Enterprise Performance Reporting Cloud: What is it, what does it do, and why I love it!

So I know that I’m a little late to the table with blogging about Enterprise Performance Reporting Cloud (EPRCS), but I recently spoke at OAUG’s Collaborate 2018 on this very topic, and I figured I would be remiss if I didn’t chime in on this excellent reporting tool.

As a former budget analyst in Higher Ed, I love reporting. There was no better way to communicate how things were going than in a report visually. Reports tell a story and, if the data is accurate, it is hard to deny such a story. The problem for me, as an analyst, was that it was always a struggle to create a kick-ass budget book because of all the copying from Excel and pasting into Word, and formatting (oh the formatting), and everyone having five different versions and not knowing which is which.  I MEAN COME ON PEOPLE, DO WE ALL NEED TO HAVE OUR OWN COPIES!! Sorry, I digress. I love Enterprise Performance Reporting Cloud (EPRCS) because it solves an age-old problem, how do you combine narrative elements with data in a single solution where multiple people can work and collaborate on the report at once?!

It’s more than you think

When EPRCS was first introduced in 2015, it was indeed a solution for combining narrative elements with data in a single environment. It had a few bells and whistles like content management and development phases, but more importantly, it served its purpose. Fast forward to today, and now you have a solution that not only allows users to work in a secure environment, but users can also publish financial, management, and regulatory reports (or report packages as they are known in EPRCS). It has indeed become a one-stop shop for creating reports, creating and approving report packages, and publishing.

Features

This list is continuously evolving, which I love. As of today, here are a few of the features in EPRCS:

Accessing Data

EPRCS allows you to quickly integrate with Oracle and non-Oracle sources, meaning you can combine data from any source into your reporting. For example, you can create financial and managerial reports by sourcing charts and grids from the EPM Cloud (for example, Planning and Budgeting Cloud or Financial Consolidation Close Cloud), Essbase sources (on-prem or OAC), and ERP sources like Fusion Cloud. You can also bring in data via a flat file!

Report Package Development

EPRCS utilizes Microsoft Office to create content such as narrative pieces, charts, grids, and reports. Within the solution, users can use content management where they can check in and check out their work. There is also version control and history, so users always know which doclet is the latest and greatest.

Users can also utilize embedded content, which leverages Excel’s named ranges to provide centrally controlled and reusable content; and variables which can control common dates, text, and data.

Collaboration and Workflow

Report package development in EPRCS can occur during three development phases: Authoring, Review, and Sign Off. Content is created during the Author phase and approvers review and edit the content. In the Review phase, reviewers provide feedback, asks questions, and recommend changes through threaded commentary. Finally, the Sign Off phase enables users to finalize their report content and get sign off from key stakeholders.

During any of these phases, EPRCS notifies users when tasks are due, and when important reporting deadlines need to be met.

Publishing and Delivery

When the report package is complete, it is easy to download in Word or PowerPoint (depending on the type of report package) or PDF. Users can also distribute the report package to stakeholders at any point in the report development. You can send the entire report or a limited subset of the report content based on definitions you set. The recipients of the distribution can view the report content sent to them, even if they are not participating in the report development process.

Regulatory Reporting

EPRCS allows users to manage and design XBRL taxonomies. Utilizing Microsoft Office, users can perform XBRL tagging and easily produce XBRL audit reports. Taxonomy schema rules and calculations validate XBRL tagging by checking data accuracy and compliance. EPRCS also uses regulatory-specific validation for SEC EDGAR Filer Manual rules IFRS Global Filing Manual.

You can publish reports in multiple regulatory formats, including:

XBRL
SEC EDGAR HTML
PDF

Along with all this, one other benefit EPRCS brings, if your organization is looking to get into the cloud but not willing to go all-in, EPRCS is the perfect way to get introduced to Oracle Cloud with a very minimal investment.

If your organization is in need of a solution that can build a CAFR, a budget book, an annual report, quarterly board reports, monthly board reports, or a standard P&L report, take a look at EPRCS. Your sanity will thank you.