2. How do we help clients make better decisions?
By understanding them.
We listen to your needs, analyze the business drivers impacting your business
and help you shape the finance tools and processes of the future. We help you by
turning uncertainty about the future into certainty; we help to create and improve
transparency and optimize accounting processes and controls while always keeping
an eye on the big picture. We stay one step ahead of regulatory changes and
can help you to adjust to new reporting requirements triggered by transactions.
We collaborate with our colleagues in tax, advisory and transactions, to deliver
customized services to specifically address the challenges that you face.
In short, we advise.
This brochure answers the most frequent questions about our Financial Accounting
Advisory Services (FAAS) portfolio.
EY‘s Financial Accounting Advisory
Services, providing support for an
effective and efficient finance
department
“In a world that is more complex, dynamic and competitive than
ever before, we know that you need the right team of professionals
to support your business needs and provide valuable insights. Our
services have been designed to address the changing requirements
for your accounting and reporting policies and processes, and the
IT systems and data management tools that support them. We
can also advise on regulatory and governance issues, as well as
accounting, and attest impacts that result from an audit. Our aim is
to help you improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your finance
function, treasury organization and corporate governance model.
Welcome to our overview of FAAS.”
Peter Wollmert, Global and EMEIA FAAS Leader, EY.
3. Providing support for an effective and
efficient finance department
Our service portfolio
CFOs and finance departments are under pressure. They are more involved
in business strategy and planning than ever before, while at the same time
shareholders and regulators are demanding more and more detailed information.
This combination places high demands on the time and resources available to CFOs
and their teams, making effectiveness and efficiency critical to success.
With an effective and efficient finance function now critical to business
performance, our service portfolio is aligned to help you address the accounting and
financial reporting challenges facing your business in four key areas encapsulated
within the Financial Accounting Advisory Agenda:
• Financial accounting and reporting excellence
• Accounting tools, efficient processes and enablement
• Regulation, governance and financing
• Other audit, attest and accounting services
Your
Financial
Accounting
Advisory
Agenda
Financial accounting and reporting excellence
• Financial accounting excellence
• Accounting compliance services
Improve your reporting
through accounting tools,
efficient processes and
enablement
• Consolidation and
reporting
• Advanced processes
and data analytics
Meet regulatory,
governance and financing-
related needs
• Transaction accounting
• Corporate treasury
• Corporate governance
and regulation
Address other audit, attest accounting impacts
• Audit remediation
• Data intelligence
• Training services for business professionals
4. Financial accounting and reporting excellence
Understand the issues
Finance functions face two key issues in today’s environment:
• A worldwide convergence of accounting regulations with ongoing accounting
changes, creating changes in processes and unprecedented complexity
• Ongoing globalization and value creation strategies resulting in complex
cross-border MA activities and continuous asset portfolio management
In order to be successful in this environment, organizations must proactively
understand and assess the impact of any decisions taken on their financial
performance. This includes putting increased effort into financial management,
such as assessing and accessing technical accounting knowledge when it is needed,
and identifying the need for clear and consistent accounting policies and guidelines.
How can we help?
We typically advise clients in the following areas:
• Assessing the impact of new accounting standards on their finance function and
business operations
• Accelerated local GAAP and IFRS conversions
• Supporting, designing and implementing accounting policies
• Contract accounting support
• Developing tools and options for implementing new accounting standards and
supporting decision-making
• Supporting the implementation of local accounting and governance changes such
as the Indian Companies Act and IFRS implementation
Financial
agenda
Financial
accounting
and reporting
excellence
Improve your
reporting through
accounting tools,
efficient processes and
enablement
Meet regulatory,
governance and
financing-related
needs
Address other
audit, attest
accounting Impacts
Effective
and efficient
finance
department
1
2
3
4
5. Improve your reporting through accounting tools,
efficient processes and enablement
Understand the issues
Expanding an organization geographically or technologically adds operational
complexity that could result in greater cost to the business. In this context,
companies often rethink their approach to operations to achieve economies of scale.
This can increase pressure on the finance function to improve its effectiveness.
