Independent Banker - May 2023 - 11

Month-End Automation Simplifies Audits
How It All Started
Why ART?
Citizens and Farmer's (C&F) Bank is a publicly traded
financial institution founded in 1927. Based in Virginia
with $2 billion in assets, C&F Bank has five subsidiaries
and offers community banking, mortgage lending and
consumer finance services.
With three separate accounting departments, the monthend
close relied heavily on paper, which quickly became
burdensome when it came to activities like pulling
requests for auditors.
" It was not very efficient. There was a lot of paperwork. My
team would prepare the reconciliations, print them out,
sign them with all the support, put them on my desk and I
would review them on paper. Then we would box them up
at the end of the month and store them, " Corporate
Controller Matt Guth recalls. " Pretty much every night
during the month-end close I would leave work with a huge
stack of papers. " Matt remembered a former client who
had a reconciliation tool and how much more efficient it
made the process.
In 2019 C&F Bank decided to implement ART by SkyStem.
" It wasn't too hard of a sell, " Matt mentioned. " We just had
to find the right tool for us. "
SkyStem's ART met C&F Bank's key objectives in the following areas:
Standardization: The accounting team previously used cover
sheets in Excel to handle reconciliations. This led to
inconsistencies between different employees, as each person
had their own way of working. ART's standard forms allowed C&F
to have more uniform reconciliations.
Eliminating paper: Digitizing the month-end close took away the
burden of storing piles of reconciliations and documentation.
Additionally, the work could now be done from anywhere.
Streamlined workflow: A larger team working at different times
can lead to complications. Automating due dates and
assignments with email alerts and electronic sign-offs helped
ensure tasks were done on time.
Flexible functionality: With the project management module, the
team had tools for work outside regularly occurring activities.
The department also utilized ART to document controls outside
of the month-end close.
Painless implementation: With no need to involve the Bank's IT
team, ART was able to get up and running within one month. " It
was very easy, " remembers the Corporate Controller.
Happier auditors: Before going paperless, employees took
longer to find and pull requests. After implementing ART, the
auditors were able to find the information easily.
That's one thing I really like about ART. It gives auditors
access and allows them to pull anything they need directly
without coming to me or my team.
-Corporate Controller, C&F Bank
The Results
ART has significantly cut down on time it takes to find and
send items during audits.
Auditors can download reconciliations and review sign-offs
and documentation-all with their own log-in.
With the audit license configurable to grant or restrict
access to notes, periods, accounts and status, C&F Bank has
the flexibility to work with auditors on their terms.
info@skystem.com
646-833-3177
Independent Banker - May 2023

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