Achieving Faster, Easier Reconciliations: PageGroup and FloQast

Founded in London in 1976, specialist recruitment company PageGroup rapidly expanded to multiple offices across the UK, reaching Europe in the eighties, and Asia and North America in the nineties.

Today, PageGroup has a presence in over 36 countries and a global workforce of more than 7,000 employees. The company’s rise has prompted it to think carefully about its finance function and implement tools capable of not only managing its books accurately and efficiently, but also positioning it to overcome administrative challenges.

{emphasize}

We had a very manual reconciliations process with too many spreadsheets. It was difficult to get a global view to track progress and better analyse opportunities and risks. Given the high volume of reconciliations, we needed a new technology that supported coordination across different locations and teams.”

– Leonardo Satellé, Head of Global Finance Systems & R2R Global Services

{emphasize}

Before FloQast

In 2020, following an ERP implementation, PageGroup’s finance team designed and applied a manual global reconciliations methodology that relied on multiple spreadsheets. However, the team found that approach made it difficult to derive timely insight into that process and the wider control environment.

With that in mind, PageGroup’s Head of Global Finance Systems and R2R Global Services, Leonardo Satellé, wanted to improve the efficiency of the reconciliation process and boost visibility for senior management stakeholders. The existing manual elements posed an ongoing challenge for the targets that the accounting team had set for itself, and so the decision was made to move away from a reliance on spreadsheets, and towards digital tools that leveraged the full possibilities of automation.

PageGroup put together a list of more than 20 possible vendors that could facilitate the transformation—and then a short list of 3 final candidates. After months of in-depth research and demonstrations, PageGroup chose FloQast.

Leonardo explained the decision by pointing out that the FloQast platform aligned well with PageGroup’s working culture and offered a suite of easy-to-adopt-and-use tools. He also cited the FloQast team itself as a deciding factor, emphasizing the presence of individuals with real-world professional accounting expertise, in addition to software engineers.

{emphasize}

FloQast really aligned with us culturally. They are a team of accountants, and that makes a big difference.”

– Leonardo Satellé, Head of Global Finance Systems & R2R Global Services

{emphasize}

Implementing FloQast

The FloQast implementation process took two months to complete, followed by a month of vigorous testing.

Leonardo discussed the ease with which PageGroup adopted the new platform—a process that FloQast supported in the weeks and months prior to launch. During that time, the FloQast team was on hand to help PageGroup accountants navigate a range of technical issues, including the need to integrate with NetSuite and existing Microsoft Office infrastructure via application programming interfaces (API).

One of the primary day-to-day benefits that FloQast has delivered for PageGroup is its dashboard tool. Leonardo pointed out that PageGroup accountants have to operate in a fast-moving environment with a high volume of activity on any given day. In that space, the perspective that the dashboard provides is a significant asset, especially for reconciliations. Team members can seamlessly upload their own files into the workflow and complete their tasks with full visibility of other contributors and other task dependencies.

{emphasize}

There’s a lot of complex activity in the balance sheet reconciliation process. Nevertheless, people can get their own files uploaded, and complete reconciliation tasks in the platform seamlessly. FloQast gives us a full picture of global progress.”

– Leonardo Satellé, Head of Global Finance Systems & R2R Global Services

{emphasize}

‍

FloQast’s analytics tools multiply the dashboard benefit, enabling PageGroup accountants to drill down into the details of specific issues and trends to address problems more efficiently and strengthen decision-making.

Leonardo also pointed to the customizability of the FloQast platform, which leverages APIs to enable dashboard connections to a range of third-party applications, each of which supports the monthly workflow and smooths the path for accountants. One of the most impactful integrations has been Microsoft Power BI, which has boosted the visibility of reconciliations by enabling the accounting team to visualize financial data. In fact, process visibility has improved across the global control environment, making it easier for the PageGroup team to spot emerging reconciliations challenges—and opportunities—across 100+ subsidiaries.

{emphasize}

FloQast really helps with global visibility. We use the checklist and dashboard tools, for example, to give everyone a perspective on progress. You can track pending items, communicate with colleagues, and identify emerging challenges in a timely manner.”

– Leonardo Satellé, Head of Global Finance Systems & R2R Global Services

{emphasize}

‍

Increased Efficiency and Ongoing Potential

PageGroup has successfully leveraged automated speed and efficiency to take the pressure off its balance sheet reconciliations process and boost visibility. The reduced pressure not only makes life easier for the accounting team, but allows individuals to focus more on critical strategic tasks, including optimising the control environment.

With that in mind, FloQast isn’t just a component in PageGroup’s tech stack. The successful implementation connects with and complements the company’s wider digital transformation project, supporting the accounting team as it works towards further efficiencies and innovations. Leonardo and the PageGroup team intend to continue to explore the potential of FloQast as part of that ongoing project, trying new tools, testing new approaches to tasks, and identifying opportunities to enhance workflows.

{emphasize}

FloQast functions in combination with our digital transformation project. That’s what makes it such a useful addition. It’s not a stand-alone product. It’s an enabler for our processes and decisions.”

– Leonardo Satellé, Head of Global Finance Systems & R2R Global Services

{emphasize}