1. STREAMLINING DATA COLLECTION FOR
SEC 10-Q AND 10-K REPORTING
For The AES Corporation, preparing Quarterly 10-Q and Annual 10-K filings for the
Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) meant distributing, tracking and consolidating
170 Microsoft Excel®
spreadsheets from more than 100 businesses across five continents.
Their use of uncontrolled spreadsheets meant that spreadsheets had to be manually
checked and rechecked for errors. Since implementing Vena, AES completes and files
their reports in a much shorter time frame using a globally distributed, centrally managed,
auditable process that everyone understands.
BACKGROUND
With over 25,000 employees in 25 countries, The AES Corporation is a global power
generation, distribution and utilities company with a current capacity of 39,429 megawatts.
The power plant technologies of AES include: coal, diesel, hydropower, gas, oil, wind and
biomass. AES operates power generation and distribution grids in Latin and North America
and energy generation facilities in Europe and Asia.
AES must file comprehensive summaries of corporate
performance to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
There are three unaudited quarterly reports, the 10-Qs,
and one audited annual report, the 10-K; each must be
submitted within 45 days of the end of the financial period
to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). Every quarter,
Mike Farrow, Senior Manager of External Reporting, and
his team, distributed and collected 170 spreadsheet
templates that captured detailed financial information
and footnotes about worldwide business operations.
The original consolidation process was manual in nature and relied on a combination of
Excel templates and macros. However, the need to adjust to mandatory changes in SEC
reporting requirements, in addition to the hundreds of Excel templates AES had to contend
with on a regular basis, put the accuracy and timeliness of their reports at risk. Vena
streamlined the company’s data collection, consolidation and reporting processes without
forcing the Finance team to abadon the macros, formulas and templates they had been
using all along.
QUICK FACTS
Industry: Energy Utility
Revenue: Public (NYSE: AES)
Number of Users: 200
Number of Businesses: 100+
Employees: 25,000
CHALLENGES
»» Issues with email
“overload”
»» Consolidation was
complicated
»» 170 spreadsheets had
to be manually managed
on a quarterly basis
»» Templates lacked
version control
APPLICATIONS
»» Filing SEC 10-K and
10-Q Reports
-- Annual (10-K)
-- Quarterly (10-Q) Financial
RESULTS
üü Faster report preparation
üü Accelerated work
processes
üü Reduced risk of rrror
üü Corporation was able
to continue existing
Excel templates,models
and formulas
CASE STUDY
“We wanted to keep our Excel functionality.
That was important to us…We’ve streamlined and
cleaned up our processes. Now I have extra days.
I can actually spend that time on value-added
review of my overall document.”
– Mike Farrow, Senior Manager Financial Reporting, AES
“[We were] sending
170 manual – and
huge – Excel templates
around the world. That
was the first problem,
managing the emailing
of 170 templates.”
– Mike Farrow, Senior Manager of
External Reporting

2. CHALLENGES
AES used to distribute and collectover 170 Excel spreadsheet templates, then used macros
to roll up data for the Finance team’s use. Not only did the Finance team have to manually
manage the numbers, they also had to manage the narrative portion of footnotes that
provides the SEC with more detailed information on the company’s projects and operations.
Issues with Version Control
The second challenge AES faced in relation to their
reporting process was issues with version control.
For example, if one submitted template contained an
error, Farrow’s department would reply by sending
out another template for completion. Sometimes,
this happened again and again. “We tried to cut
out all the different naming conventions that people
could use, but, of course, that doesn’t always work.
You can’t imagine. I’ve seen 18 versions of a template
come back before it was right,” Farrow remembers.
Lost Productivity
AES’s third challenge was the the fact that manual
work negatively affected employees’ productivity. In
order to update the spreadsheets with balances from
SAP’s Business Planning and Control system (BPC),
employees had to manually open each spreadsheet
and refresh the numbers, one by one.
