SandPoint Consulting

BlackLine Verity AI in 2026: What Controllers Need to Know Before BeyondTheBlack

SandPoint Consulting — Wed, 04 Nov 2026 21:30:13 +0000

BlackLine Verity AI now includes agents that prepare account reconciliations, calculate accruals and apply cash, while accountants review and sign off. With BeyondTheBlack 2026 in Orlando this November and AI governance expected to be the main theme, it helps to know before you go which agents are live today and what your auditors and IT team will ask about them. Below is where each agent stands and the questions we’d bring to Orlando if we were in your seat.

TL;DR

Verity Prepare, Verity Accruals and Verity Remit are in production use; Verity Match and Verity Collect are in early releases, with broader availability expected by the end of 2026.
BlackLine’s Finance Control Console, a single governance layer for every agent running on BlackLine, including partner- and customer-built ones, has been in preview since June 2026; a broader launch is expected at BeyondTheBlack.
Early adopters report 80–92% less manual effort on reconciliation preparation and accruals, and 80–90% match or straight-through rates on matching and cash application.
The controller’s team shifts from preparing work to reviewing it, which changes review skills, audit evidence and roles.
Full Verity access requires BlackLine platform pricing, and agent pricing is moving to outcome-based tiers.

Which BlackLine Verity AI agents are available now?

As of October 2026, three Verity AI agents are in production use (Prepare, Accruals and Remit), two are in early releases (Match and Collect), and the Finance Control Console that governs them is in preview. Most agents are rolling out in stages, so what one customer sees can differ from another’s. Confirm which capabilities are enabled in your tenant before you plan around them.

Capability	What it does	Status
Verity Prepare	Gathers support, matches transactions, identifies reconciling items and assembles an audit-ready reconciliation for review	Generally available since Jul 2026 (BlackLine). Capabilities are still expanding, so confirm which preparation steps run unassisted in your release
Verity Accruals	Gathers source data, emails vendors to confirm amounts, calculates accruals and drafts journals for review	Live; payroll and prepaid accrual agents expected by end of 2026 (Verity AI)
Verity Remit	Extracts remittance data from email, portals and bank feeds and matches it to open invoices	Available (BlackLine blog). Availability for existing customers has trailed new customers, so check your tenant
Verity Match	Uses AI to resolve the matching exceptions rules leave behind and recommends better match rules	Early-adopter release in use; broader availability expected by end of 2026
Verity Collect	Voice and digital agents that run collections outreach, log promises to pay and draft follow-ups	Early release in customer use; broader availability expected in Q4 2026
Finance Control Console	One registry, policy layer and audit trail for every agent, including partner- and customer-built ones	Preview since Jun 2026; broader launch expected at BeyondTheBlack, Nov 2026 (BlackLine)

Proven, lower-risk features are worth enabling first. Flux writes transaction-level variance explanations, Narrate drafts reporting commentary, Summarize condenses supporting documents, Forecast predicts customer payments, and Assist answers workflow questions. Insights, for natural-language analysis, is still rolling out (Verity AI).

How the pieces fit: agents do the work inside Studio360’s controls, the Console governs them, and your team signs off.

How does agentic AI change the close team’s work?

With agentic AI in the financial close, accountants move from preparing work to reviewing, approving and handling exceptions. Agents prepare the work and a person approves every action, inside the same internal-controls framework as the rest of the close (Verity AI).

Process area	Today (typical)	With BlackLine's agentic capabilities	Relevant capability
Account reconciliations	Preparer pulls support from several systems, ties out balances, writes explanations	Agents ingest support, match, flag reconciling items and draft explanations; preparer reviews a complete package with confidence scores	Verity Prepare (GA)
Transaction matching	Rules auto-match most volume; analysts investigate the long tail of exceptions by hand	AI proposes matches and new rules for the exception tail; analysts confirm	Verity Match (early release; broader availability by end of 2026)
Accruals and payroll accounting	Spreadsheet-driven estimates, manual journal prep each month	Agents calculate accruals and route journals through existing journal controls; reviewers approve	Verity Accruals (formerly WiseLayer)
Variance and flux analysis	Analysts write commentary after the numbers settle	Anomaly detection highlights outliers and suggests explanations during the close	Verity Flux and anomaly detection
Collections	Collectors work aging lists and call queues	Voice and digital agents make contact, summarize interactions and prioritize by urgency and sentiment	Verity Collect (early release; broader availability expected Q4 2026)
Cash application / remittances	Staff key or match remittance advice to open invoices	Remittances processed straight through (~90% STP, per BlackLine), with staff handling the rest	Verity Remit (available)
Credit and onboarding	Paper or email credit applications, periodic reviews	Digital applications, automated risk and fraud checks, continuous monitoring	NetNow (acquired)
AI oversight	Ad hoc; each tool governed separately, if at all	One registry and policy layer for every agent, with audit trails and exception queues	Finance Control Console (preview)

What this means for people and roles:

New review skills. Reviewers need to read an agent’s reasoning and confidence score and know when to reject it. Review checklists and sign-off evidence should be updated for AI-prepared work.
More time goes to exceptions. As straight-through rates rise, the remaining items are the hard ones. Expect fewer, more senior-skewed hours on exceptions.
A new “AI controller” responsibility. Someone in finance must own agent policies, certification status and monitoring in the Finance Control Console. This is separate from IT’s model governance.
Parallel runs before scale. For public companies, plan on two to three quarters of side-by-side testing with internal and external auditors before releasing an agent across the full account population. Build that into the timeline from day one.
AI is on by default. BlackLine switched its AI features from opt-in to opt-out.

What ROI can finance teams expect from Verity AI?

BlackLine’s early adopters report 80–92% less manual effort on reconciliation and accrual work, and 80–90% match or straight-through rates in matching and cash application. The figures cover only the tasks each agent handles. They are also vendor-reported, best-case results.

Capability	Reported result	Source
Verity Prepare	Up to 92% less manual reconciliation prep time	BlackLine, Jul 2026
Verity Remit	~90% straight-through processing; remittances processed in under a minute	BlackLine blog, Jul 2026
Verity Match	80–90% match rates in complex reconciliations	BlackLine, Apr 2026
Verity Accruals	Up to 80% less manual work; close up to 3 days faster	Verity AI

Beyond the percentages, the benefits finance leaders should weigh fall into four groups:

Speed. A shorter close, mainly by compressing reconciliation and accrual work that sits on the critical path.
Capacity. Hours freed from preparation can move to analysis, exception resolution and business partnering, or absorb growth without adding headcount.
Control quality. Every agent action is logged with its reasoning, and BlackLine’s June 2026 platform release promises end-to-end audit trails and explainable decision records (BlackLine, Jun 2026). Done well, this can make AI-prepared work more consistently documented than manual work.
Working capital. Collect, Remit and NetNow target faster cash application, better-prioritized collections and earlier credit-risk signals, which feed DSO and bad-debt outcomes.

Pricing belongs in the business case too. First, full Verity access sits behind BlackLine’s platform pricing, so customers still on seat-based contracts face a conversion decision, usually best timed with renewal. Second, BlackLine is moving to price agents by outcome (reconciliations prepared, journals booked, collection calls made) rather than by AI tokens. That is good news for budgeting, but the free allotments and tier thresholds deserve close attention in negotiations.

