Spending 80% Less Time on a Key Reconciliation
Headquartered in Chicago, Byline Bank has approximately $9.4 billion in assets and operates over 40 branch locations throughout the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas.
The Challenge
A reliance on outdated manual processes kept Byline Bank’s assistant controller up at night.
“We’re a publicly traded company. It’s critical that our processes are both fast and accurate,” says Debora Lurgio. “But very little was automated. We relied heavily on spreadsheets.”
Manual tasks also kept the team from other key—and value-added—work. “One reconciliation alone took one person six to eight hours every day to complete. It was her only job.”
For Lurgio, a frustrating, resource-intensive audit was the final straw.
“It wasn’t an unsatisfactory audit. But it was very time-consuming and highlighted the faults of our current process.”
Why BlackLine
Lurgio used the audit experience as a springboard for change.
“The audit underpinned our business case for BlackLine. We showed management that we could close faster if we had the right tools.”
Eager to streamline the close and enhance visibility into financial information and status, leadership quickly gave the green light. The team implemented BlackLine solutions, including Account Reconciliations, Task Management, and Transaction Matching.
Today, Lurgio continues to optimize Byline Bank’s use of BlackLine.
“I’m thrilled at where we are today. But going forward, I know that we can do even more. Currently, we’re very excited about applying automating matching to even more of our processes.”
The Results
Reduced time spent on one reconciliation by 80%. With our first Transaction Matching use case in BlackLine, one key reconciliation takes six hours less.
“Every loan transaction runs through a high-value loan account,” says Lurgio. “It used to take someone very familiar with the system six to eight hours a day to work on that reconciliation. With BlackLine, it only takes an hour. When we apply automation to even more processes, the potential efficiency gains are game-changing.
Freed staff to focus on value-added work. The capacity gained with automation gives the team time to research outstanding items and contribute to the bottom line.
“We’re not having to write things off because they’re too old,” says Lurgio. “With items like ACH returns, we have a limited window. BlackLine helps us resolve these issues so much faster.”
Reduced the risk of errors. Eliminating manual, spreadsheet-heavy work and centralizing financial data has helped improve accuracy and compliance.
“With BlackLine, we’re reducing human error through automation. We have an automated feed, which gives us better data and better controls.”
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Byline Bank - Customer Video
Financial Services
Fiserv
United States
Midsize
Reduced time spent on one reconciliation by 80%,
Freed staff to focus on more value-added work
Reduced the risk of errors
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