeaways to bring clarity and consistency to board and leadership reporting.
4. Access control
Every time you download Excel spreadsheets of financial information or send an analysis result by email, you’re exposing sensitive data to an increasingly sophisticated cadre of bad actors worldwide.
Finanance Reporting powered by NetSuite’s security protocols were designed to rebuff their best efforts. Thanks to the new integration with the Diligent One Platform, departmental teams can share critical financial and human capital insights directly with the leaders who need them.
Imagine the power of NetSuite + Diligent in your own financial reporting
Learn more about Finance Reporting powered by NetSuite and then schedule your personalized demo with one of our expert advisors.
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