How do you get auditors, IT and security comfortable with AI agents?

Expect most of the effort to go into adoption and assurance. Plan for these issues up front:

Auditor and SOX comfort. AI-prepared reconciliations and journals sit inside ICFR. Agree with external auditors early on what evidence they need (reasoning logs, confidence thresholds, parallel-run results, reviewer sign-off) and how agent changes are controlled.
Data quality and connectivity. Agents are only as good as the support they can reach. Snowflake and Workday connectors help, but unstructured support (PDFs, bank portals, emails) and ERP data quality will drive accuracy (BlackLine, Apr 2026).
Security, sovereignty and model choice. Security, data-residency and AI-governance reviews can add weeks to evaluations at large enterprises. BlackLine keeps customer data in-region and does not use it to train general models (Verity AI); confirm deployment options, including sovereign cloud, for your jurisdictions. Involve CISO, legal and data-protection teams from the start.
Commercial terms. Model total cost under realistic volumes, and negotiate clarity on free allotments and tier thresholds before scaling.
Over-reliance and skill erosion. When staff mainly approve AI output, review can become rubber-stamping. Keep sampling, rotation and periodic manual re-performance in the control design.
Default-on features. Because AI is now opt-out, document a deliberate decision about which capabilities are enabled, for which entities, and who approved it.
Vendor certifications have limits. ISO/IEC 42001 and the expected AIUC-1 certification help with vendor due diligence, but they do not replace your own controls over how agents are configured and used (BlackLine, Sep 2025).

What to do in the next 12 months

BlackLine’s early customers are starting with one use case and expanding once their auditors are comfortable. A practical sequence:

Take stock now (Q4 2026). Inventory which Verity features are already switched on in your tenant, which licensing model you are on, and when your renewal falls. Decide whether platform conversion makes sense at that renewal.
Pick one high-volume, low-judgment use case. Balance-sheet reconciliations for cash, prepaid or intercompany accounts with good support are natural Verity Prepare candidates; high-volume bank matching suits Verity Match once it is broadly available.
Baseline before you pilot. Measure hours per reconciliation, match rates, days to close and exception counts today. Without a baseline, vendor percentages cannot be validated.
Design the control framework with audit. Define confidence thresholds, reviewer responsibilities, evidence retention and change management for agents. Schedule the parallel run discussed above.
Assign an owner for AI governance in finance. Prepare to use the Finance Control Console as the system of record for agent policies, including agents from partners or your own teams.
Update roles and training. Shift job descriptions and performance measures from preparation volume to review quality, exception resolution and analysis.
Go to BeyondTheBlack with your questions ready. Use the checklist below to turn conference announcements into decisions for your 2027 roadmap.
Scale in waves (2027). Expand to additional account populations and to Invoice-to-Cash agents once the first use case has passed audit, with agent consumption costs modeled against measured savings.

What to expect at BeyondTheBlack 2026

BlackLine has signaled that the Finance Control Console will feature prominently, alongside new customer use cases and partner announcements. What to ask about in Orlando:

Finance Control Console: when it moves beyond preview, how it is priced, and how it governs agents your team or partners build.
Agent maturity: which preparation, matching and collections steps now run unassisted, and what evidence auditors will see for each.
Timing for Match and Collect: when broader availability arrives, and whether existing customers get it on the same schedule as new ones.
Agent pricing: the size of the free allotment included with platform pricing, where paid tiers begin, and how outcomes are counted.
Data residency and model choice: deployment options for your jurisdictions and regulated entities.
Peer stories: customers with a close, ERP landscape and audit profile like yours, and the results they measured.

Some of this guide will likely change after November’s announcements. We’ll publish an update after the conference, and if you’ll be in Orlando, we’d welcome the chance to compare notes.

Frequently asked questions

What is BlackLine Verity AI?

The Next 25 Years of Planning, Close & Consolidation: What the Data Actually Supports

SandPoint Consulting — Tue, 03 Nov 2026 21:22:39 +0000

This article is part of an ongoing series celebrating SandPoint Consulting’s 25th anniversary and the technology changes that have shaped our industry.

EPM predictions have a short shelf life, and that’s worth reckoning with before making any more of them. In 2023, Gartner forecast that 90% of finance’s descriptive and diagnostic analytics would be fully automated by 2027 — a date now barely a year away. Measured against where adoption actually stands today, that claim already looks unlikely to hold. So the goal here isn’t a confident 25-year forecast; it’s an honest one. That means being upfront about which recent EPM predictions already look too aggressive, and building forward from what current data actually shows rather than from what sounded compelling a few years ago.

Where the Industry Actually Stands Today

CFO Connect’s State of AI in Finance 2026 report found that AI use among finance leaders has jumped from 17% to 56% since 2023 — but only 17% have it running in core workflows, with the rest still in limited pilots. Finance currently ranks last among major business functions in actual AI deployment, and 68% of CFOs report they don’t know where to start. Gartner’s own February 2026 CFO budget research backs this up from a different angle: nearly half of CFOs (47%) still allocate only 1-5% of finance technology spend to AI, even as roughly 60% plan double-digit increases to that investment going forward. The intent is real. The execution is still early.

The Next Two to Three Years: Narrower Gains, Not Full Automation

This is the window where near-term EPM predictions can get specific — just something more modest than the 2023 forecast suggested. Gartner’s February 2026 research on embedded AI in cloud ERP projects a 30% faster financial close by 2028 for organizations running AI-enabled cloud ERP — a real, measurable gain, and a much more conservative claim than “fully automated.” The same research shows AI-enabled solutions growing from 14% of cloud ERP spend in 2024 to a projected 62% by 2027, which is a spending shift more than a capability guarantee. It’s also worth reading Gartner’s widely-cited 2024 prediction that 90% of finance functions will deploy at least one AI-enabled tool by 2026 with some skepticism about what “deploy” means in practice: the same research expects fewer than 10% of finance functions to see any headcount reduction from it, which suggests a lot of that 90% is a pilot or a point solution, not a transformed workflow. Vendor-reported figures point in a similar direction at the implementation level: SAP reports (as of early 2026, so read as a vendor’s own best-case numbers rather than an industry average) more than 30 specialized Joule agents live across its solutions, with early adopters seeing meaningful reductions in manual effort on narrow, well-defined tasks like automated journal posting — genuine progress, concentrated in specific workflows rather than the close as a whole.

There’s a practical constraint worth naming here too: for the many finance teams still running SAP BPC, the runway to even attempt any of this is shorter than most realize. SAP’s mainstream maintenance for BPC on the Microsoft platform ends June 30, 2026; the NetWeaver version follows on December 31, 2027; only BW/4HANA deployments run through 2030. Organizations on the earlier deadlines need to complete a migration to a modern platform like SAP Analytics Cloud before any of the newer AI capabilities are even on the table — a real adoption bottleneck, not just a technology story. This is the exact kind of transition SandPoint has guided clients through before, and it’s shaping up to be the next one.

Planning Goes Continuous — and Leaves Finance’s Four Walls

Looking a bit further out, Gartner’s more recent research projects that by 2029, AI-driven decision tools will replace 60% of finance’s custom analysis work, shifting the analyst’s role from producing reports to interpreting and validating what the tools produce. Structurally, extended planning and analysis (xP&A) and integrated business planning — a trend Gartner’s own December 2025 planning-software research continues to track — are pushing what used to be a finance-only exercise into supply chain, workforce, and sales planning on a shared data model. The practical implication is that “the annual budget” as a standalone artifact keeps losing relevance in favor of rolling, driver-based plans refreshed as conditions change — but that shift is happening alongside the spending gap noted above, not ahead of it.