If a spreadsheet was resubmitted to the Finance team
after mistakes had been identified and fixed, the
Finance team simply had no way of knowing whether
others mistakes existed in the template and had gone
unnoticed, or if anything had inadvertently been
changed during the revision process. “Since we only
consolidated the templates into a dashboard once
in the process, any late changes had to be layered
on manually through a separate process so that we
would know exactly what we were modifying and
changing,” Farrow explains.
Email Overload
AES had outgrown the Excel application
developed to support the process of gathering and
consolidating a large volume of information from
around the globe. Farrow elaborates: “[We were]
sending 170 manual – and huge – Excel templates
around the world. That was the first problem,
managing the emailing of 170 templates.”
“I’m not reducing staff, but I am able to
now take people’s time and put them on
more valuable activities, versus having
them emailing and looking at spreadsheets
where people just haven’t inputted their
numbers correctly.”
– Mike Farrow, Senior Manager of
External Reporting
The Need for Manual Data Consolidation
On the date all the templates were due, the
company ran an in-house, custom macro to
consolidate everything. It took about 45 minutes
to run. Unfortunately, the Excel macro was designed
years before by someone who was no longer with
the organization, and no one in the current reporting
department had extensive expertience writing Excel
macros. Several additional challenges arose from this
process, including macro code instability, the rigid
nature of the spreadsheet templates, which made it
difficult to accomodate new reporting requirements,
and the manual work that went into incorporating
Microsoft Office and Excel upgrades into
existing templates.
AES Reaches Their Tipping Point
The inevitable eventually happened. “We picked up
a wrong version of a template, consolidated it into
the results, did all of our disclosures and then were
ready to go file with the SEC but with a significant
error in it. We found it the on the day before we
were to file. It put us at risk for potentially having
to file late, missing our SEC deadline,” Farrow
remembers.
Missing an SEC deadline is a major issue. Farrow
itemizes the potential consequences: “By this point,
you’ve already announced your filing date. You’ve
announced when you’re going to have your earnings
call and now you’re not meeting it. There’s a risk
that your stock price could be impacted because
people, investors, or analysts may think that there’s
something else wrong.” At this point, AES decided
it was time to upgrade their processes and systems.

3. REQUIREMENTS
While seeking a solution to their numerous challenges, AES looked at different systems and
found the majority were expensive and inflexible. AES wanted to centralize and track data in a
database but also needed the new solution to be adjustable enough to allow updates on the fly.
The Incorporation of Native Excel
AES wanted to continue working with their existing
spreadsheets to prevent any major disruptions to
their operational and organization structures. It
was also important for managers to be able to easily
use and read templates, so as to minimize training
requirements. The fact that Vena could be launched
from inside Excel would help keep people focused
on their tasks instead of worrying about data
consolidation and macro issues.
Flexibility
The SEC changes its disclosure requirements every
year and, as a result, AES had to constantly modify
the format of their reports. Therefore, they needed
a system that would allow them to adapt very quickly
to mandated changes.
RESULTS
The results of implementing Vena have been numerous for AES. Following the implementation,
the team completed their consolidation and report generation process with days to spare!
For the first time, the Finance team had time for review and analysis.
No More Time-Consuming Email Exchanges
Vena eliminated the need for the Finance team to
manually manage hundreds of templates contained
in emails. Now, each “save” to a template created
in Vena automatically commits spreasheet data to a
central database. Finance managers can self-serve by
downloading spreadsheets directly from the database.
With Vena, new reporting changes are automatically
distributed to relevant spreadsheets – eliminating the
need for the Finance team send files to all of AES’s
businesses.
Reliable Financial Reporting
The biggest benefit AES has experienced as a result
of implementing Vena is a decrease in spreadsheet
errors. Previously, employees would key data
incorrectly or fail to complete certain sections. The
company implemented Vena’s business rules and
data validation functions during the design session
and now, managers assigns tasks, instructions and
deadlines to specific users and automatically receive
email notifications when set criteria are not met.
“We no longer have to worry about version
control, which has mitigated a lot of risk.”
