Gartner has created a new Magic Quadrant for Enhanced Finance Controls and Automation (EFCA), formerly called “The Last Mile of Finance” or Close/Reconciliation Management. In doing so, they have identified that financial governance activities have expanded beyond the standard ERP and CPM processes.

FinanceControls.com has partnered with our clients for over 20 years on ERP and CPM projects, and has recognized first-hand the importance of automating these key financial processes. This new class of applications fills the gaps left by the standard ERP solutions and improves the manner in which key financial processes are undertaken.

BlackLine has been listed by Gartner as a ‘Best-of-Breed’ provider for Enhanced Finance Controls and Automation (EFCA) Software. To access the entire Gartner report, click here.

Managing company performance and meeting the challenge of accurately processing large amounts of both internal and external data presents major challenges when the tasks are done manually. In today’s global reality, parent companies can have operations scattered across different legal jurisdictions and time zones, with many operating on a variety of ERP’s and disparate technical infrastructures. This rising complexity makes it increasingly difficult to navigate the financial close process.

The enormous amount of time accountants previously invested in manual exercises can now be re-invested in value-added activities which facilitate data transparency, enhanced controls and the integrity of data for reporting and compliance purposes.

As Therese Tucker, CEO of BlackLine notes, “There has to be a better way, and there is. Technology – namely EFCA software – is the solution, substituting predictability and continuous improvement for risk-prone and repetitive manual processes. It is what we are referring to as ‘Modern Finance’ – managing core accounting and finance processes to the fullest degree of automation possible, especially when it comes to rote clerical tasks.”