Past 2030: The Limit of Reasonable EPM Predictions

Even Gartner’s own longer-range prediction — that by 2030, CFOs will spend roughly 30% of their time on data integrity as a core fiduciary responsibility — is a reasonable signal of direction, not a guarantee. Past that horizon, specific EPM predictions stop being data-backed and start being informed extrapolation, and it’s worth saying so plainly rather than dressing it up as forecasting. The one pattern that has held across every shift covered in this series, from OLAP databases to cloud EPM to today’s AI agents, is that each transition closed the gap between when a number changes in the business and when finance can see it, trust it, and act on it. It’s reasonable to expect that pattern to continue — toward closer-to-real-time consolidation, and a finance function whose core skill is governing and interpreting automated systems rather than assembling the data those systems used to require by hand. What’s not reasonable is claiming to know the specific tools, vendors, or timelines that far out, given how quickly even a three-year-old prediction from a credible source can miss.

What holds across the 25 years already covered in this series, and likely the next 25, is that the technology keeps changing faster than the underlying job does. Judgment, governance, and knowing which number to trust don’t get automated away — they just move to a different point in the process.

Where does your organization actually sit right now: still building the internal case for AI in core workflows, in a narrow pilot on one or two tasks, or already restructuring planning to run across teams instead of inside finance alone?

The post The Next 25 Years of Planning, Close & Consolidation: What the Data Actually Supports appeared first on SandPoint Consulting.

25 Years of Planning, Close & Consolidation Technology

SandPoint Consulting — Tue, 03 Nov 2026 21:20:33 +0000

This article is part of an ongoing series celebrating SandPoint Consulting’s 25th anniversary and the technology changes that have shaped our industry.

“Consolidation” used to mean linked Excel workbooks, manual eliminations, and a close that routinely ran two weeks or more. Today it can mean AI-assisted forecasts, self-healing intercompany eliminations, and a close measured in days. SandPoint Consulting has spent its 25 years in business inside that EPM software evolution, and each major shift in the technology shows up in our own history with clients.

From Spreadsheets to Governed Models

Before purpose-built planning tools existed, finance teams faced a real tradeoff: the modeling flexibility of Excel, or the data integrity of an OLAP database like Hyperion Essbase — rarely both. OutlookSoft, the platform SandPoint was founded around in 2001, solved this architecturally: a browser-based CPM application built on Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services, with Excel as the native front end rather than a bolt-on export. For the first time, planners could build and submit budgets in a familiar spreadsheet grid while the underlying numbers lived in a governed, multidimensional database instead of a maze of linked files.

Consolidation Logic Grows Up

As these platforms matured under SAP’s ownership (SAP acquired OutlookSoft in 2007, and the product became SAP Business Planning and Consolidation), consolidation logic moved from semi-manual to fully configurable. Script logic engines could now automate intercompany eliminations, ownership-based consolidation for partial and joint-venture entities, multi-GAAP reporting, and currency translation — calculations that used to live in side schedules and tribal knowledge. This is the point where “the close” started to mean running validated business rules instead of chasing down manual journal entries.

The Close Becomes Its Own Discipline

Planning and consolidation tools improved, but the close process surrounding them — reconciliations, task tracking, transaction matching, variance review — stayed largely manual and email-driven for years longer. The rise of dedicated close management platforms like BlackLine, which SandPoint added to its practice in 2012, reflected an industry realization: financial close management was its own discipline, separate from EPM. Account reconciliation status became a live dashboard instead of a status-update inbox, matching engines took over rote transaction ticking, and close checklists became auditable workflows rather than shared spreadsheets.

The Cloud Accelerates EPM Software Evolution

The biggest structural shift in this space wasn’t a new calculation engine — it was the move off on-premise infrastructure entirely. On-premise EPM meant hardware refresh cycles, dedicated servers, and multi-year upgrade projects just to stay supported. Cloud-native, in-memory platforms like SAP Analytics Cloud changed the delivery model itself: continuous feature releases instead of periodic version upgrades, planning and predictive analytics and BI unified in a single tool, and access from anywhere instead of a VPN into a data center. SandPoint began guiding clients through this shift when SAP announced the end of maintenance for BPC in 2019, building a dedicated SAP Analytics Cloud practice and a structured approach to BPC migrations that remains the single biggest lift-and-shift conversation happening in the industry today.

AI and the Next Phase of EPM Software Evolution

The current wave builds directly on the cloud shift, because AI-assisted forecasting and natural language queries against planning data only work at scale once the data already lives in a governed, real-time platform. Static annual budgets are giving way to driver-based rolling forecasts refreshed monthly or weekly. Anomaly detection is starting to flag journal entries and reconciliation breaks before they reach an auditor. None of this removes the need for financial judgment — it moves that judgment upstream, away from data assembly and toward analysis.

The pattern across this entire EPM software evolution is the same: each shift closed the gap between when a number changes in the business and when finance can see it, trust it, and act on it. That gap is smaller than it has ever been — and still shrinking.

What shift changed the most for your organization: the move off spreadsheets, the automation of close tasks, or the move to the cloud?

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Account Reconciliation in BlackLine: How Finance Teams Close Faster with Less Risk

SandPoint Consulting — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 17:03:42 +0000

Account reconciliation is one of the most important components of the financial close, but it’s often supported by the least scalable tools. Spreadsheets, shared drives, and email approvals can get the job done, yet they introduce unnecessary manual work, limited visibility, and avoidable risk.

BlackLine’s Account Reconciliation solution replaces that patchwork with a structured, automated, and fully auditable process. For finance teams, the impact is practical and immediate: fewer hours spent on low-value tasks, earlier insight into issues, and a faster, more predictable close without relying on overtime.

This article serves as a practical guide for accountants, controllers, and finance leaders looking to understand how BlackLine simplifies account reconciliation in real-world close environments, what’s changed recently in the product, and where AI—specifically Verity™—fits into the picture.

How BlackLine Automates and Streamlines Account Reconciliations

What Is Account Reconciliation in BlackLine?

In a manual environment, preparing a reconciliation usually starts with gathering numbers. Someone exports balances from the ERP, pastes them into a file, attaches support, updates a checklist, and emails it for review. Multiply that by hundreds of accounts and the process becomes a monthly grind.

BlackLine changes the starting point. At its core, BlackLine account reconciliation software replaces spreadsheet-based reconciliations with a centralized, automated, and auditable process.

Balances are loaded directly from the source system, so reconciliations begin with trusted, system-of-record data. Supporting documentation lives with the reconciliation itself rather than in separate folders. Every action is timestamped and attributed to a user.

That shift alone removes a surprising amount of effort. Teams stop re-keying data and start evaluating differences. Reviewers no longer wonder which version of a file they’re looking at. Auditors don’t have to ask where the support is stored.

The work becomes less about assembling evidence and more about analyzing what the numbers mean.

Standardized Reconciliation Templates Improve Quality

BlackLine provides purpose-built reconciliation formats for common account types such as bank accounts, accruals, subledger matches, and prepaids. Instead of a blank spreadsheet, preparers are guided through a defined structure with required fields and consistent logic.

