Case Study
Church Pension Group
Church Pension Group Improves Effi ciency and Streamlines Audit
Management with Interwoven and Micro Strategies
With a relatively small workforce managing over $9 billion in assets, the Church Pension Group depends on operational
effi ciency to support scalable growth—something the organization's manual, paper-based processes made diffi cult to
achieve. "Each invoice would touch many hands before it was entered for processing and paid, and there were many
special cases that further slowed the process, leading to both ineffi ciency and ineffectiveness," explains Ellen Taggart,
CPG's vice president of finance.
CPG already used Interwoven WorkSite for storing and managing documents. "Our vision was to expand our use of
Interwoven beyond just a repository tool and integrate it with our Oracle applications and other operating applications
for our life insurance affi liate, health benefits administration, and external audit management," says Taggart. CPG now
leverages Interwoven to improve auditability, accountability, and effi ciency organization-wide.
"Interwoven WorkSite, customized and supported by Micro Strategies, has brought accountability, control, and effi ciency
to a long and cumbersome or labor intensive external audit process. Working with us through our audit workspace is now
a business requirement for any auditor we work with—we wouldn't do it any other way."
—Ellen Taggart, Vice President of Finance, CPG
Integrating Systems for Control and Efficiency
CPG began with a pilot project in accounts payable (AP), seeking to implement a standardized, systematic, hands-on
automated process where paper would be touched only once, on receipt from the vendor, and from then on would be
electronic and image-based. The company worked with Interwoven Platinum Partner Micro Strategies to create an
end-to-end platform for AP processing through the close integration of WorkSite with Oracle Financials, KoFax Ascent
Capture, and Micro Strategies' own MSI Profi ler enterprise document processing solution, which provides users with the
ability to sign, markup, and annotate a document, then push it through an automated lifecycle.
Explains Adam J. Storch, director of Micro Strategies' ECM practice, "When an invoice is scanned into WorkSite, it pulls
vendor information from Oracle Financials to automate the assignment of metadata to invoices. AP personnel, approvers,
and select users can also view invoices stored in WorkSite using a link within Oracle Financials. This way, people can approve
invoices from within Oracle without even knowing they actually reside in WorkSite. This has substantially reduced
the number of support requests coming into AP."
Reducing Cost while Accelerating Processes
"Our Interwoven-powered AP platform has brought new simplicity and speed to the process," reports Taggart. "Even
though our transactions have increased in recent years through growth, we've actually reduced our AP processing headcount
from four people to three as a result of greater effi ciency." CPG now plans to replicate this success in additional
business units including claims processing for its insurance affi liates. "Our other business managers are eager to follow in AP's footsteps," she says.
Solution
Interwoven Worksite powers collaborative document management for the Church Pension Group. Integration
with enterprise applications including Oracle Financials and Oracle CRM provides an automated end-to-end
workflow to improve the efficiency, accountability, and accuracy of document-driven processes throughout
the company. The solution is also used to manage external audits, helping CPG reduce the time and expense
associated with the audit process while ensuring that each task is completed in a timely manner.
Improving Accuracy and Accountability
The creation of a standardized, automated AP workflow has eliminated the time-consuming errors that can result from
manual processes. Once an invoice has entered the system, approvers throughout CPG can use self-service workspaces
within WorkSite to track its status. "We've decentralized accountability," explains Storch. "It's much simpler to figure
out who's doing what to get things done." Taggart agrees: "In the past, if a paper invoice was on someone's desk or in
interoffice mail, it was difficult to account for it. Now everything is managed electronically within WorkSite."
Bringing Simplicity and Accuracy to External Audit Management
External audits can be an arduous experience for any organization. CPG uses WorkSite to streamline and simplify the
process. "WorkSite allows us to hold everyone involved accountable for what's been requested, what's been provided,
and when events have happened," says Taggart. Audit documents are exchanged solely through a dedicated workspace,
and each task is assigned to a specific individual; automated alerts keep participants focused on deadlines to keep
the process moving. A live dashboard provides instant visibility into the status of every aspect of the audit. Repeatable
information requests such as building leases can simply be carried over from year to year. Micro Strategies is currently
enhancing the system to add task-specific discussion threads enabling auditors and internal personnel to capture their
dialogue for future reference.
Says Taggart, "Interwoven WorkSite, customized and supported by Micro Strategies, has brought accountability, control,
and efficiency to a long and cumbersome or labor intensive external audit process. Working with us through our audit
workspace is now a business requirement for any auditor we work with—we wouldn't do it any other way."
Building on Success Company-Wide
CPG continues to expand the benefits of its Interwoven investment. To automate the receipt, review, and approval of a
product offered by its life insurance affiliate, the company has integrated WorkSite with Oracle CRM, Adobe Acrobat,
Kofax Ascent Capture, and an insurance operating application built and owned by Fiserv. "The planning and design
capabilities brought by Micro Strategies have helped make for a smooth integration process, and the system is now in
production use for the current enrollment period, which is a huge benefit for our business," says Taggart.
About Interwoven
Interwoven is a global leader in content management solutions. Interwoven's software and services enable organizations
to effectively leverage content to drive business growth by improving the customer experience, increasing collaboration,
and streamlining business processes in dynamic environments. Our unique approach combines user-friendly simplicity
with robust IT performance and scalability to unlock the value of content. Today, more than 4,000 enterprise and professional
services organizations worldwide have chosen Interwoven, including: adidas, Airbus, Avaya, Cisco, DLA Piper, the
Federal Reserve Bank, FedEx, HSBC, LexisNexis, Microsoft, Samsung, Shell, Samsonite, White & Case, and Yamaha. Over
20,000 developers and over 300 partners enrich and extend Interwoven's offerings. To learn more about Interwoven,
please visit www.interwoven.com.
About Micro Strategies Inc.
Established in 1983, Micro Strategies has distinguished itself as one of the most innovative technology solution providers
and a strategic business partner for premier technology vendors. As an Interwoven Platinum partner, and industry leader,
Micro Strategies is at the forefront of architecting and implementing quality technology solutions with a commitment to
responsive, client-first service. Comprehensive solutions are centered in the following areas: Advanced Infrastructure, Business
Systems Integration, Business Applications, Enterprise Content Management, Security and Compliance, and Business
Information Management and Protection Solutions.
Learn more about the company and its solutions at www.microstrat.com.