– Mike Farrow, Senior Manager of
External Reporting
Version Control
Locked templates are stored within Vena’s central,
secure data repository. “That’s a huge improvement,”
enthuses Farrow. “We no longer have to worry about
version control, which has mitigated a lot of risk.”
Insight into Processes
AES has also integrated Vena’s workflow into their
financial reporting process. Now, when report
contributors and reviewers access Vena, they are
presented when a task list. Managers are automatically
notified via email when a template is complete and
ready for review. The required layers of routing are
encoded in the system and employees can see what
tasks are incomplete, in progress and complete.
Substantial Time and Risk Savings
Since the implementation of Vena, AES has gained
more time to focus on adding value to their SEC
reports. As Farrow explains, “We’ve streamlined
and cleaned up our processes. Now, I have extra
days. I can actually spend that time focusing on
value-added review of my overall document. I’ve
been able to rewrite at least one section of the
document that we’ve wanted to change for years
but we’ve never had time to do it.”

4. ABOUT VENA SOLUTIONS
Vena Solutions has redefined how companies automate their most mission-critical finance,
accounting and business processes. Our platform embraces the best of Microsoft®
Excel®
,
extending and evolving its capabilities to create a next-generation enterprise solution that is
powerful, yet intuitive. Vena is a first-to-market solution that offers the most comprehensive
suite of cloud-based corporate performance management (CPM) capabilities with a quick
deployment methodology – all without compromising what you love best about Excel.
www.venasolutions.com
Vena, the Vena logo are trademarks of Vena Solutions registered in various jurisdictions.All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
© Vena Solutions Inc.
ABOUT THE AES
CORPORATION
The AES Corporation
(NYSE: AES) is a global power
company that owns and
operates a diverse and
growing portfolio of electricity
generation and distribution
businesses, which provide
reliable, affordable energy
to customers in 25 countries.
AES understands that a
reliable, affordable supply of
electricity is essential to human
progress, economic growth,
public health and security.
Their power plants
encompass a broad range
of technologies and fuel
types, including coal, diesel,
hydropower, gas, oil, wind
and biomass. Their utilities
power several diverse
markets, from São Paulo
to Indianapolis to Douala.
Combining deep local insight
with a global presence and
more than 30 years of
experience, AES has a
proven commitment to
ensuring operational
excellence in providing
electricity to its customers.
www.aes.com
Greater Efficiency
Once the implementation was complete,
the very next close period was a different
experience for AES. “Fewer templates
have been sent back to the preparer and
I have only seen a handful of templates
that needed to be corrected, whereas
in the past typically we have seen up to
15 versions of a single template being
revised,” Farrow says.
Financial System Integration
With Vena, it is no longer necessary
for the Finance team to manually open
170 templates and refresh the balances
from the SAP BPC system, because the
templates are linked to BPC and
automatically updated.
Reduced Risk
Farrow sums up the benefits of risk
management by saying, “In our case,
it’s very difficult to quantify cost savings
because mitigating risk is an intangible.
How do you put a dollar value on me
filing an SEC report late?“
“I’m not reducing staff, but I am now able
to take people’s time and put them on
more valuable activities versus having
them emailing and looking at spreadsheets
where people just haven’t inputted their
numbers correctly.”
CONCLUSION
Since implementing Vena, AES has eliminated the inefficient processes
that were putting the accuracy and timeliness of their reports at risk.
They no longer rely on antiquated Excel macros and emails to collect and
consolidate important data. Data is now automatically consolidated in a
database and Vena has introduced workflow and audit controls to AES’s
reporting process, both of which have increased efficiency and allow staff
to spend more timeon value-added work.
The Finance team can now use the same spreadsheets they had been
using all along to collect data from contributors and from SAP’s BPC
system – a process that has further automated processes, eliminated
manual steps and reduced the possibility of data entry errors.
AES believes that they will start seeing even more benefits once Vena
to other reporting processes, such as Tax Provisioning.