As a finance leader in the entertainment industry, you deal with a unique set of challenges including managing multiple entities, creating consolidated reports, planning for the future, closing the month, and a whole lot more. The only way to do this well is to automate manual tasks with technology and free your team to be strategic. Would you like to know how to do this better? See how RKL eSolutions has helped Skydance, Legendary, and Spyglass Media improve their business processes with automation.

1. Make Your Entertainment
Accounting Team More
Strategic
February 23, 2021

2. Let’s Meet Our Hosts
MY FOCUS AND EXPERIENCE
20+ years assisting growing entertainment companies
evaluate and select software solutions to help finance
executives make great decisions for their business
Mark Severance
Director, Cloud Sales
David Cieslak, CPA
Chief Cloud Officer
MY FOCUS AND EXPERIENCE
25+ years helping growing entertainment companies
evaluate, architect, and implement software solutions
that match their individuals needs

3. RKL eSolutions – Intro
• We partner with growing entertainment
companies to provide financial management
software solutions and accompanying consulting
expertise.
• Cloud software solutions
• Financial management / ERP
• Budgeting & planning
• AP automation
• Month-end close automation
• Employee expense management

4. Sad Reality – the “un”Productivity Pyramid
S
t
r
a
t
e
g
i
c
V
a
l
u
e
T
i
m
e
S
p
e
n
t
Entering transactions, checking for errors,
manually updating spreadsheets, messing
with sub-optimal technology, looking for
information, sending emails, fixing errors,
asking others to help you find information,
manually updating spreadsheets, etc.
Creating reports,
collaborating with
colleagues, reacting to
change, working to solve
common problems
Data
analysis &
strategic
planning

5. Goals for Every Finance Leader
1) Flip the pyramid
2) Free your team to do their best work
3) Provide more strategic partner value to executives, investors, and
other key stakeholders

6.  Financial and operational reporting
 Accounting processes
 Integration between systems
1) Perform an “un”Productivity Audit

7.  Document every use of Excel (in a spreadsheet, please) 
 Categorize (reporting, analysis, budgeting / modeling,
month-end close, employee expenses, bank and other recs)
 Rank the severity of the problem
 What is the optimal solution? (better leverage current
tech, identify / implement a new solution, ignore)
Audit Step #1: Identify Excel Abuse

8.  Document every use of paper (no, not on paper … 2x points for paper
scotch-taped to other paper!)
 Categorize (reporting, invoices, aging, approvals, employee expenses, etc.)
 Rank the severity of the problem
 What is the optimal solution?
(better leverage current tech,
identify / implement a new solution,
ignore)
Audit Step #2: Pinpoint Paper Problems

9.  Document every time the same data is being entered into
two or more systems (2x points for 3 or more systems!)
 Categorize (accounting, payroll, expense management,
production accounting, rights management, other line of
business)
 Rank the severity of the problem
 What is the optimal solution? (better leverage current tech,
identify / implement a new solution, ignore)
Audit Step #3: Explore Data Intersections

10.  If you were king / queen for a day, what are the top three things you would change?
 What are the top three time-wasters in your current role?
 What are the things that reduce enjoyment in your job, drain your will to live, or
tempt you to kick the nearest pet?
 How could you add more value to the company with improved technology or process?
 What are the top three tasks you’re currently performing for which you did not go to
college?
 At what point in your day/week do you
mutter, “There’s got to be a better way!”
Audit Step #4: Poll the Team

11.  Know their priorities for the company
 Flexibility / responding quickly to change
 Real-time information / analysis
 Reduced risk / increased compliance
 Increase profitability
 Company expansion and growth
 Show how accounting & finance department automation will
help to further overall company goals
2) Align with the Executive Team

12.  Do your homework
 Partner with a trusted advisor (ideally something a little more
personal than Google) Ideally, a firm like RKL!
 Confirm the match of your requirements and recommended
solution(s)
 Determine return on investment (ROI)
 Prepare a roadmap – three paths
 Low hanging fruit
 Lay the foundation
 Big bang!
3) Research ROI Roadmap

13. Top 10 Automation Ideas

14. 1) Dimensions!
75 Account Code
Combinations
Natural Account
1500 Equipment
Account Segments
Location Department Project
001 New York 100 Corporate 001
002 San Francisco 200 Engineering 002
003 Dallas 300 Development 003
400 Marketing 004
500 Sales 005

15. Sage Intacct Dimensions Example
Entertainment Industry Sample Dimension Structure
Entity Department Project / Title Genre Season
001 Film 001 Corporate 001 Star Trek Beyond Comedy-Drama One
002 TV 002 Engineering 002 Jurassic World Western Two
003 Talent 003 Development 003 Guy’s Grocery Games Sci-Fi Three
004 Commercials 004 Marketing 004 Grace and Frankie Unscripted Four
005 Sales
Account Title Natural GL Account
Equipment 1500

16. Entertainment Dimensions Example

17. A Growing Entertainment Company Needs
 Unlimited entities
 Shared COA, vendor, and customer lists
 Unified login without logging out and logging
in again (subject to security permissions)
2) Multi-Entity Management
Benefits
 Automated consolidations
 Automated intercompany transactions and
allocations
 Multi-currency and global consolidations (as
necessary)

18. 3) AP Invoice & Payment Automation

19. Skydance Media: Success Story
Previous Challenges:
 On-premises, legacy software not equipped to support dynamic growth and more than 50 entities
 Chart of accounts was not flexible enough to provide required reporting & analysis
 Manual processes: financial and operational reporting, consolidations, budgeting and planning,
expense management, etc.
Results with RKL and Sage Intacct:
 Real-time reporting by dimension (e.g. title/film, business segment, employee, vendor, etc.) without
having to manually build reports in Excel
 Improved efficiency, reduced costs, and rapid company without having to add new resources
 Best-in-class integration with budgeting and planning, expense management, and AP automation
 Skydance team members have shifted time into strategic planning and process improvement
“RKL has an abundance
of entertainment
industry experience.
That made it so much
easier for us, because
they’ve
done it countless other
times for companies
just like ours.”
Anne Price,
SVP Finance

