Optimization of financial reports in Metro AG with CCH Tagetik

METRO AG is one of the leading international specialists for wholesale and direct food sales. In the various sales divisions and companies, which range from the METRO/MAKRO Cash & Carry division to Real supermarkets and supply providers for the upscale catering trade, the listed group employs around 150,000 people.

In view of this diversity, which also includes the most diverse pre-systems, languages and currencies, the representation of corporate law challenges within METRO already played a major role in the past. Since the turn of the millennium, an SAP-based solution has been used as part of the consolidation process. However, the system, which has grown over the years, increasingly posed problems for finance employees, recalls Björn Hoffmann, Head of Consolidation System, METRO AG. Reasons for this included a relatively low degree of automation and a lack of flexibility.

"We have reached the limits of our capacity with this product over time. The amount of work has gradually increased, as much of it could only be done manually. Due to the corporate structure at METRO, there is practically no standstill - we are required to reflect changes in company law relatively frequently and to carry out simulations. With the legacy system, this was often only possible via additional postings and additional calculations and the analysis of historical data was very time-consuming. In addition, only limited restatement functions were available for adjusting the previous year, as an example."

Due to its group structure, the international retailing company METRO faces many challenges when it comes to mapping changes in corporate law. In order to achieve more flexibility and to increase the degree of automation, the listed company replaced the previously used consolidation solution. With the introduction of CCH Tagetik, METRO has been able to optimize the consolidation steps, significantly shorten the financial reporting process, and is now able to respond much more flexibly to finance requirements through simulations and scenarios.

Today, CCH Tagetik is primarily used in the METRO Group for the consolidation of actual figures as well as planned figures including forecasting and budgeting. Reporting also takes the form of standard reports on the solution. Above all, employees in the Controlling and Consolidation departments work with the system every day when recording and evaluating business data; up to 250 users can access it in parallel for reporting purposes.

Main advantages Metro AG gains with CCH Tagetik Financial Reporting solution