Over time, this has a subtle but important effect on quality. Rollforwards and unexplained plugs become harder to justify when the template expects a clear tie-out and documented reconciling items. Reviews are faster because each reconciliation follows a defined structure. New team members ramp up quickly because the process is embedded in the tool.

Standardization also strengthens internal controls. Required approvals, segregation of duties, and due dates are enforced by workflow rather than by memory or manual checklists.

Auto-Certification Rules: A Key Accelerator for the Financial Close

What Is Auto-Certification in BlackLine?

Not every account deserves the same level of manual attention every month. Many are predictable and low risk. For example:

Zero-balance accounts
Subledger balances that perfectly match the GL
Accounts within defined tolerance thresholds

BlackLine’s auto-certification rules allow you to define objective criteria for these accounts. When those conditions are met, the system automatically marks the reconciliation complete and approved, records the audit trail, and removes it from the preparer and reviewer queue for that period.

This isn’t skipping controls; it’s applying them consistently and automatically. If a rule is not met, the account simply flows into the normal preparation and review process.

Why Auto-Certification Improves Both Speed and Control

The practical benefit is a reallocation of effort. Instead of touching every account every month, the team’s time shifts toward exceptions, aging reconciling items, and high-judgment balances. Quality improves because attention is focused where risk actually exists.

Organizations commonly find that 40-65% of their reconciliations can be auto-certified once rules are tuned to their policies. That translates directly into hours saved and a smoother close.

Real-Time Visibility Into Reconciliation Status

In many finance teams, understanding close status requires meetings, status emails, or manually maintained trackers. BlackLine replaces that with live dashboards.

Controllers and managers can see, at a glance, which reconciliations are open, in review, overdue, or complete across every entity and team. Bottlenecks become obvious. Issues are surfaced earlier in the month instead of at the end.

This visibility has a behavioral impact as well. When progress is transparent, ownership improves and last-minute surprises decrease. Teams can begin work earlier and spread effort more evenly across the period instead of compressing everything into the final days.

Audit-Ready Account Reconciliations by Design

Every reconciliation in BlackLine carries its own history: who prepared it, who reviewed it, what changed, and which documents support the balance. Nothing needs to be reconstructed later.

Auditors can be granted secure, read-only access to reconciliations and support, eliminating the scramble to assemble binders or pull files from multiple locations. Because the workflow is standardized, auditors see a consistent control process applied across all accounts and periods.

This reduces disruption during audits and reinforces confidence in balance sheet integrity throughout the year, not just at year end.

AI in Account Reconciliation: How Verity Supports Finance Teams

What Is BlackLine Verity™?

Verity is BlackLine’s purpose-built AI framework designed specifically for finance and accounting—not generic AI layered onto financial data

In the context of account reconciliation, this shows up in practical ways:

Verity can analyze reconciliation data to highlight unusual balances, aging items, or patterns that merit attention. It can assist with drafting explanations for variances and reconciling items, helping preparers document their work more quickly and consistently. Natural language search capabilities make it easier to ask questions of your close data, such as identifying high-risk or overdue reconciliations without building custom reports.

Importantly, these capabilities are grounded in governed, auditable data rather than opaque models. That makes AI assistance usable in controlled financial processes, not just exploratory analysis.

For teams, this means less time writing repetitive explanations and more time validating and interpreting results.

Recent BlackLine Product Updates That Impact Account Reconciliation

Recent platform updates have focused on making reconciliations more continuous and less period-bound.

Real-time or near-real-time ERP integrations allow balances to refresh throughout the month. Instead of waiting for period close, teams can start reconciling earlier, identify issues sooner, and avoid end-of-month pileups.

Workflow and notification improvements have reduced reliance on manual follow-ups. Automated reminders and escalations keep work moving without someone having to chase updates.

Enhancements to dashboards and reporting provide more flexible views of reconciliation status by entity, account type, or risk, giving leadership clearer insight into where attention is needed.

Together, these changes push reconciliations from a once-a-month activity to an ongoing control that runs in parallel with daily operations.

Case Study: Modernizing Account Reconciliation at Davey Tree

When The Davey Tree Expert Company modernized its month-end close, the immediate goal was to remove manual work and strengthen controls without disrupting a busy accounting team.

Before BlackLine, reconciliations and checklists were Excel-based, data was loaded manually from SAP, and visibility into close progress was limited. That created extra effort and the risk of working with incomplete or outdated balances.

Through a phased implementation of BlackLine Account Reconciliation and Task Management with real-time SAP integration, Davey Tree replaced spreadsheets with standardized, system-driven processes.

Within the first quarter after go-live:

15% of reconciliations were fully automated using auto-certification rules
More than 45 hours were saved per month by eliminating manual data loads and low-risk manual reconciliations
Teams began reconciling earlier in the month using real-time SAP balances
Dashboards provided instant visibility into close status across the organization

Beyond the time savings, accuracy and compliance improved because every reconciliation followed the same controlled workflow and used up-to-date data. Issues could be caught and corrected earlier instead of surfacing at the end of the close.

For Davey Tree, this established a scalable foundation for continued improvement rather than a one-time efficiency gain.

What This Means for Practitioners and Stakeholders

For preparers, BlackLine reduces repetitive mechanics and centralizes everything needed to complete a reconciliation. For reviewers, it provides consistent formats and clear audit trails. For controllers and CFOs, it delivers real-time insight into the health of the close and the integrity of the balance sheet.

The combination of standardized templates, automated data feeds, auto-certification for low-risk accounts, and AI-assisted analysis changes the nature of reconciliation work. It becomes less about proving that routine accounts tie out and more about understanding and resolving real exceptions.

The end result is a faster, more controlled close, lower audit friction, and finance teams that spend more of their time on analysis instead of administration.

Key Takeaways: Why Finance Teams Use BlackLine for Account Reconciliation

BlackLine replaces spreadsheet-based reconciliations with a centralized, automated, and auditable process
Automated balance loads and ERP integration reduce manual work and errors
Standardized reconciliation templates improve consistency and review quality
Auto-certification rules allow low-risk accounts to close themselves
Real-time dashboards provide visibility into reconciliation and close status
Built-in audit trails simplify compliance and reduce audit effort
Verity™ AI enhances analysis and documentation without sacrificing control
Recent platform updates support continuous, proactive reconciliation
Real teams are experiencing real impact: Davey Tree automated 15% of their reconciliations the first month after implementation with auto-certification rules; most teams reach 40-65% auto-certification of their accounts each month

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What Does “End of Maintenance” Really Mean for Software?

SandPoint Consulting — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 19:12:37 +0000

Keywords:

End of Maintenance (EoM): The point at which a software vendor stops delivering full support, enhancements, or new features.
Extended Maintenance: A paid support model that continues after mainstream maintenance ends, typically with higher costs and limited services.
Mainstream Maintenance: The standard period in which software receives updates, bug fixes, security patches, and development investments.
Software End of Life (EoL): Sometimes used interchangeably with EoM, though EoL can imply a complete retirement of the product.
Support Sunset / Support Wind-Down: Alternative terms for the end of maintenance lifecycle.

When software vendors announce an end-of-maintenance timeline, the reaction is often confusion. Does the software stop working? Will support vanish overnight? Does it force an immediate migration?