20. 4) Budgeting & planning
Collaborative
Comprehensive
Continuous
V1
V_FINAL3.5
V_FINAL3
V_FINAL4
V_FINAL.FINAL
V4
V_FINAL2
V_FINAL2.2.1
V2
V1
V_FINAL3.5
V_FINAL3
V_FINAL2
V_FINAL2.2.1
V2
V_FINAL4
V_FINAL.FINAL
V4
Workday Confidential
Sales Finance HR
Marketing Operations IT

21. Requirements for Business Agility
Collaborative
Comprehensive
Continuous
Designed for
Business Users
Powerful
Modeling Engine
Fast Planning
to Execution
Sales
Finance
HR
Marketing
Operations
IT

22. 5) Employee expense mgmt.

23. 6) Banking automation

24. Legendary Entertainment
Previous Challenges:
• On-premises, legacy software not equipped to support dynamic, global growth
• Chart of accounts was not flexible enough to provide required reporting & analysis
• Manual processes: financial and operational reporting, consolidations, bank recs, etc.
Results:
• Simplified chart of accounts; reporting by dimension (e.g. title/film, genre, distribution channel, etc.)
• Legendary team members can make data-driven decisions with anywhere, anytime, any device access
to real-time dashboards, KPIs, and reports.
• Best-in-class integration with Adaptive Insights, AvidXchange, Concur, and FilmTrack
• Rapid company growth without adding personnel in accounting and finance
“We’ve always known that
RKL is looking out for us.
They’ve scaled with us as
we’ve scaled – continuing to
offer the same sound,
informed advice and
solutions that enable us to
focus more on our business,
and less on our accounting
software.”
Dino Gioia, former SVP of
Finance

25. 7) Monthly-close reconciliation
• Status update meetings
to know where the close
stands
• No standardized or
repeatable processes in
place
• Lack of data around
ways to improve
• Requesting
documentation
internally and externally
• Support and
documentation spread
across applications that
don’t integrate
• Manual ticking-and-tying
• Tedious matching across
high-volume transactional
accounts
• Managing amortization
schedules manually
• Tracking down PBC
requests for your auditors
• Deficiency of internal
controls – SOX compliance
on the horizon
• Previously reviewed
reconciliations falling out
of balance
DO ANY OF THESE MONTH-END + AUDIT ISSUES SOUND FAMILIAR?

26. 26
How RKL Clients Close The Books Remotely
• Accounting Team: 4+
• Team in dispersed locations
• Performing 30+ reconciliations a month
• Multiple entities
• 5+ days to close the books
• Painful audit
“
“
Who FloQast Helps
Product Features RKL Loves
• FloQast AutoRec extends Intacct’s bank rec module to all accounts, provides alternative to Intacct’s
prepaid module + auto ties out Intacct TB to Excel Recs
• FloQast’s Automated workflow features extend Intacct’s period close checklist & upgrades
accounting and finances excel checklist
• FloQast’s Automated Roll-Forwards re-create folder structure, reconciliations, tasks and supporting
documentation
• FloQast Dashboard + Analytics provide visibility into status of close process and bottlenecks
• Flux Analysis automates custom grouped reports for period over periods comparisons of actuals to
actuals
Accounting Workflow Automation Software Built By Accountants
What FloQast Does: Shorten Month-End Close + Audit
How: Extends Intaccts Reconciliation + Workflow Capabilities
Value Add
• Avg. Reduction In Days To Close 30%
• Reduce Audit Fees / Mitigate Audit Fee Increases
• Scale Accounting Team Efficiently
• Enable Remote Work

27. 8) Artificial intelligence
Ensure accuracy as transactions are recorded into the system
Proactively catch
errors
• Leverage GL
approvals
• Score outliers
using machine
learning
• Call attention to
what requires a
closer look
This combination is unusual – Account,
Department, Location, Amount

28. 9) Open APIs for integration

29. INTEGRATION
via web APIs with other
best-in-class solutions
“I’ve been a Sage Intacct and RKL
client for many years at three
different growing entertainment
companies. In every case, Sage Intacct
has been the optimal solution and RKL
is my preferred partner. Sage Intacct
makes my accounting team more
strategic and RKL provides
entertainment consulting expertise to
ensure we’re following best practices
at each point along the way.”
- Kelly Wall, VP, Controller
Customer Success: Spyglass Media Group
HQ Location: Los Angeles, CA
Product: Sage Intacct
SPYGLASS MEDIA GROUP
Spyglass Media Group, LLC, is an
independent premium content
company, focused on developing,
producing, financing and acquiring
motion pictures and television
programming across all platforms for
worldwide audiences.
Real-time reporting &
DASHBOARDS
VISIBILITY
into performance across all
business segments and
projects

30.  Simplify IT
 Facilitate work from anywhere
 Leverage the latest technology
 Automated upgrades; always on the latest version
 Mobile capabilities
 Pre-integrated solutions
 Fantastic user experience
 Accelerated innovation
 Fast time to value
10) Cloud – of course!

31. Let Us Know How We Can Help!
MY FOCUS AND EXPERIENCE
20+ years assisting growing entertainment companies
evaluate and select software solutions to help finance
executives make great decisions for their business
Mark Severance
Director, Cloud Sales
David Cieslak, CPA
Chief Cloud Officer
MY FOCUS AND EXPERIENCE
25+ years helping growing entertainment companies
evaluate, architect, and implement software solutions
that match their individuals needs