BearingPoint, Inc. (NYSE:BE), one of the world's largest business consulting and systems integration firms, today announced the availability of the BearingPoint EPMOne implementation methodology to help commercial banks not only streamline their enterprise-wide strategic and operational processes/measurement, but also can facilitate their compliance with the ongoing New Basel Capital Accord, or Basel II reporting, which requires banks to reflect risk more actively in their capital allocations.
The BearingPoint EPMOne methodology is BearingPoint's vision and implementation approach for leveraging clients' investments in enterprise resource planning (ERP) and legacy systems to improve return on investment (ROI), enhance timely and accurate information delivery, and improve reporting and corporate governance - all while increasing efficiency and effectiveness throughout the organization. BearingPoint's EPMOne methodology is based on the PeopleSoft Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) suite of analytic applications.
"BearingPoint's EPMOne can help C-level executives provide greater transparency for their own businesses, as well as treat their customers as competitive assets by retrieving information about their operations and performance," said Michael Pugliese, a managing director with BearingPoint. "Managers, investors and regulators have a new perspective on performance and will not tolerate any gaps in financial controls."
One of BearingPoint's first EPMOne implementations is with Chicago-based Harris Bank, one of the largest community bank networks in Illinois with $30 billion in assets, serving both individuals and businesses throughout the diverse Chicagoland area. The bank needed to upgrade its legacy computer systems to support its rapid growth with a new management reporting system able to automate manual process and improve business decision-making, financial analysis and profitability risk management across the organization.
"Harris Bank now has a web-enabled, multidimensional management reporting system able to electronically calculate profitability and results," said Bill Kragh, a vice president of finance with Harris Bank. "A single, consistent set of quality data also improves financial analysis and decision-making, enabling managers to identify and act on key earnings drivers across all bank products and services.
"Using the single source of data, Harris Bank can conduct multidimensional reporting and analysis across its 2,000 departments, 600 products and 8,000 accounts," said Kragh.
"Simply put, EPMOne helps increase personal accountability and improve the accuracy of information. A single version of a company's financial information through an integrated architecture and easy access can offer views between business units, products, channels and customers to forecast performance and adjust strategies," added Pugliese.
Pugliese noted that BearingPoint EPMOne provides all levels of management with the operational and financial information needed to align decision making with organizational and line of business strategies. The BearingPoint EPMOne and PeopleSoft's flexible and scalable systems architecture can capture, transform and distribute financial and operational data across a company.
As for Basel II compliance, "Basel II continues to send reverberations through the corridors and corporate boardrooms of financial services organizations across the globe," said Jim Gahagan, PeopleSoft's Vice President and Global Industry Executive - Financial Services. "BearingPoint is leveraging PeopleSoft's Enterprise Performance Management suite to enable financial services organizations to turn the apparent obstacle of Basel II into an opportunity for reduced costs, better profitability, and increased competitiveness."