FK Gardner and Sons Group consolidates cash flow reporting processes

Company Overview

The FK Gardner & Sons Group (FKG) is a leading Australian construction company. It provides commercial construction, civil engineering, development, plant hire and plumbing services to a wide range of clients. From schools to office buildings, substation facilities to nursing homes, FKG has built a diverse cross-section of facilities for both public and private clients within varying sectors such as health, education, community, mining and industrial, commercial and retail. The company has more than 350 staff and an annual turnover in excess of $280 million.

Challenges
As a diversified business, FKG has been rapidly growing, particularly in terms of staff numbers and clientele. As it has expanded, internal and external stakeholder reporting requirements have also grown, with the need to provide a consolidated view of financial information in a very quick and dynamic manner. It was becoming imperative to better support the micro and macro business objectives associated with managing risk and, in turn, provide investors with the required confidence in FKG’s business.

FKG’s previous reporting system was a hybrid amalgam that did not fit the needs of its numerous business divisions. Double handling made the reporting process lengthy and inaccurate, as well as difficult to manage and analyse. Apart from inadequate Excel spreadsheets, there was no method to produce integral cash flow forecasts. FKG needed one consolidated, useable format that would provide its users with an accurate vision of the future and a solution that could give them a competitive advantage in the market.

Approach
Leverage Bistech’s experience and expertise to architect a performance management solution specifically tailored to FKG’s business needs.
Purchase IBM’s leading mid-market Cognos Express Xcelerator platform.
Consolidate the reporting and planning process for all departments through the implementation of an integrated reporting and planning solution.


Impact

• Improves reporting processes, virtually eliminating IT’s involvement in report development and streamlining accounting reporting – allowing reports to be produced on a timely basis.

• Makes data available sooner, improving budget awareness and the ability to manage and control fixed costs – saving $400,000 per year.

• Pushes reporting capabilities to new limits, obtaining enhanced awareness of cash flow.

• Creates a variety of key reports in a timely, logical and consistent fashion.

• Provides both internal and external stakeholders with detailed cash forecasts and the required confidence to secure ongoing lines of credit.

• Gives users more time to analyse the integrated information held in Cognos Express Xcelerator, helping them understand its implications and make better business decisions.

Business Benefits

• Reduces business costs by at least $400,000 per year, and provides the priceless ability to manage potential business risks more effectively.

• Generates consolidated, dynamic reports quickly and efficiently, freeing up time to analyse business projections and make better business decisions.

• Fulfills both internal and external stakeholder requirements for more accurate and timely cash flow forecasts.

• Centralises data in IBM® Cognos® Xcelerator for easy and effective management, and provides users with more consistent and integrated information.

• Leverages Bistech’s proven expertise to build a solution specifically tailored to FKG’s needs.

About Bistech
Bistech helps their clients to realise the vision of an enterprise solution that not only provides visibility on key drivers of the business but also connects back through the Planning cycles of the business to integrate the strategic plans of the future. This is accomplished using our best practice methodology to extract key data from various operational systems into a centralised data repository and layering in the Reporting, Analysis, Scorecarding & Planning tools for end user access.Most organisations recognise that good technology alone is not a guarantee of success.

An experienced partnership with the Bistech team can make all the difference in ensuring your vision becomes reality. Our team of Certified Consultants are leaders in their field and are dedicated to help your company achieve the full value of your Performance Management investment. We utilise a proven methodology for designing, constructing and deploying Performance Management solutions and have played a key role in delivering solutions for numerous companies and organisations.

About IBM Business Analytics
IBM Business Analytics software delivers actionable insights decision-makers need to achieve better business performance. IBM offers a comprehensive, unified portfolio of business intelligence, predictive and advanced analytics, financial performance and strategy management, governance, risk and compliance and analytic applications.

With IBM software, companies can spot trends, patterns and anomalies, compare “what if” scenarios, predict potential threats and opportunities, identify and manage key business risks and plan, budget and forecast resources. With these deep analytic capabilities our customers around the world can better understand, anticipate and shape business outcomes.

For more information
For further information or to reach a representative please visit ibm.com/analytics.