Enhanced decision making and operational efficiency

Following the acquisition by Bencis Capital Partners, subsidy consultant PNO sought to improve its monthly financial reporting. With the implementation of the PwC CFO Office Reporting Suite, PNO now has a uniform and comprehensive insight into financial performance for the board, the bank, and Bencis. Sander Geutjes, manager Finance & Control at PNO, comments: 'We are very pleased with the flexibility and support that PNO has received.'

PNO's collaboration with PwC was established two years ago when PNO was put up for sale. PwC conducted the financial and tax due diligence to facilitate the sale. Bencis Capital Partners became a co-owner of PNO, holding about two-thirds of the shares. Following the acquisition, the bank requested monthly financial information: balance sheet, profit and loss information, cash flow changes, cash flows, and various ratios reflecting PNO's well-being. Due in part to a lack of a central ERP, this information was not readily and accurately available. PNO requested PwC's support in developing an integrated financial management report, suitable for the bank, shareholders, and management.

PwC's senior manager Sharan Visser assembled a team to support PNO. He appointed Ilva van Mosselveld as the linchpin of the PwC team: 'The first step was to define exactly what PNO needed and how this should be presented. The reporting requirements of the bank were the starting point. Bencis wanted specific information reported, and PNO itself had wishes. We developed a blueprint to visualize and communicate all this. This served as a guideline for the further process.'

The process was challenging, as the dynamics of a growing company brings changes. Van Mosselveld : 'To streamline the data, various mapping structures and formats had to be harmonized into one uniform format. The data were cleaned and transformed, allowing them to now be presented in an efficient, interactive tool. With this interactive tool, PNO can easily switch between different countries and view specific components, which provides valuable insights and aids in better understanding the financial situation. Moreover, it is a valuable tool for providing information to stakeholders, including the bank and shareholders.'

Documents from different countries are now uploaded by PNO each month into a SharePoint database, after which the tool automatically runs and retrieves the updated figures. The tool is used to analyze potential problems, verify balance, and note differences between countries. The tool assists PNO in streamlining data integration, now that financial data from various sources are more efficiently merged.

The team opted for a broader solution: the PwC CFO Office Reporting Suite. This offers not only a tool for consolidation/financial management reporting but also solutions for cash flow forecasting and working capital management. This gives the CFO and the financial function control over the figures and processes in the period immediately following an acquisition.

The PwC dashboard of the CFO Office Reporting Suite provides extensive insight into financial performances and key performance indicators (KPIs). In addition to viewing financial data by country and entity, revenue streams can also be split into different categories, and specific calculations performed. If more information needs to be added, it can be easily built and integrated.

The reporting of PNO includes not only current figures but also the budget and forecast, which are updated and discussed monthly, both at the total and entity level. Visser adds that 'this interactive tool offers PNO the opportunity to see which countries are performing better or worse than expected and where adjustments may be desired. Users can easily switch, which provides insights and helps in better understanding the financial situation.'

What challenges did PwC encounter further in the process? Visser : 'The process was challenging, especially due to the diversity of financial packages in different countries. This meant that the "account mapping" of the different countries had to be aligned with that in the Netherlands. The result was a consistent "mapping" for generating reports.'

Sander Geutjes from PNO describes the reporting trajectory as a challenging but successful journey: 'The collaboration with PwC is enjoyable. We are satisfied with the flexibility and support that PNO has received. And we are proud of the results we have achieved. This has added value both internally and for external stakeholders.'

• Improved decision-making: through the integrated approach, not only the banks, but also the management can quickly and accurately view key data, leading to better-informed decisions.
• Stakeholder satisfaction: both Bencis and the banks are satisfied with the transparent reporting, which strengthens the confidence in PNO.
• Operational efficiency: optimized processes for data collection and reporting have increased efficiency.
• Scalability: for a growing company like PNO, it is important that entities can be added to the tool. If entities need to be added, it can be easily built and integrated. The tool is an ongoing platform on which you can rely and continue to adjust as needed.