Customer Stories
“It’s My Easy Button”: How FloQast Helped the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Create a Standard of Accounting Excellence
When Tom Twilling was hired as controller at the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, it didn’t take him long to realize the accounting team needed changes — and fast.
Headquartered in — you guessed it — Cincinnati, the Archdiocese’s accounting department ran on tribal knowledge — much of it handwritten — making for a painfully-slow month-end close…and a lot of dead trees.
“When I went to the Archdiocese, there were no written procedure manuals so everyone had notebooks and pads and handwritten notes but we had complete turnover in the department so we had a period where nobody knew anything,” said Twilling.
Twilling quickly deployed Sage Intacct as the team’s ERP, but he felt they need something more. What he came up with was an Excel spreadsheet; it was better than tracking processes via notebooks and sticky notes, but it soon became massive and unmanageable for the team. That’s when he discovered FloQast.
Close Management Software as the Solution
While attending Intacct Advantage, Twilling stumbled across the FloQast booth and stayed for a demo. He knew almost immediately that the software was something that could make a big impact on his team of accountants.
“We did the demo and I fell in love with the system almost the first day,” said Twilling.
The demo was just the start though for Twilling. In order to get the team closing with FloQast and preparing for an audit — a process that proved quite challenging in years past — Twilling was banking on a speedy implementation process. As it turned out, he wasn’t disappointed.
“The setup was incredibly easy,” said Twilling. “They basically told me, ‘Send me the Excel spreadsheet you built and we’ll do it for you.'”
Expecting the worst, Twilling asked how long he thought the setup would take, expecting anywhere from several weeks to several months. He was told everything would be ready by the following Monday.
“I logged on and was just like ‘oh my gosh this is everything I could have thought of,’” said Twilling.
Having used FloQast for some time now, the impact it’s had on the accounting team is crystal clear.
“It’s truly my easy button,” said Twilling.
On Time, With Less Stress
With the month-end close being executed more efficiently, the Archdiocese was greatly pleased to see FloQast’s impact on its audit.
“Last year, the audit was done late and that was with our team working long, hard hours,” said Twilling. “This year, we’re pretty much leaving on time and getting done faster,” said Twilling.
“It’s taken weeks off our audit this year,” he added.
