Turnaround to a Data-driven Approach for Sustainable Reporting

Our client, a leading bank in the Netherlands, encountered significant challenges with their manual reporting processes for a key sustainability metric related to businesses. In today’s banking industry, reporting processes are becoming increasingly important, with a pressing need to automate manual steps due to escalating regulatory requirements. An automated workflow not only aids in preventing data quality issues over time but also immediately reduces manual workload. For one individual, this reduction is anticipated to be approximately 20%. To address these challenges, ADC was asked to evaluate the existing processes and implement an automated system to deliver swift and precise results.

The project started with a thorough analysis and scoping of the current workflow. A visualisation of the process not only helps us establish a concrete framework but also assists the client in gaining a clearer understanding of how their operations can be optimised. By collaborating closely with the client, we were able to identify all outstanding issues within their existing process.

One challenge the team faced was their reliance on indirect data acquisition from other teams.  This dependency caused delays and left them without visibility or control over the data during intermediate steps, turning the process into a black box. Based on the client’s requirements, we implemented two major solutions that addressed their specific needs and enhanced the overall efficiency of their operations. 

1. The first solution of ADC concentrated on ensuring future high-quality reporting by establishing a foundational baseline. ADC’s data expertise was pivotal in developing a deterministic method that reproduced accurate results for the previous major reporting date. As reporting is iterative, with results from prior periods being reused, establishing a validated starting point was crucial. This approach was the only way to ensure that all current and future results are valid, allowing us to confidently endorse them. 
2. The second solution focused on automating future workflow, ensuring it was deterministic, user-friendly, and straightforward. This involved optimising team workflows and addressing upstream and downstream processes to determine the most efficient methods for data ingestion and reporting output transmission. Combining the client’s industry expertise with ADC’s proficiency in data and process automation, we developed a target architecture for a deterministic process. 

ADC distinguishes itself through its commitment to delivering solutions that are sustainable in the long term without requiring continued involvement. Therefore, we needed to identify a suitable landing spot for the automated process and reassign both technical and business ownership. This required us to understand and align with the bank’s broader transformations and the future way of working. As a result, we ensured a future-proof delivery and sustained impact of the solution well beyond our roll-off. 

Within a single quarter, ADC, in close collaboration with the client, successfully transformed the reporting process from error-prone and time-consuming to one that is high-quality and straightforward. The client now benefits from a more efficient and reliable reporting system, where cleaning and processing the data no longer take hours but are completed within seconds at the click of a button. This not only reduces the manual workload for the client but also mitigates risks through automation, saving up to one day per week. This transformation has also enabled more frequent reporting capabilities, allowing for monthly updates instead of quarterly ones, which facilitates closer sustainability monitoring for the client. Moreover, the time saved can be redirected towards tasks they are passionate about, providing them with the opportunity to focus on deploying their sustainable expertise. 

If you’d like to learn more about this case or explore how we can help you tackle similar challenges, please contact Henriette Claus (Financial Services Lead).