REG-Reporter

1. The Regulatory Reporting Burden
2. The Automated Solution
3. The REG-Reporter Process Flow
4. Ease of Integration
5. The REG-Reporter Reconciliation Reports
6. On-going Support
7. Features at a Glance

^top

The Regulatory Reporting Burden
Globally bankers often attempt to prepare regulatory reports using banking applications that were developed to process transactions and produce accounting entries, not to do reporting. This situation is complicated by the use of multiple banking systems running on different platforms from various vendors or legacy systems developed in-house.

The increasing volatility and volume of central banks and regulatory agencies reporting requirements around the globe, or even a bank's head office, as well as the existence of multiple and varied sources of data, make it ever more complex and time consuming to prepare reports. Based on this, bankers spend more time preparing and do not allow for sufficient time to analyze their reports to ensure accuracy thus avoiding any potential penalties which could be imposed upon the bank for avoidable inaccuracies. Banks that rely primarily on the general ledger for reporting find that it is very difficult to understand and analyze reported figures since they use some form of manually prepared spreadsheets to provide the sub ledger detail required for reporting which has no easy-to-follow audit trail, nor is there any reporting logic that can be analyzed. Finally, as banks merge across borders, they are seeking simplified and integrated global solutions. Although the merged banks have different IT systems across branches, they want a standard data model and one source database for reporting.

^topThe Automated Solution

REG-Reporter is SOFGEN's flagship reporting solution which has become the de facto industry standard for automating banks' regulatory reporting needs. This innovative solution addresses the financial reporting requirements of both domestic and international banks and financial institutions by automating compliance with mandated reports to central banks, regulatory agencies, senior management and head offices. The solution helps ensure the accuracy and integrity of financial reports while increasing the efficiency of reporting and mitigating associated risks. It also increases the level of transparency that the central banks are demanding worldwide. REG-Reporter works easily with multiple sources of information as it standardizes data elements and automates report production.

Additionally, REG-Reporter can help an organization accomplish its automation objectives - a data repository of detailed contract-level information; the ability to translate internal information into standard codes (i.e. country, currency, product, customer type, relationship, industry); clear auditable reports and working papers which simplify the work of auditors; concise logical instructions which are maintained as the regulators make changes; report diary; and forms management.

^topThe REG-Reporter Process Flow

REG-Reporter combines information from all of a bank's front and back office systems together with general ledger information and feeds it into a central data repository, where key data is translated into standardized codes recognized by the inherent logic of the software. This single source of information eliminates the concerns associated with using several banking applications. The resulting data is then compiled into the line and column of the report formats accepted by the applicable central bank / regulatory agency. If a bank already utilizes a data repository/warehouse with the required level of information, REG-Reporter can interface directly with this source to produce the required reports.

^topEase of Integration

A REG-Reporter Interface Specification Guide is available to simplify the integration process. The guide describes the interface file layout and details the information that has to be filled into various fields of the file. For ease of integration, the fields and record types are described in general banking terms, enabling the development of interface programs from a wide range of banking applications. Other important integration features include:

• Automated extract programs (Adaptors) and import procedure (ETL)
  
• Generic standard/logical instructions in reports
  
• Client specific logic instructions in reports (if required)
  
• Data mapping within REG-Reporter, NOT within the extract
  
• Both contract-level data and general ledger balances imported

^topThe REG-Reporter Reconciliation Reports

Regulatory agencies and internal bank management worldwide are demanding more detail and transparency for financial and regulatory reporting. A complete reconciliation of reported figures back to the general ledger has become an industry requirement. To that end, REG-Reporter provides several reconciliation reports within the application to satisfy even the most stringent of bank policies.

• Asset/Liability Reconciliation. This listing provides a trial balance for assets and liabilities at the general ledger account level. Since the general ledger accounts are used as a basis for further reconciliation functions, it is important to confirm that total assets and total liabilities in REG-Reporter are consistent with the bank's general ledger account balances.
• GL and Sub Ledger Reconciliation. This report provides the tool for reconciling sub ledger amounts to their respective posting general ledger account balances.
  
• Report Reconciliation. This report provides a reconciliation of the records that comprise the amounts on the generated report with the corresponding general ledger balances.

^top

On-going Support

SOFGEN recognizes that an extremely important element of providing an automated regulatory reporting solution is the on-going maintenance of the software. We offer several unique services, which have earned us the reputation as the industry standard for automating banks' regulatory reporting needs.

Keeping Up With the Regulators
Whenever there is a change or modification to any of the reports we maintain, we will create an "update release" which can be conveniently downloaded from our secure website. Due to the architecture of our software, we can easily make relevant changes and ensure that our customers are in compliance in the time-frame required.

New Software Enhancements
REG-Reporter users have the advantage of participating in the REG-Reporter User Group, which brings together users in a forum to discuss software and business-related issues which impact regulatory reporting. This user group also assists SOFGEN in product development and in determining the future direction of
REG-Reporter.

^top

Features at a Glance

REG-Reporter is a proven solution that has been reviewed by banking regulators and approved by internal and external auditors. The software offers a wide range of report formats, online reporting, built-in reporting logic and a complete audit trail. Reports can be submitted electronically to regulatory authorities. Because REG-Reporter combines data into a single database and translates it into standard codes, it simplifies report preparation and ongoing maintenance. REG-Reporter includes built-in logic allowing the standard data from the source systems to be translated into the salient line and column of each report, making it easy to determine the basis on which reports are to be produced. Key features include:

• Automatic generation of U.S. & International regulatory reports. SOFGEN's current list of regulatory reports is available upon request.
• Electronic submission of statutory returns to central banks
  
• Reporting with general ledger & sub-ledger reconciliation (Database Reconciliation Reports, Asset/Liability Reconciliation Reports, Trial Balance Reports, Average Balance Reconciliation Reports)
  
• Detailed audit trail of reported figures
  
• Drill down/Drill Up capabilities - users have the ability to drill down from any line within a regulatory report to a detailed audit trail; from the audit trail, one can further drill down to interrogate each individual deal/contract, which also includes the additional related information held in the data repository
  
• Efficient interfacing architecture ensuring that data extraction is 100% independent of report generation
  
• Manual data adjustment with data modification log
  
• Variance analysis for all reports between any two periods
  
• Local support is provided via SOFGEN's substantial international network of offices