Freedom Holding Corp. consolidates reporting with Anaplan

Freedom Holding Corp. is an international financial group headquartered in Almaty. The company conducts brokerage, banking, dealer and depository activities, provides securities management services. After the IPO, Freedom Holding set out to build a financial services ecosystem and became an active player in the M&A market in the Caspian region. The number of companies grew rapidly. Due to the dynamic development of the business, the process of consolidating reporting at Group level was becoming increasingly time-consuming and there were questions about the quality of the data.

Process maturity analysis showed high scores. However, the company needed a single platform to manage and optimise the process. There was a need for local specialists to be responsible for the preparation of raw data. There was also a need to systematise the process of identifying and capturing intercompany transactions for reporting purposes.

The Anaplan-based solution was implemented in four modules:

• Local reporting module, including collecting reports in local currencies, making adjustments and reclassifications, and translating data into the reporting currency;
• Intercompany transactions module: collecting, identifying and eliminating data on intercompany transactions at the transaction level;
• Consolidation module: collection of reporting forms for sub-holdings and the holding as a whole, preparation of data for placement on the stock exchange;
• Transcripts module: preparation of transcripts and explanations of key reporting items.

During the course of the project, the consolidation process was improved:

• A unified system of regulatory and reference information was organised for all group companies.
• The error-sensitive reporting process required the introduction of automated controls in accordance with SOX audit norms.
• The Freedom team prepared standardised forms for offloading analytical data from source systems for upload and processing in Anaplan.

• The clarity of responsibility distribution and transparency of the process in the Group companies at each stage of the work increased. At the end of the project, the average rating of the solution by the process participants in all parameters – sufficiency of functionality, absence of errors, user-friendliness, attractiveness of the user interface, transparency of the process – was in the top quartile.
• The quality of process management has improved. All stakeholders are on a single platform. Management now has a complete picture of the current state of the business and can control the pace of reporting.
• Inconsistencies and accounting errors are identified and resolved within the team early in the reporting process. The accuracy of reporting forms and disclosures has improved.