How a global food producer cut its consolidation time from 10 to 1.5 days
Success story Thai Union Group PCL
Enterprises operating at an international level rely on the efficient preparation of their consolidated financial statements and on publishing their financial figures quickly. Yet complex group structures and ever-stricter reporting requirements put them in a hugely challenging position. This is why Thai Union Group relies on LucaNet – including in achieving a fast close.
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How Thai Union uses LucaNet software:
- Consolidated financial statements in accordance with Thai GAAP, IFRS, and US GAAP
- Internal and external reporting
- Automated intercompany reconciliation
About the enterprise
The Bangkok-based Thai Union Group Public Company Limited generates around EUR 3.7 billion in annual turnover, which makes it one of the world's largest seafood producers.
Use cases:
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Industry :
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Trade
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Core Business :
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Provider of fish products
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Headquarter city :
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Bangkok (Thailand)
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Employees :
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49,000
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Website :
The challenge
Excel – the great time waster
In the past, Thai Union Group carried out its consolidation based on Excel. This led to well-known disadvantages, such as a lack of intercompany reconciliation, insufficient data quality, and unnecessary delays in the process. As a result, the consolidation process took ten whole days to complete – and management reporting using consolidated results was impossible until 25 days after the figures had been submitted. There were several aims that Thai Union hoped to achieve by introducing LucaNet, as Gion Pfuetzner, Head of Finance IT, explains: "The issue first of all was reducing the time required for the consolidation process. In addition to this, we also wanted to make management reporting more efficient, implement an improved budget process with greater automation, and help make the data more consistent and transparent. Finally, we wanted to replace Excel with a professional software tool."
The solution
Consolidation process cut by 8.5 days
The Thai Union Group includes a variety of overseas sub-groups. The enterprise still uses ten different foreign currencies. As such, Thai Union follows a highly complex, multi-stage consolidation process in accordance with Thai GAAP, US GAAP, and IFRS. 65 reporting entities need to be consolidated in LucaNet, and a total of 108 users have access to the database. Thai Union Group masters these challenges using all of LucaNet's consolidation apps to automate and simplify the process, such as the app for the elimination of intercompany debt and the elimination of intercompany income and expense. On top of this, it also uses custom apps it has configured itself. "The consolidation apps in particular have really taken the pressure off us," Gion Pfuetzner reports. “The major benefit they offer is that users can adjust the apps themselves without the help of a consultant.
The software has helped to make communication and data collection within the company group much simpler. The process of IC reconciliation alone was reduced from two whole weeks to only three days, although our group is continuously growing and acquiring more companies. Thanks to LucaNet, we were able to do away with the Excel spreadsheets we had previously used and put an end to the large volume of e-mails sent during the reconciliation process. And finally, the quality of the data also improved dramatically. All in all, LucaNet has enabled us to cut the consolidation process from ten to 1.5 days."
Monthly reporting completed 15 days quicker
Reporting is also very important at the Thai Union Group, since the enterprise not only needs to keep its internal stakeholders informed, but also the Stock Exchange of Thailand and other external stakeholders and investors. Thanks to LucaNet, the reporting process is now much faster and more efficient, as Gion Pfuetzner explains: "We used to need 25 days to complete our monthly reports. With LucaNet, we can finish the whole process within ten days, including consolidation. The software reliably records and validates the data generated by our international group, meaning we can consolidate the data almost at the press of a button and efficiently prepare them for reporting. And all this is possible in a single tool, with greater transparency and clarity for everyone involved. LucaNet has given us the perfect tools to execute a fast close and quickly provide our stakeholders with the financial data they need."
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