The short answer: No.

The more accurate answer: It depends—but the risks increase quietly and steadily.

“End of maintenance” doesn’t mean a system suddenly shuts down. Instead, it marks a shift in the vendor’s priorities and a slow decline in updates, resources, and long-term value. SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation) is a timely example, as several versions approach key support milestones. Understanding what those milestones mean helps organizations plan proactively rather than reactively.

This article breaks down what end of maintenance really entails, what changes when software enters extended maintenance or support wind-down, and why waiting too long to make a decision can become costly for finance and IT teams.

What Does “End of Maintenance” Actually Mean?

Vendors use different phrases—end of life, end of support, support sunset, support wind-down—but they all point to the same shift:

The vendor stops investing in the product.

A helpful way to think about it:

Mainstream Maintenance = active growth

Extended Maintenance = preservation mode

End of Maintenance = the product is on borrowed time

Here’s what actually changes behind the scenes.

Many organizations assume that end of maintenance is simply a date on a roadmap. In reality, it signals several shifts that directly affect reliability, risk, and long-term strategy.

1. No new features or development

This is the most significant impact for finance teams.End of maintenance means:

No feature upgrades
No UX improvements
No performance enhancements
No innovation investments

The software effectively becomes frozen in time while the rest of the market moves forward—especially in areas like predictive analytics, automation, and AI. The product may still run, but it stops progressing. Over time, that gap becomes strategic, not just technical.

2. Bug fixes become limited and slower

In mainstream maintenance, issues get fixed as part of normal operations.

After end of maintenance, fewer engineers are assigned to the product and fixes shift to critical security patches (maybe) and major system stability issues. Everything else is often not addressed.

Support doesn’t disappear, it simply becomes increasingly limited and sometimes painfully slow. Some tickets cannot be addressed at all and fixes may require costly extended support contracts. This shift becomes more noticeable as fewer customers remain on the product.

3. A shrinking talent pool

As more users migrate to supported platforms, expertise becomes harder to find:

Consultants move to newer platforms
Internal experts migrate to other teams
Documentation and tribal knowledge fade

For finance systems tied to reporting, close, and planning cycles, these talent gaps can become a major operational risk

4. Higher costs through extended maintenance

Vendors often offer extended maintenance as a temporary bridge for customers who need extra time.

While choosing extended maintenance may seem like an easy choice for consistency, it often comes with a premium price for standing still: higher annual support fees, lower coverage, and fewer development resources.

SAP BPC: A Real-World Example of End-of-Maintenance Timelines

SAP BPC is a good case study because its support roadmap spans multiple versions, platforms, and timelines. Many customers still rely on the solution, yet misunderstand what the upcoming milestones really mean.

SAP BPC Support Timeline Overview

Versions approaching end of mainstream support:

BPC for NetWeaver: Enters extended maintenance after 2027
BPC for Microsoft: Support ending mid-2026

Versions with long-term support through 2040:

BPC for SAP BW/4HANA
BPC for SAP S/4HANA

Understanding where your version sits is essential, but the date is only one part of the story. The roadmap reveals something more important: The innovation pipeline for BPC has been closed for years. Even the versions supported through 2040 are in “preservation mode,” not development mode.

The Reality of End of Maintenance for SAP BPC Customers

A Solution with No Future Enhancements

SAP BPC no longer receives meaningful enhancements. There are no new features, integration updates, or AI and predictive capabilities. Even versions with longer support are effectively frozen, limiting the system’s ability to evolve with business needs.

Gaps in Modern Finance Capabilities

Legacy BPC cannot support modern finance demands such as continuous planning, driver-based forecasting, scenario modeling, or predictive insights. As CFO expectations rise, the gap between system functionality and business needs becomes more pronounced.

Rising Support Costs

As expertise becomes scarce, external consulting becomes harder to find, internal knowledge gaps widen, and projects take longer. Extended maintenance may keep systems running, but at a higher cost and with fewer resources to support them effectively.

The Hidden Cost of Delaying Decisions

One of the most important questions organizations ask is: “Can we wait another year?”

The truth is, probably. In fact, many of our clients still use SAP BPC and we are one of the few firms that still supports the platform. But we advise all of our clients to have a plan.

We continue to offer the same level of service to these clients that we did when we first started our BPC practice more than 20 years ago. The difference is that today, we also help these organizations develop their own roadmap based on their individual needs. For some this means we are migrating to more modern platforms. For others, it means maintaining their system while preparing for future transitions. Some take a phased or hybrid approach to transfer specific processes or accounts.

The bottom line is, your team needs a plan. The cost of waiting only grows and the danger isn’t your system turning off—it’s your finance function falling behind.

How Organizations Should Respond to an End-of-Maintenance Announcement (Without Panic)

Here’s a more realistic, practical progression instead of a rigid step-by-step plan:

Start with clarity, not technology.

Ask:

What are today’s pain points?
What has the business outgrown?
Where is manual effort creeping back in?

Define the finance team you want to be in 3–5 years.

Do you need:

Real-time modeling?
AI-assisted forecasting?
Unified planning and consolidation?
Deeper integration with ERP?

These answers—not the support dates—should guide your direction.

Then align timing with major projects.

For many organizations in the SAP ecosystem, the timing of their S/4HANA migration is an important variable. (S/4HANA is SAP’s next-generation Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software) Some are waiting to prioritize that transformation before addressing enterprise performance management (EPM) processes like planning and consolidation. This approach may make sense for some, but it is not the right decision for all teams.

We recommend discussing timing with a migration partner who understands SAP BPC and its migration paths.

Finally, build a transition plan—not a rush job.

Planning early gives you better choices, smoother timelines, and more predictable budgets. Remember migrating your data, building a new system, implementing processes and training teams all take time.

Conclusion

End of maintenance does not mean software stops working. It means the vendor stops investing in it and over time, that impacts stability, innovation, and your team’s ability to support the business. How long do you want to invest in a system that is no longer evolving?

Whether your organization uses SAP BPC or another end-of-maintenance tool, the themes are the same:

Increasing risk
Shrinking expertise
Growing costs
Stagnant capabilities
Limited transformation potential

Treating end of maintenance as a strategic signal—not just a date—gives your organization the time, clarity, and resources needed to choose your next step thoughtfully and confidently. A signal that it’s time to protect your finance operations, modernize your planning environment, and position your team for the future.

The post What Does “End of Maintenance” Really Mean for Software? appeared first on SandPoint Consulting.

Beyond Buyer’s Remorse: How CFOs Can Ensure Strategic ROI from Finance Software Investments

SandPoint Consulting — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 22:17:34 +0000

You’ve just signed off on a new financial planning tool. The demos were impressive, the features seemed perfect, and everyone agreed it was “exactly what we needed.” But months later, the team is wrestling with workarounds, integrations are messy, and the ROI you expected hasn’t materialized.

This isn’t uncommon. Almost four in five buyers report that they regret their latest technology purchase. For CFOs, the frustration is even sharper: technology regret doesn’t just drain resources — it undermines credibility, slows transformation, and distracts from strategic priorities.

The good news? Technology regret is preventable. By focusing on emerging trends, evaluating software carefully, and aligning solutions with your organization’s real business goals, CFOs can make investments that truly pay off.

