State and Local Government
Budget Books and Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR) are the most important publications delivered by state or local governments. These reports are critical because they disclose what programs they are spending money on, the performance of those programs, and accountability of the results.
Currently, most state and local government finance and budget professionals create these critical budgetary and performance reports using disconnected and outdated financial management systems with rudimentary reporting capabilities. Many are using manual and error-prone processes that require copying and pasting financial and statistical data into disparate Microsoft® Excel files, wrapping Microsoft® Word files around those spreadsheets and emailing different versions throughout the government organization.
Until now, state and local governments did not have access to a single solution that converges data into a secure platform, that promotes collaboration between budget and finance activities, and enhances controls and auditability of critical processes associated with CAFR and budget reporting.
Federal Government
The advent of the CFO Act in 1990, as well as Sarbanes-Oxley and OMB A-123, required federal agencies to execute their mandates upon a strong foundation of accounting practices, risk management, and internal controls. While the systems and processes put into place were once more than adequate, these systems are now struggling to handle the public’s demand for more robust financial information (e.g., budgeting and tracking spending of Recovery Act funds). Federal agency finance professionals use fragmented processes and systems to meet regulatory and statutory documentation and reporting requirements. They do not have a unified and robust solution that fully automates the preparation of budgetary, financial, and performance documentation. They do not have reports that would ensure that the necessary transparency is inherent in all of their programs and expenditures.
Public Sector Financial Management and Reporting using IBM Cognos FSR
IBM Cognos FSR is a secure database-driven platform that connects to your existing source systems and leverages Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel to automate the production of financial reports and narrative disclosures, including XBRL, in a secure, transparent and auditable environment. Users can create any type of report including:
State and Local Government
- CAFRs
- Budget Formulation and Reporting
- Municipal Bond Offering Memorandums
- Internal Controls Documentation
- Regulatory Reporting
Federal Government
- A-11 (Budget) and A-136 (Financial) Reports
- Budget Formulation & Justification Analyses and Reports
- Monthly, Quarterly, and Annual Financial Statements with integrated Footnotes, Charts, and Graphs
- Performance & Accountability Reports (PARs, APRs, etc.)
- Internal agency management reports
- Compliance & Audit Reports/Evaluations
IBM Cognos FSR is a leading financial governance solution in the private sector and quickly closes the efficiency and quality gap in financial management for any government budget and finance department.
