Centralizing Financial Disclosures: Advanced Statutory Footnote Reporting and Automation Success with Workiva
Case Studies
Situation
A Fortune 100 diversified insurance and financial services organization, with complex operations spanning property and casualty, life insurance, retirement solutions, and asset management, historically relied on a legacy financial reporting system to prepare and manage numerous audited GAAP and Statutory financial statements along with regulatory disclosures. The reporting processes involved multiple teams and manual compilation from diverse file types, creating inefficiencies and inconsistencies that affected management, regulators, the Board, and limited SEC oversight.
Approach
Alpha Alternatives was engaged to transition the client’s financial reporting from the legacy system to the Workiva platform. Over five months and 12 Agile sprints, the team:
- Implemented the Workiva platform to create a connected and streamlined reporting environment enhancing data management, collaboration, and automation.
- Developed an advanced Statutory Footnote reporting solution shifting from an entity-by-entity model to a centralized footnote-centric framework, surpassing previous system capabilities.
- Created six Common Content Libraries to manage shared narrative and financial values across over 90 reports, using formula-driven logic for dynamic narrative updates.
- Automated data integration by linking financial data sources directly through Workiva’s Wdata, reducing manual effort and errors.
- Adopted Agile methodology to enable iterative development, adaptability, and frequent deliverables.
Impact
- Successful onboarding of 15 consolidated financial reports across multiple reporting teams including GAAP, Statutory, Benefit Plans, and Separate Account reporting.
- Delivered comprehensive enablement resources, source system integrations, replication processes, and a Q&A knowledge base supporting smooth adoption and client self-sufficiency.
- Post-implementation expansion to include additional Footnote reports delivered rapidly with ongoing replication support.
- Enhanced regulatory compliance, operational efficiency, and the ability to effectively meet stakeholder expectations.
- Recognized by the platform provider as a unique advancement in statutory footnote reporting implementation for the client.
Conclusion
The automated financial reporting implementation transformed the client’s approach to financial disclosures, streamlining processes, improving accuracy, and fostering scalability. The success has led to ongoing collaboration on additional reporting phases, and the client has become a valued advocate for the consultancy’s expertise and capabilities within the financial reporting technology space.
Project Team:
Executive Oversight: Steven Schwarz
Project Oversight: Mike McKinnie and Dakota Rose
Workiva Data Architect: Brett Hubert
Workiva Solution Architect: Jake Greenwell
Workiva Implementation Lead: Melissa Huang
Workiva Development Team: Jack Nelson and Peiqi Cao
Workiva Analysts: Agnes Lok and Davis Wilkie