Why Technology Regret Happens in Finance

Technology regret rarely stems from a single misstep. Usually, it comes from a mix of misaligned expectations, overlooked operational complexities, and insufficient planning. Many CFOs only realize the gaps after implementation begins—long after the purchase decision has been made.

Key drivers include:

Misalignment with Business Objectives – A tool may impress on paper, but if it doesn’t tackle your organization’s most pressing challenges—like shortening close cycles, improving forecasting accuracy, or reducing manual work—it won’t deliver meaningful value. Defining clear project requirements in advance can prevent these misalignments.
Feature Overload vs. Practical Value – Advanced software can automate, predict, and analyze, but be sure the features actually improve your team’s day-to-day work. The question isn’t “what can it do?” but “what will it do for my team tomorrow?” A long list of capabilities can distract from the features that matter most. Teams often gain the most benefit from solutions that automate repetitive processes and streamline critical workflows.
Vendor Selection Challenges – Choosing a solution based on marketing or peer recommendations can be risky. Integration limits, support structures, and long-term adaptability often become pain points only after implementation.
Implementation and Adoption Gaps – Even the most capable software fails if the team doesn’t use it effectively. Lack of training, poor planning, or insufficient advocacy can stall adoption and limit the ROI you expected.

Emerging Trends in Financial Planning Software

Not every solution is equally valuable, and not every feature is worth the investment. CFOs who focus on tools that improve accuracy, speed, and collaboration often see the most impact. Consider:

Cloud-based systems for flexibility – Tools that scale with your organization reduce the need for manual workarounds and give finance teams room to adapt.
AI and automation where it counts – Automating repetitive tasks, spotting anomalies, or speeding up forecasting frees your team to focus on strategy.
Collaboration built in – Software that lets teams work together across departments and locations reduces errors and shortens review cycles.
Clear insights from integrated data – Platforms that consolidate information from multiple sources make analysis faster and decision-making more confident.

Selecting software with these capabilities—rather than chasing trends—gives your team a practical advantage.

Avoiding Common Tech Buying Pitfalls

Once a finance team commits to new technology, the focus shifts from “why we chose it” to “how we make it work.” This is where many projects succeed or stumble. Avoiding regret isn’t just about picking the right software — it’s about execution. A few strategies consistently make the difference:

Start with clarity, not assumptions. Document what success looks like in measurable terms — faster close, fewer manual adjustments, better visibility into drivers. Use these benchmarks to guide decisions throughout the project.

Bring in experts early. Many finance and accounting platforms require long, complex implementations. Consultants who specialize in these systems can assess needs realistically, flag risks you may not see, and keep the project aligned to your objectives.

Plan for adoption, not just go-live. Training, pilot programs, and internal champions help ensure the software becomes part of daily workflows rather than sitting unused on the shelf.

Think beyond year one. Systems evolve, business models shift, and support structures change. Building in a lifecycle plan — including upgrade paths and potential end-of-support scenarios — reduces the likelihood of costly surprises later.

Actionable Insights for CFOs

Before signing any contract, define success metrics and tie them to tangible business outcomes. Ask questions like:

Will this tool reduce manual effort for my team?
Will it improve the accuracy of forecasting or reporting?
Can it adapt to changes in business priorities over the next few years?

Teams that focus on these questions, and align finance, IT, and governance responsibilities, tend to experience fewer regrets and higher returns.

Final Thoughts for Teams Buying Software

Technology regret doesn’t have to be part of your finance transformation journey. By staying informed about emerging trends, carefully evaluating software, and aligning solutions with your business objectives, CFOs can make investments that deliver real value.

Choosing the right financial planning software is less about picking the trendiest tool and more about making decisions that genuinely support your team, your processes, and your organization’s long-term goals.

The post Beyond Buyer’s Remorse: How CFOs Can Ensure Strategic ROI from Finance Software Investments appeared first on SandPoint Consulting.

The Next Evolution of SAC Excel Add-in

SandPoint Consulting — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 18:19:04 +0000

What Is the SAC Excel Add-in?

The SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) Excel Add-in—sometimes referred to as SAC for Excel or the SAC add-in for Microsoft Office—connects SAC directly to Microsoft Excel. It allows users to pull live SAC data into spreadsheets, perform planning and analysis tasks, and push updates back into the system, all without leaving Excel.

Essentially, it combines Excel’s flexibility with SAC’s governance, collaboration, and live data connectivity. For organizations balancing speed, familiarity, and control, the Add-in is increasingly becoming a core part of the finance workflow.

The Excel Debate: Friend or Foe?

Excel has been the backbone of finance and planning for decades:

Why it’s loved:

Flexible for ad-hoc analysis and modeling
Familiar to finance teams
Fast to set up and iterate

Why it’s criticized:

Prone to errors from manual inputs and static formulas
Hard to maintain governance and version control
Challenging to scale for enterprise-wide collaboration

The SAC Excel Add-in doesn’t replace Excel—it enhances familiar workflows by integrating SAC governance, live data, and collaboration features. Recent updates in 2025 make these enhancements more visible and practical for daily use.

What’s New in the SAC Excel Add-in

Finance teams rely on Excel for flexibility, but SAC provides governance, collaboration, and live data. Recent updates have turned the SAC Excel Add-in into a bridge between these two worlds, delivering both speed and control. Here are the six most impactful new features:

1. 1. Story-to-Excel Tables
    - What it does: Transfer tables from SAC Stories into Excel, keeping filters, variables, dimensions, and measures intact.
    - Why it matters: Analysts can quickly move from dashboards to granular analysis without rebuilding queries, saving time and preserving context.
  2. Data Point Comments & Collaboration
    - What it does: Add and view comments on individual cells, synchronized with SAC. Retrieve comments programmatically with SAP.GETDATACOMMENT.
    - Why it matters: Enables real-time collaboration and makes qualitative insights actionable for reporting, dashboards, and KPIs.
      
      Comments are edited and shown in the new tab Data Point Comment in the designer panel. Image source: SAP
  3. Enterprise Governance Inside Excel
    - What it does: Data Access Controls (DCS) and validation rules from SAC now apply in Excel tables.
    - Why it matters: Reduces risk from manual spreadsheets while allowing teams to work in a familiar tool.
  4. Drag-and-Drop Table Builder
    - What it does: Drag dimensions and measures from the permanent pane into table rows or columns; resizable pane and search make object selection easier.
    - Why it matters: Streamlines analysis, reduces clicks, and speeds up common tasks for planners and analysts.
  5. Styling & Formatting Enhancements
    - What it does: Apply corporate color and custom styles to contiguous or non-contiguous cell ranges.
    - Why it matters: Creates cleaner, more consistent layouts for reporting, presentations, and stakeholder communication.
      
      The option Apply Default Format is now available as a setting on the Styling panel. Image source: SAP
  6. Restricted Measures & Accounts
    - What it does: Create and edit restricted measures and accounts directly in Excel for advanced planning comparisons.
    - Why it matters: Supports subset analysis and variance reporting without rebuilding tables, reducing errors and improving insight accuracy.
      
