Everything you need for a smooth year-end closing process, all in one software package

In the field of software solutions for the preparation of annual accounts, the balance sheet rating based on an interface with Creditreform is entirely new and unique. What makes it special is the immediate digital feedback from Creditreform and the provision of the balance sheet rating with key figures, including industry-wide and nationwide comparisons. The Documentation module brings together two topics that belong together – within a single piece of software rather than across separate tools: the written documentation of target processes and the visualisation provided by the new Live-Chart module – automatically generated as a process diagram.

Ever since the e-balance sheet was introduced, we at hsp have been convinced that there are – and will continue to be – further parties interested in structured data from annual accounts. The use of XBRL and the resulting standardised provision of data makes it easy to cater for a wide variety of recipients. This is how the ELBA project was launched a few years ago. Banks had recognised that financial statement data captured using taxonomies would optimise and simplify processes within the banks. Today, this process is known as digital financial reporting and is becoming increasingly established.

In Opti.Tax, the annual accounts are already prepared in the module of the same name using taxonomies specified by the tax authorities, for example for the submission of the electronic balance sheet are specified. This ensures there is no discontinuity in financial reporting.

Once the annual accounts have been prepared in Opti.Tax, the new release allows you to create projects for the e-balance sheet and the Federal Gazette can be generated automatically – quite simply at the touch of a button. All information relevant to the project is transferred from the annual accounts and the linked previous year’s project, e.g. account assignments or previous year’s figures, which are required in the current project as prior-period figures. In the E-Balance Sheet project, the effort involved in preparation is significantly reduced, as only a few points remain to be addressed. These may include:

  • the reconciliation between the commercial and tax balance sheets

and/or

  • Changes to the special and supplementary balance sheets.

In the project for the Federal Gazette, the notes and management report are taken from the annual financial statements where necessary. The simplification rules allow the balance sheet to be condensed so that only the information intended for publication is published. As before, the user can review what is to be transferred and how it will appear before publishing or filing it.

Attention: New release! Opti.Tax 20.0 is here!

Financial reporting without a change in medium

The digital financial report is sent to the banks directly from the annual accounts project, and the Financial statement rating by Creditreform ordered. The user is guided through the process during dispatch, can send additional documents to the recipient and check the data before submission. When submitting the annual accounts to Creditreform, the user can choose between the following options:

  • Transmission without the data being used in the Creditreform business credit report
  • Transmission involving the use of data in the Creditreform credit reference service

If the user consents to the use of their data in the Creditreform business credit report, they will receive a creditworthiness analysis as feedback on the data provided. In addition, the user can order the balance sheet rating. Both reports are generated within seconds and displayed directly as feedback in Opti.Tax once the submission process is complete. The rapid provision of the reports is made possible by the use of the XBRL taxonomy.

Documentation of target processes

The core element of process documentation is the description of processes. This applies not only to management accounting, but to all areas of the organisation that have an impact on accounting entries. In the Documentation module, it has been possible from the outset to document actual processes in the „Organisation of Processes“ report component. When recording actual processes in projects carried out, the question repeatedly arose as to whether there are best practices or benchmarks for processes that companies can use as a guide. With the new release of Opti.Tax, it is now possible to import such target processes and use them to benchmark one’s own current processes against them.

As well as documenting processes in writing, it is at least as important to be able to „visualise“ them. The new Live-Chart module enables precisely this. Process chains can be dragged and dropped into the Live-Chart and displayed visually. In the next step, decisions can be inserted and processes linked together in accordance with the BPMN model. Changes to the order of process steps affect the written documentation, and vice versa. As a result, the Live-Chart evolves dynamically, and there is no longer any need for duplicate maintenance across two different software systems.