A brief guide to using automated reconciliation to improve operational efficiency

At first glance, reconciliation is a simple activity, matching settled trade, position, and cash transactions at the end of every financial cycle. Asset managers have been doing reconciliations for decades. But the continued use of manual processes, spreadsheets, and other legacy tools makes reconciliation more laborious, risk-laden, and time-consuming than it needs to be, significantly limiting operational efficiency.

This is the exact opposite of what asset managers need to do. Faced with increasing global regulations and pressure to cut operating costs, both traditional and alternative asset managers are looking to boost operational efficiency and gain a competitive edge. New funds and experienced players alike favor cloud computing solution because these solutions can help funds of all sizes cut down on capital expenses and boost company productivity.

Put these two ideas together and you get a strong case for improving operational efficiency with an automated, cloud-based reconciliation solution.

The IVP Reconciliation Solution automates, accelerates, and simplifies reconciliation with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology designed to handle peak volume, velocity, and asset class complexity. Here are five ways it can help asset managers improve operational efficiency:

1. Automated reconciliation

The IVP Reconciliation can automate reconciliation of complex transactions, including OTC instruments. This allows funds to move away from slow, risky manual processes and instead trust a purpose-built platform to run reconciliations automatically, delivering up to a 30% gain in operational efficiency.

2. AI-powered suggestions

The IVP Reconciliation Solution features a suggestion engine that recognizes patterns, “learning” a fund’s asset mix and counterparties to predict 50% to 60% of manual user actions. In other words, it automatically recommends reconciliation mappings, keys, and attributes, so users can set up new bank, account, cash, or balance sheet reconciliations in minutes.

3. Month-end closing

With the IVP Reconciliation Solution, month-end close reconciliation runs in parallel with daily reconciliation activities. This helps funds optimize monthly/quarterly fund accounting, balance sheet reconciliation, and NAV reconciliation as well as avoid duplicate work with a single “as-of-daily” or “as-of-month-end” close view. The end result is a much more efficient month-end close.

4. Any-to-any reconciliation

With the IVP Reconciliation Solution, funds can quickly reconcile data from a fund, fund admin, and counterparty with a single, N-way reconciliation. Out-of-the-box reconciliations include bank, cash, position, trade, trial balance, TEV, NAV, P&L, and month-end close. This capability improves operational efficiency while reducing the risk of manual errors in new recons.

5. Embedded broker communication

The IVP Reconciliation Solution allows funds to communicate directly with prime brokers and custodians via email from the break blotter. It also automatically attaches break sheets, uses “smart compose” for the email body, and provides a full audit trail. All of these automated steps save time and effort for reconciliation team.

Manual reconciliation is frequently a laborious and tedious process. But it doesn’t have to be. With an automated solution, funds can put time-consuming spreadsheets in the rear view mirror and move forward with a faster, more efficient approach.

Learn more about the IVP Reconciliation Solution right now or contact us at sales@ivp.in to schedule a demo.