      Add restricted measures and restricted accounts in your table by excluding certain members of one or more dimensions. Image source: SAP
  7. Other Notable Updates from 2025
    - Support for VBA macros in Excel desktop workbooks
    - Optimized planning area and improved data action triggers
    - Front-end calculations anchored to totals
    - Improved workbook design and object management
    - Sign-in improvements and multi-tenant support

Why These Updates Matter

These updates show how the Add-in can enhance existing workflows without forcing teams to change tools. Finance and planning teams gain:

Faster analysis with drag-and-drop and story transfers
Better collaboration with comments and formula enhancements
Stronger governance and reduced spreadsheet risk
Clearer reporting with styling and restricted measures

Practical Takeaways for Finance Teams

Update to the latest version to access all features.
Pilot high-impact use cases such as forecasting, reconciliations, or variance analysis.
Align with SAC governance rules to enforce security and data integrity.
Educate users on new drag-and-drop functionality, comments, and restricted measures to maximize adoption.

Tips to Apply the New Features

Leverage story transfers: Move tables from SAC dashboards into Excel to perform deeper what-if analysis without rebuilding queries.
Use data point comments: Add context directly in Excel cells, and retrieve commentary in reports or dashboards with SAP.GETDATACOMMENT
Apply governance rules: Verify that Data Access Controls (DCS) and validation rules are working as intended inside your tables.
Streamline table building: Use the drag-and-drop pane to add dimensions or measures quickly when designing tables.
Standardize formatting: Apply corporate styles and thresholds for cleaner, more consistent reporting.
Take advantage of restricted measures: Create subset comparisons and variance analysis directly in Excel.
Explore the resizable builder panel: Keep the object list open for faster access to dimensions and measures during analysis.

The post The Next Evolution of SAC Excel Add-in appeared first on SandPoint Consulting.

Moving Beyond SAP BPC: Modern Planning in SAP Analytics Cloud for Finance Teams

SandPoint Consulting — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 16:02:06 +0000

For years, SAP Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC) has been the foundation of many organizations’ planning and reporting processes. It’s been dependable, familiar, and deeply embedded in day-to-day operations. But as SAP continues to invest in its cloud strategy and support ends as early as 2026 for some versions of BPC, many organizations are asking a crucial question: what’s next after SAP BPC?

The answer isn’t simply “replace BPC.” It’s about how finance can evolve—moving from static, batch-driven processes to connected, real-time insights that keep pace with the business.

For organizations already in the SAP ecosystem, SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) for Planning, is a path forward that maximizes existing investments while introducing modern capabilities that make planning faster, smarter, and more connected. Integrated within SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC), SAC is often already available to teams leveraging other SAP solutions.

As of January 1, 2026, SAP Analytics Cloud will only be accessible through BDC. That means many organizations already have access—they just need to activate and start using it. SAC maximizes existing investments while introducing modern capabilities that make planning faster, smarter, and more connected.

From Disconnected Models to Integrated Planning

Traditional BPC workflows often require manual extraction, reconciliation, and uploading of data across systems. It works, but it slows things down.

SAC for Planning eliminates that friction by connecting directly to S/4HANA. Combined with Group Reporting, financial consolidation data flows seamlessly from the Universal Journal into your planning models. Master data—profit centers, cost centers, customers, vendors—is shared, reducing reconciliation effort and freeing time for analysis instead of maintenance.

Non-SAP data? Still supported. Teams can bring in external data through multiple sources, including flat files APIs, maintaining flexibility while adopting a more unified planning environment.

Practical insight: Many organizations use this transition as an opportunity to simplify dimensions and harmonize hierarchies, reducing ongoing maintenance and improving clarity in reports.

Many organizations use the transition from SAP BPC as an opportunity to simplify dimensions and harmonize hierarchies, reducing ongoing maintenance and improving clarity in reports.

Expanding Capabilities Beyond SAP BPC

SAC is a fundamentally broader platform for planning, analytics, and collaboration. Here are some areas we have found SAC to standout compared to BPC:

Richer Dimensionality: Where BPC limited planning to a smaller number of dimensions, SAC expands that significantly—allowing teams to plan across region, product, channel, customer segment, or any other operational driver that matters.

Continuous Innovation: As a cloud solution, SAC delivers quarterly updates—introducing the latest in planning, analytics, and AI without the burden of manual upgrades.

Predictive and Driver-Based Planning: Built-in predictive forecasting and value-driver trees help finance teams evaluate assumptions, test business scenarios, and plan proactively rather than reactively.

Prebuilt Content for Speed: SAC includes business content for OPEX, CAPEX, and workforce planning. These accelerators shorten implementation time and ensure alignment with SAP’s best practices, while still allowing customization where needed.

Shared Workspaces: In SAC, shared workspaces let multiple users collaborate on the same data in real time, track changes, and comment directly in the interface—ending version confusion and spreadsheet back-and-forth.

Migration Realities and Approaches

There’s no single “migrate” button between BPC and SAC. The two systems have different architectures, which means your migration strategy should align with your business goals and readiness.

Re-implement (“Move”) – Rebuild your BPC planning models directly in SAC to take full advantage of its modern capabilities. This approach is best for organizations ready to fully embrace the cloud.
Complement (Live Connection) – Connect SAC to your existing BPC environment using a live connection. This lets you retain your BPC logic while using SAC for modern visualization, analysis, and planning front-end capabilities.
Hybrid (Add and Extend) – Leverage SAC for specific planning processes—such as workforce or capital planning—while continuing to use BPC for core financials. This incremental approach lets teams explore SAC functionality without disrupting existing operations.

Many teams combine approaches—piloting SAC in select areas before committing to full rebuilds—reducing risk while demonstrating tangible value early.

Implementation Considerations:

When transitioning from SAP BPC to SAP Analytics Cloud for Planning, careful preparation ensures success:

Map BPC dimensions carefully to SAC; consider simplifying or consolidating where possible.
Rethink script logic; SAC formulas and data actions can replace complex scripts while improving auditability.
Plan for security, workflow, and performance redesigns as part of migration.

Leveraging BPC and Business Warehouse as a Bridge

If your BPC system is integrated with SAP Business Warehouse (BW), you can use that foundation to modernize gradually. SAP’s strategy allows BPC plan cubes and Advanced DataStore Object (ADSOs) to be reused in SAP Datasphere, feeding SAC in a hybrid model.

This bridge approach enables teams to:

Maintain current processes while introducing SAC capabilities
Integrate planning data into broader SAP cloud analytics
Align with S/4HANA and Group Reporting projects for a cohesive transition

This hybrid architecture helps organizations extend the life of their existing investments while charting a clear, flexible path toward SAP’s cloud ecosystem.

Finance Process Transformation, Not Just Software

Migrating from BPC to SAC is both a technical upgrade and an opportunity to modernize the planning process. With SAC, teams can:

Shift from static annual budgets to continuous, rolling forecasts
Connect finance with HR, sales, and operations for cross-functional planning
Improve accuracy and shorten planning cycles using real-time data and predictive analytics

Finance teams that embrace these changes report faster, more accurate forecasts and stronger alignment with strategic goals.

SAP Ecosystem Alignment

SAC Planning fits seamlessly into SAP’s evolving cloud ecosystem:

RISE with SAP: SAC integrates seamlessly into S/4HANA Cloud initiatives, supporting long-term digital finance strategy.
Group Reporting: Consolidation and planning are aligned, reducing reconciliation work.
BlackLine & SAP Accounting Add-ons: SAC complements financial close processes by feeding forecasts and scenario data back into close reporting.

This connected approach ensures your planning environment evolves in step with SAP’s broader roadmap.

