When a subsidiary of Terberg Group merges with the Spanish RosRoca Group, its turnover increases by 100%. This requires major changes within the reporting streams, especially since two different reporting GAAPS are used. The family business also wants to improve the planning process. By reporting with OneStream, all these changes can be implemented quickly.
Terberg Environmental's merger with Spain's RosRoca Group instantly makes Terberg Group one of the bigger players in Europe. "Through the acquisition we have doubled in size," says Bart de Haas of Terberg Group. Turnover increases by about 100% and the international organization grows to 2,500 employees. The number of entities also doubles from 25 to 50. The family business is a global supplier of specialty vehicles and lease cars, among other things.
Multiple GAAPs in one platform
The impact of this acquisition on finance is multiple. "We got a broader information need and wanted to further professionalize our reporting streams," Bart continues. "Moreover, with OneStream we now report in both Dutch GAAP and UK GAAP." This is because the new Terberg RosRoca Group is based in the United Kingdom. This means reporting according to UK GAAP, while Terberg Group reports according to Dutch GAAP.
A unique solution is created around the reporting for the two different GAAPs. "Both GAAPs are generated within the same platform," says Andreas Nederhoed, involved in the implementation of OneStream from Finext. "The entities load the data at once, after which we report in two ways."
Reporting with OneStream
The Terberg Group likes to be at the forefront of its consolidation and reporting processes. A few years ago, for example, the family-owned company was the second organization in the Benelux to implement OneStream. "By reporting with OneStream you notice that the flexibility of the platform helps with integration," says Ivo Jansen of Terberg Group. "This flexibility was also originally one of the reasons for choosing this solution." Other reasons for the choice at the time were speed and reliability.
The family business wants to take many more steps with the platform. "We are now only using 20% of OneStream's capabilities," says Bart. Reason enough to start a follow-up implementation. "OneStream can do a lot more than what we initially purchased it for, for example around creating cross-sections and reporting requirements," says Ivo. "Now that we know the potential of OneStream, we can set it up even better."
"Now that we know the potential of OneStream, we can set it up even better."
Rolling forecast
One of the next steps is to set up the planning process. "We want to make the planning process more efficient," Bart says. "Last year we spent 3 months collecting the budgets, getting them into OneStream and getting it out cleanly." "OneStream can support that process very well," says Maaike Brouwer of Finext. "We now set it up so that users no longer enter data into spreadsheets, but directly into OneStream."
Bart is a big proponent of a rolling forecast. "Everyone is busy during the budget round in September, but I want the organization to continuously look to the future. If you do an 18-month forecast in June, you actually already have the first version of your budget. Then management can already look at it. The feedback from management, such as less costs or more revenue, can then be conceived in the next forecast. In this way, the forecast is looked at every month and thus becomes increasingly accurate." However, this still requires a change in mentality within the organization. "This way of thinking does not yet match what the controllers are used to," says Ivo. "In OneStream everything is possible, but people have to go along with it," agrees Bart. "You want to prevent people from thinking it's a black box."
Professionalization battlethanks to reporting with OneStream
In terms of internal organization, Terberg Group is also developing rapidly. "We are busy professionalizing the organization. This has to do with a larger change process; how do we want to manage the organization now that we have become larger?" says Bart. "George Terberg has been running the company for 37 years. Before, he had so much sense of the business that he didn't need the numbers to know if things were going well. However, the organization has gotten bigger, and he is distancing himself more. The board of directors needs more information".
At the same time, the information needs of the business also come into play. "Each component has a lot of freedom; entrepreneurship is paramount. Because OneStream is so flexible, we hope to respond quickly to information requests. The value of such a software package then comes out strongly." explains Bart. They make this information insightful by using the dashboarding function in OneStream.
"It's better to keep it simple. Then it's easier to understand, more efficient and easier to exchange."
Weighing wishes
When implementing all the requirements, Bart and Ivo do think it is important to keep the purpose of the modifications in mind. Bart: "You always have to ask yourself what you are using it for." Take, for example, the tension between reporting to the group and local accountability requirements. "Countries have to report to the group 12 times a year. That should be leading compared to the local accountability requirements, where the local organization only has to answer to once a year."
"When you see all the possibilities of the package, you're initially tempted to make it too complex," says Ivo. "It's better to keep it simple. Then it's easier to understand, more efficient ánd easier to exchange."
