German financial services firm DekaBank has deployed ILOG JRules, a key part of Ilog's Business Rule Management System product line, to help comply with the International Financial Reporting Standards reporting requirements for managed accounts.
The introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which impacts upon managed account investments, is placing a strain on European banks, which now have to centralize multiple GAAP numbers from different countries into a single consolidated view for their managed account customers.
DekaBank’s fund reporting needed a flexible software solution that would ensure industry compliance with IFRS but also improve and streamline its business processes by enabling effective and agile financial reporting.
Prior to deploying Ilog JRules, DekaBank had business rules hard-coded in its IT systems, which meant that changes, such as the new IFRS rules, were difficult to implement. Using Ilog JRules, the business users from the fund reporting division have direct access to the reporting process templates, instead of waiting for the IT team to change software code, as it was handled previously.
The new process allowed 2,800 new rules to be implemented within four weeks by only four users from the business department, reducing the time-to-market for new IFRS rules by over 50%.
Pressure on banks to comply with financial reporting standards is always immense and the latest IFRS directive is no exception, said Kalliopi Minga, head of financial and regulatory reporting at DekaBank. The Ilog solution allows us to meet such demands head-on and has already provided us with tangible business benefits. Thanks to the implementation, our business users can ensure that their reports satisfy investors, as well as regulatory and business requirements for security, traceability and audit of policy changes.
The new technology has also enabled the bank to increase the number of reporting templates it offers its clients from one to three. As a result, DekaBank can provide customized reports, allowing it to more closely tailor the template to meet customer needs.