BRIDGING GAPS Finnivo is a ‘one-stop shop’ that caters for all reporting and planning aspects
Finnivo software aims to simplify financial reporting processes for mining companies in Africa by automating the data collection process, thereby enabling finance teams to focus more on analysis and the effective presentation of results.
The Finnivo software is developed and supported by a partnership between South African software and services companies Finnivo Software and Infinitus Reporting Solutions.
The software caters to the complex needs of the capital-intensive mining industry, which is subject to several regulations and compliance obligations, Infinitus Reporting Solutions GM Alwyn Pretorius explains. These obligations require finance teams, particularly of listed entities, to gather, consolidate and report on various data streams in their financial reports.
Listed mining companies are required to file financial performance reports to shareholders quarterly and at the end of their financial years, thereby requiring a simplified solution to enable easier processes.
Pretorius says Finnivo has “contributed significantly” to the automation of the reporting and planning processes of various mining organisations in southern Africa and abroad.
The software is used by several mining organisations operating across a broad spectrum of sectors, including opencast, platinum and diamond mining.
Additional financial data and commentary are often required from different departments of a mining company and systems within various operational, environmental, human capital and production areas.
This results in finance teams spending significant amounts of time collecting data and compiling reports, which then need to be analysed and presented to enable better decision-making and shorter reporting cycles, he adds.
Finnivo simplifies this process by automating the entire data collection process, importing data directly from multiple-source systems and providing business units with a platform into which they can enter additional input or commentary.
According to Infinitus Reporting Solutions, the Finnivo platform provides corporate finance teams with in-depth information and analytical functionality, which, in turn, enables teams to delve deeply into data for extensive analysis and comprehensive understanding of financial figures.
It also facilitates the generation of various report outputs in different formats tailored to the needs of various stakeholders.
“Finnivo is a ‘one-stop shop’ that will cater for all the reporting and planning aspects of a mine. This includes financial and operational reporting and planning,” he says.
Pretorius highlights that in all cases of its implementation, Finnivo has resulted in shorter reporting cycles, deeper understanding of financial data and has contributed to better decision-making processes. Further, the system has increased the confidence of mining companies’ management teams in consolidating and managing their financial data.
Corporate finance teams are able to dedicate their time to the more value-adding aspects of their roles, as opposed to just assembling reports, he says.
Roll Out
When mining companies commission Finnivo, the initial implementation of the software is performed by highly qualified and experienced finance professionals that “speak the same language” as mining organisations’ finance teams.
Along with Infinitus Reporting Solutions’ unique implementation methodology, this enables the implementation to be completed on a fixed-cost basis and in less time, according to the company.
Owing to the software's design, finance teams can maintain and modify their reporting and planning applications, thus eliminating the need to rely on consultants, Infinitus Reporting Solutions reports.
Another key feature of Finnivo is its scenario-planning functionality, which Pretorius explains is crucial in the mining industry, which is often exposed to high volatility.
In this regard, the software allows for multiple scenarios for every forecast generated, providing a more robust and flexible financial planning tool.
The software enables finance teams to create customised data collection templates, which cater to all the data types required, as well as the different input methods.
The templates can be designed in computer software suite Microsoft Excel for ease of use, with a mining company’s own branding and calculations relative to their operations or industry.
Finnivo then publishes “packs” for all the different cost and profit centres or business units.
The software integrates into different source systems where data will be mapped and imported to the relevant sections within the data collection template.
Once the source data has been imported, business units can complete the remaining sections, such as ancillary information and commentary, before submitting their reconciled packs.
Corporate finance teams can then analyse the collated data, and initiate or post consolidation and adjustment journal entries where necessary, thereby generating various output reports from the consolidated information, Pretorius explains.
Finnivo also allows for multiple applications where different reporting or planning processes can be managed separately by different users, or with different templates, reporting structures or timelines.