Increased demands from analysts and other stakeholders mean that greater
accuracy, precision and transparency in financial statements and forecasts are an
expectation of the finance function of today. Further, following the implementation
of new IT infrastructure or new ERP modules, optimization or validation of financial
statement close processes are increasingly requested.
In order to optimize accounting processes and control procedures, consideration
should be given to related concepts such as shared service centers and outsourcing
arrangements. It also requires the implementation of a common set of rules,
definitions and procedures to ensure global consistency. This means improving
routine financial processes to produce accurate and up-to-the-minute financial
business information.
How can we help?
EY advises clients in the following areas:
• Assessing, transforming and reorganizing the finance and control function
• Aligning accounting processes and harmonizing key metrics following new
acquisitions
• Improving the financial statement close process, including the design and
implementation of advanced closing and reporting
• Evaluating and redesigning internal controls
• Accounting and financial support on consolidations
Financial
agenda
Financial
accounting
and reporting
excellence
Meet regulatory,
governance and
financing-related
needs
Address other
audit, attest
accounting Impacts
Effective
and efficient
finance
department
1
2
3
4
Improve your
reporting through
accounting tools,
efficient processes and
enablement
6. Meet regulatory, governance and financing-related
needs
Understanding the issues
Since the credit crunch of 2007–09, the post-crisis economy has been characterized
by a growing change process across world economies. Recent turmoil around
the solvency of certain Eurozone countries, and budgetary challenges in large
economies such as the US, have created a new market dynamic whereby capital
markets are expected to reflect volatility and more challenging financing conditions
for some time. Both regulators and governments are looking for higher standards of
corporate governance, greater reporting transparency and are placing more focus
on compliance and risk management practices.
For companies, these economic conditions have several practical implications. As
stakeholder confidence becomes increasingly important, companies must revisit
the effectiveness of their corporate governance structure and communication with
internal and external stakeholders. From an operational point of view, the finance
function is increasingly involved in proactively managing volatility in commodity
trading or raw materials markets and exposure to foreign exchange. It also supports
efforts to exploit alternative sources to refinance debt or raise equity in order to
fund acquisitions, organic growth or restructuring.
How can we help?
We typically advise clients in the following areas:
• Supporting the design and implementation of new regulatory requirements
• Providing industry-specific attest services, for example, in the telecom, energy
and utilities sector
• Implementing certain corporate treasury function activities
• Comparing corporate governance effectiveness and audit committee oversight
against those of similar organizations and enhancing the financial accounting
governance process
• Navigating the IPO or refinancing process, including assisting ongoing stock
listing matters and financial communication
Financial
agenda
Financial
accounting
and reporting
excellence
Meet regulatory,
governance and
financing-related
needs
Address other
audit, attest
accounting Impacts
Effective
and efficient
finance
department
1
2
3
4
Improve your
reporting through
accounting tools,
efficient processes and
enablement
7. Address other audit, attest and accounting impacts
Understanding the issues
Following an audit, company management often receives recommendations
regarding process and control improvements, suggestions of best practices or the
need for remediation of deficiencies and failures. In certain sectors or jurisdictions,
in addition to the audit, companies are subject to additional statutory reporting
requirements, such as net user charges or resource consumption. These efforts
mostly help harmonize existing accounting processes and know-how. Often,
companies require external support to augment either resources and/or technical
expertise within their organization.
How can we help?
We typically advise clients in the following areas:
• Supporting the remediation of audit findings
• Delivering focused open-house and customized client-based training on financial
reporting, accounting and related matters
• Providing comparisons against similar organziations’ reporting
• Advice in controlling, accounting and finance functions
As business advisors our focus is on helping
our clients to navigate the ever-changing
accounting and reporting landscape and
deliver tailored, innovative services
seamlessly and effectively on a global scale.
Financial
agenda
Financial
accounting
and reporting
excellence
Meet regulatory,
governance and
financing-related
needs
Address other
audit, attest
accounting Impacts
Effective
and efficient
finance
department
1
2
3
4
Improve your
reporting through
accounting tools,
efficient processes and
enablement
