UHY Advisors First to Achieve BlackLine Platinum Partner Status

UHY Advisors (www.uhy-us.com), a tax and business consulting firm, has been named as the first Platinum Partner for BlackLine, the leader in Enhanced Finance Controls and Automation software (www.blackline.com). Over the last three years, UHY has implemented or optimized more BlackLine projects than any other partner, and continues to lead the country in successful customer engagements.

UHY’s partnership with BlackLine has grown since 2006, and UHY’s implementation methodology continues to help mid-size companies and large enterprises successfully optimize BlackLine solutions as they strive to transform their existing Finance and Accounting departments into leading-edge Modern Finance organizations.

“For many years, UHY Advisors has brought extensive knowledge of BlackLine and a strong track record of successful implementations to the table,” said Chris Murphy, Chief Revenue Officer, BlackLine. “In 2015, we expect we’ll continue to see UHY implement BlackLine for clients in innovative ways as they expand their investment in the BlackLine modern finance platform.”

In 2014, Gartner redefined this “asset class” as the Enhanced Finance Controls and Automation (EFCA) space. According to the IT research and advisory firm, “these solutions cover many of the functions required to automate the ‘last mile of finance,’ that is, the processes required to finalize period-end accounts. However, this asset class has expanded its functionality to provide a range of functionality that enables finance to better manage and control all finance processes from “mile zero” right up to the “last mile.” Gartner noted that this class has expanded its functionality to include financial process and close management, operational and financial reconciliations, finance controls management, journal entry control, intercompany transfers/eliminations, collaborative tax preparation and finance process analytics.[1]

“We are excited that the EFCA space has been recognized for its ability to help companies manage the close-to-disclose process,” said Brad Baer, principal with UHY Advisors. “BlackLine is now recognized as the premier solution platform and UHY, as a leader in this space, is honored to be a Platinum Partner.”

UHY was a major presenter at BlackLine’s 2014 User Conference, conducting three sessions that offered insight into how companies can use BlackLine to start a revolution toward ‘Modern Finance’ within their organizations, how to use the cloud-based platform to manage a COSO framework, and how to do more with the Transaction Matching functionality in the platform.

“BlackLine provides powerful solutions,” said UHY Managing Director Frank Fenello. “When UHY applies our project management, implementation and optimization methodologies, we are able to significantly improve the close-to-disclose process and transform companies.”

Since beginning work with BlackLine, UHY has developed a proprietary methodology to assess, implement and optimize all of the products and solutions within the BlackLine platform to ensure clients leverage its full functionality. UHY’s methodology integrates technology, process improvement tools, behavioral sciences, COSO and UHY’s proprietary Optimal Performance Management System (OPMS™).

[1] Gartner, IT Market Clock for Financial Management Applications, 2014, Nigel Rayner, 26 August 2014.

Photo: UHY Managing Director Frank Fenello