Reconciliation and reporting module automates critical financial processes and controls
Brookfield, Wis., March 31, 2008 — CheckFree, now part of Fiserv Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading provider
of information technology services to the financial industry, today launched CheckFree Account CertificationTM,
an automated financial reporting control framework that assists organizations with implementation of a sound
financial governance strategy and helps ensure compliance across multiple regulatory mandates.
Using configurable business rules that enforce financial period close policies and audit requirements, CheckFree
Account CertificationTM helps enable organizations to automate the scheduling, preparation, review, approval,
analysis and auditing of reconciliation information – information that is critical to the integrity of financial close
and period-end reporting.
“Organizations increasingly have a lot at stake when it comes to regulatory compliance,” said Mark Cappell,
senior vice president and general manager, Operational Risk Management, CheckFree, now part of Fiserv. “The
cost of non-disclosure is high, and can lead to reduced shareholder value, loss of reputation, high audit fees
and potential fines. In a recent review of material weaknesses disclosed under Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, 20
percent of weaknesses were related to failures in account reconciliations, review procedures or compliance with
control policies. CheckFree's holistic approach to control and compliance enables organizations to standardize
business processes and embed risk management into their daily controls.”
Designed to seamlessly integrate with existing CheckFree Reconciliation and Exception Management solutions or
function as a stand-alone solution, CheckFree Account CertificationTM helps enable organizations to:
- Assign ownership of reconciliation and certification activities
- Enforce reconciliation and financial reporting frequency policies
- Tightly control reporting review and escalation procedures
- Maintain proper segregation of duties
- Mitigate operational risk by focusing staff on higher risk accounts• Promote and facilitate a ‘'prove it' approach to ensure confidence and streamline audits
- Reduce the cost of compliance and audit functions
“With the level of manual processes and spreadsheet utilization in practice today, many businesses are
experiencing non-adherence to standard procedures, which can lead to internal fraud, irregular application of
accounting principles, untimely reconciliation of financial data and unreliable financial reporting among other
impacts,” said Andy Mellor, product manager, Operational Risk Management, CheckFree, now part of Fiserv. “It
is increasingly clear that enterprise control and compliance applications, such as CheckFree Account Certification,
play a key role in demonstrating effective governance of critical financial activities, and improving the timeliness
and quality of financial processes and reporting – all of which underpin cross-compliance with multiple regulatory
mandates and initiatives.”
CheckFree, now part of Fiserv, has also released a white paper entitled ‘Cross-Regulation Compliance: Embracing
the Paradigm Shift from Necessary Evil to Pervasively Achievable'. This informative insight is available now to
download at www.checkfreesoftware.com.
About Fiserv, Inc.
Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a Fortune 500 company, provides information management and electronic commerce
systems and services to the financial and insurance industries. Leading services include transaction processing,
outsourcing, electronic bill payment and presentment, investment management solutions, business process
outsourcing (BPO), software and systems solutions. Headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., the company is the leading
provider of core processing solutions for U.S. banks, credit unions and thrifts. Fiserv was ranked the largest
provider of information technology services to the financial services industry worldwide in the 2004, 2005 and
2006 FinTech 100 surveys. In 2007, the company completed the acquisition of CheckFree, a leading provider of
electronic commerce services. Fiserv reported nearly $4 billion in total revenue from continuing operations for
2007. For more information, please visit www.fiserv.com.
Fiserv Corporate Contact
Lori Stafford
Fiserv, Inc.
Assistant Vice President, External Comm.
(262) 879-5130
lori.stafford@fiserv.com