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5:16 min
View Full Video Script
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Intercompany reconciliation is often one of the most
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time-consuming activities during financial close.
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Controllers and corporate consolidation teams must identify
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mismatches between reporting entities, understand
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why they occurred, and determine which issues require
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action before consolidation can be completed.
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The Board controller agent dramatically reduces the effort of
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intercompany reconciliation by analyzing
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reconciliation data,
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prioritizing the largest issues, and explaining the
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likely root causes behind each imbalance.
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In this example, we launch the Board controller agent
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and confirm the reporting context.
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The agent then verifies the reporting period, the scenario,
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and currency before beginning its analysis.
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This simple confirmation ensures that every recommendation
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you receive is based on the correct reporting data
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and provides the governance expected in a controlled
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financial close process. The first analysis provides an
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executive summary of the organization's intercompany
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position.
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Rather than requiring finance users to review hundreds or
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thousands of reconciliation records, the Board controller
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agent scans the entire intercompany reconciliation
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cockpit in Board and immediately summarizes the
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results. It highlights the overall balance sheet
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and income statement imbalances, identifies the
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largest reconciliation gaps, and prioritizes the
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discrepancies that deserve immediate
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attention. Within seconds, controllers have a
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clear picture of where the biggest reconciliation risks
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exist in their close process. Beyond simply listing
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exceptions, the agent categorizes the most significant
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discrepancies. It's distinguishing between missing
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intercompany data,
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known reconciliation differences, and other
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unresolved items that require further
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investigation.
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Instead of manually searching through large reconciliation
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reports, finance teams can immediately focus on the
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exceptions with the greatest business impact first.
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Once this high-level review is complete, finance can now
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drill into a specific reporting entity.
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In this example, we select Germany because it
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contains several of the largest reconciliation
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differences. The intercompany matching
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detail analysis now performs a focused investigation
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of Germany's outstanding intercompany balances,
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explaining each mismatch individually and
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suggesting the most likely root cause.
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This is where the Board controller agent delivers the greatest
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value. Instead of simply reporting that two companies are out
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of balance, it's explaining why. For
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example, the agent identifies situations where a
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transaction was likely posted to different accounts by
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each reporting entity, resulting in a small but
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explainable mismatch.
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It recognizes currency translation effects,
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distinguishing legitimate foreign exchange differences from true
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reconciliation issues. It also identifies
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missing intercompany records where one side of the
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transaction has not yet been reported.
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And when there isn't enough evidence to determine the cause with
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confidence, the Board controller agent classifies the
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issue as residual, clearly indicating that additional
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investigation is required rather than just making an
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assumption.
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This transparency allows controllers to trust the
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analysis while maintaining complete control over
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the final accounting decisions. Without Board
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AI, finance professionals often review every
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reconciliation difference individually, even
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though many represent known or easily explained
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issues.
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The Board controller agent handling intercompany
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reconciliation performs that initial investigation
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for you automatically, allowing users to focus
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only on the exceptions that truly require your accounting
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judgment. For controllers, this means less time
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reviewing reconciliation reports, faster
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identification of material issues, and quicker
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resolution of intercompany differences across the
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group. The result is a more efficient financial close,
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improved collaboration between local and corporate finance
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teams, and greater confidence that the intercompany balances have
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been thoroughly analyzed before consolidation
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continues.