IBM Cognos Disclosure Management
“CDM – What is it? What pain points/struggles does it address? How can it help my organization?” These are the common discussions I have been having with many of our clients lately. The clients range from midmarket to large caps and publicly traded, as well as privately held. There is a definite need to better understand IBM’s Cognos Disclosure Management (or CDM) product offering and how an organization can leverage it to realize its unique value. Below, I have summarized the solution and its benefits, which will serve as a good starting point in understanding IBM’s CDM offering.
What is Cognos Disclosure Management?
IBM Cognos Disclosure Management is a secure, enterprise-scalable, reporting and process automation solution that gives users the ability to collect enterprise data and merge with focused narrative analysis in a controlled and auditable environment. CDM automates reports and presentations (external and/or internal) which are lengthy, recurring (weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually) and has multi-author/reviewer access.
Which struggles does CDM address?
Inefficiency – Significant time is required to collect, consolidate and perform analysis for management and regulatory reports.
Using Multiple Sources – Disparate and non-integrated Performance Management and Business Intelligence systems make it difficult to quickly update reports and analysis, forcing the need for multiple iterations, as the source data changes frequently.
Increased Inter-Department Data Dependency – Reporting and analysis is a long, manual process, completed by LOB contributors who rely on constantly changing data from the finance and operational departments.
Lack of Flexibility – Limited ability to incorporate business review and analysis in the report while running into versioning issues.
Lack of Transparency – Limited data lineage between systems and reports, which limits the ability to ensure proper control over business rules and calculations.
Lack of Governance – Silos of data limit the ability of achieving data governance and report standardization objectives.
How does CDM help my organization?
Establish Consistency – Configure and enforce automated, intelligent processes across budgeting, forecasting and the financial close & reporting process.
Increased Data Lineage – Create dynamic reports that automatically update when data sources are updated, ensuring a single, consistent version of the truth throughout the Office of Finance and the entire organization.
Controlled Collaboration – A single, secure, enterprise-scalable solution which allows multiple users to view, review and edit reports simultaneously, without versioning issues.
Workflow/Task Management – Gain insight into critical performance management and reporting processes by utilizing process dashboards and alerts.
Data and Process Governance – Standardize proper review and validation procedures throughout the organization.
Control Security Risk – Comprehensive set of internal security features which will prevent data leaks and insider trading.
Ease of Microsoft Office integration – Built-in functionality to integrate and leverage Microsoft Excel, Powerpoint, and Word knowledge and expertise, while utilizing the added functionality of an enterprise database driven solution.
Overall Benefits
Cognos Disclosure Management allows finance organizations to transform their operations into an effective, efficient organization, while ensuring data accuracy. It also allows intelligent and capable finance and accounting professionals to focus on high value analysis and insights in order to drive performance of the organization instead of being data chasers and spreadsheet organizers. CDM can streamline your reporting and analysis processes for reports in the areas of Regulatory Affairs, HR, Supply Chain, Strategic Sustainability, Corporate Research and Insight, XBLR Mandates and Public Sector reporting.
Lodestar Solutions would be more than happy to provide you with more information or a demo of IBM’s Cognos Disclosure Management product offering. Click here for more information on CDM.