The Human Factor: Change Management Matters

The most successful SAC implementations are driven by people, not just technology.

Change management is critical—finance users need support, context, and confidence as they adapt to new tools and workflows.

A few keys to success:

Engage finance and business stakeholders early
Provide training focused on use cases, not just features
Create internal “champions” to encourage adoption
Celebrate quick wins and visible process improvements

Getting Started: Recommended Approach

Assess your BPC landscape – Identify which models and processes are still business-critical.
Prioritize modernization – Focus first on areas where SAC’s features will deliver the greatest impact.
Engage stakeholders – Align finance, IT, and business leaders early.
Pilot a focused use case – Start small to validate design choices and gain user buy-in.
Align with broader SAP initiatives – Coordinate timing with S/4HANA or Group Reporting projects.
Plan a phased rollout – Expand adoption once quick wins are proven.

By the end, your team will have built a modern, connected planning environment that drives smarter decisions, faster for your organization.

The post Moving Beyond SAP BPC: Modern Planning in SAP Analytics Cloud for Finance Teams appeared first on SandPoint Consulting.

Highlights from Beyond the Black 2025

SandPoint Consulting — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 15:48:52 +0000

If there’s one thing Beyond the Black 2025 made clear, it’s that the future of finance is being reshaped by AI, connected platforms, and smarter ways of working. Our team was on the ground last week, and the energy, announcements, and ideas made for an unforgettable experience.

Themes to Watch: The Big Picture for Finance Transformation

One of the biggest reveals was Verity AI, BlackLine’s new AI engine built to handle complex work and surface insights across the platform. It’s not just about efficiency—it’s about giving finance teams smarter tools to solve problems faster.

Studio360: The Power Behind the Platform

Another theme threaded throughout the week was Studio360, the connected foundation that underpins everything BlackLine offers. By bringing solutions together on one platform, Studio360 gives finance teams a more seamless, reliable way to work.

Learning From Experts and Innovators

The breakout sessions delivered real value, with deep dives into:

How AI is reshaping finance automation
BlackLine’s 2026 roadmap
Advanced techniques for implementation and everyday use

On the main stage, BlackLine leaders were joined by consumer trends expert Matt Britton and Emmy-winning tech personality Katie Linendoll—each offering a unique lens on what’s next.

Partner Forum: Staying Ahead for Our Clients

We also joined the Partner Forum, a dedicated space where BlackLine shares upcoming product updates and strategic insights with partners. For us, this is more than just a preview—it’s how our consultants stay ahead of the curve. By understanding what’s coming before it’s released, we’re able to guide our clients with confidence and help them prepare for new capabilities as soon as they become available.

BlackLine added some extra fun with the Partner Alliances Training Challenge, encouraging partners to complete advanced training ahead of the event.

Innovation Hub: Hands-On Access to What’s Next

At the Innovation Hub, we had the chance to connect directly with BlackLine product specialists. Seeing the new updates up close—and hearing what’s on the horizon—was a real highlight.

BlackLine Bash

Of course, conferences aren’t just about learning. The BlackLine Bash at Brooklyn Bowl delivered with bowling, great food, and dueling DJs. To top it off, our team capped the week with a trip to The Wizard of Oz immersive show at The Sphere—an experience we won’t forget anytime soon.

Looking Ahead

Beyond the Black left us energized and excited about what’s next. From Verity AI to Studio360 and everything on the roadmap, it’s clear BlackLine is raising the bar for finance automation. We can’t wait to bring these insights back to our clients and help them take advantage of what’s coming.

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What to Look Forward to at BeyondTheBlack 2025

SandPoint Consulting — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 19:03:05 +0000

BeyondTheBlack 2025 takes place September 8-10 in Las Vegas, bringing together BlackLine customers, partners, and product experts for three days of learning, networking, and strategic insight. The agenda is now live, and registration is open through late August.

Whether you’re early in your BlackLine journey or looking to optimize an existing environment, this year’s event offers deep value across both business strategy and technical enablement.

No matter your title–Controller, Accountant, Admin, CFO–BeyondTheBlack offers practical sessions, peer stories, and product deep dives that speak to your role and challenges.

Themes to Watch: The Big Picture for Finance Transformation

Several key topics stand out across this year’s sessions, signaling where BlackLine and its customer base are headed next.

1. AI as part of the platform, not a side project

Agentic AI is now part of the day-to-day toolkit, embedded in workflows like journal analysis, variance detection, and cash forecasting. Sessions such as “Driving Outcomes with Agentic AI” and “Journal Risk Analysis” will show how teams are applying AI to improve speed, accuracy, and audit readiness–not in the future, but now.

2. ERP timing matters more than ever

With SAP ECC and Oracle R12 nearing end-of-life, the pressure to migrate is real. But the smartest teams aren’t rushing—they’re sequencing. BlackLine is positioning itself as a critical first step to stabilize accounting operations before ERP upheaval begins. For practical guidance, look to “BlackLine First: The Key to Successful ERP Transitions” and “Jumpstart Your Move to S/4.”

3. Intercompany is getting proactive attention

Historically treated as a back-end fix, intercompany is now being approached with strategic intent. More and more, we are emphasizing upstream governance, process automation, and better alignment between entities. If intercompany pain points still drag down your close, sessions like “Simplifying Intercompany Processes” and the “Intercompany Customer Panel” may be especially relevant.

4. Consolidation isn’t just a close issue anymore

It’s a strategy issue. With multi-entity organizations under pressure to report faster and more accurately, finance teams are rethinking how consolidation fits into the bigger picture of enterprise data flow. Expect sessions like “Consolidation Done Right” to tackle everything from data trust to reporting transparency.

5. Finance and IT as collaborators

This year’s agenda includes more sessions that bring finance and IT to the same table, with practical advice on building shared roadmaps, translating requirements, and keeping initiatives moving. “F&A and Finance Systems: Partners in Digital Success” is a must for any team struggling to align.

Make Time for the Fun Stuff

Yes, it’s a finance conference. But BeyondTheBlack is known for doing things differently—including giving attendees actual time to breathe, connect, and enjoy themselves. Here are a few can’t-miss experiences worth building into your agenda:

Stop by the Puppy Petting Station

A fan favorite at past events, the puppy lounge offers a much-needed mental break. If it returns this year (fingers crossed), don’t miss your chance to decompress with a few four-legged friends.

Attend the BlackLine Bash at Brooklyn Bowl

Get hands-on with new features, explore demos, and talk one-on-one with BlackLine product experts. The Hub includes:

The Sandbox for trying out features in real time
Customer Corner for feedback, raffles, and adoption support
Meet the Expert sessions for personalized guidance

Talk to Someone You Don’t Know

Between sessions, in the halls, or at lunch–some of the most valuable conversations happen outside the breakout rooms. Make time to connect with other attendees, share lessons learned, or ask a follow-up question from a session. It’s a small move that can lead to lasting impact. Try Braindates for a chance to engage in peer-to-peer learning and “birds of a feather” group conversations on topics you want to share knowledge and learn about,

BeyondTheBlack is a chance to reset your vision, deepen your product knowledge, and connect with a community that’s solving the same challenges you are. Whether you’re attending to shape strategy, sharpen technical skills, or explore what’s next, this year’s event is packed with opportunities to learn, connect, and take action. We hope to see you there.

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