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Corporate Compliance Using Lawson ProcessFlow and Smart Notification. Understanding the Law.
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Corporate ComplianceUsing Lawson ProcessFlow and Smart Notification
Understanding the Law The Sarbanes-Oxley Act established new and enhanced standards for corporate accountability, as well as severe penalties for corporate wrongdoing. Good corporate governance and ethical business practices are now the law. Primary Areas of Regulation under Sarbanes-Oxley
Sarbanes-Oxley – Relevant Sections Section 404 • Requires management to annually: • State their responsibility for establishing and maintaining an adequate internal control structure and procedures for financial reporting • Conduct an assessment of the effectiveness of the company’s internal controls and procedures for financial reporting • Requires the independent auditor to: • Attest to management’s assertion (requires a framework such as COSO) Section 409 • Real Time Disclosures: • Issuers are required to disclose to the public, on an urgent basis, information on material changes in their financial condition or operations. These disclosures are to be presented in terms that are easy to understand supported by trend and qualitative information of graphic presentations as appropriate.
Internal Control Framework The COSO Framework COSOidentifies five components of internal control that need to be in place and integrated to ensure the achievement of each of the three main objectives. • Monitoring • Information & Communication • Control Activities • Risk Assessment • Control Environment
Primary Areas of Focus • Control Activities • Completion of the documenting of internal controls • Testing and implementing internal controls • Sustaining internal control implementations • Implementation of system based controls • Monitoring • Timely review of reports • Internal audit function • Proactive notification of material events • Information and Communication • Single version of the truth • Timely distribution of information
Lawson Solutions Base Systems • Financials, Procurement, HR/Payroll • Expense Management, Time Management, etc… • Reporting & Analytics ProcessFlow - System based controls and approvals • Lawson ProcessFlow provides a means of implementing documented internal controls • System based controls • Audit trails are created and can be reported on Smart Notification - Proactive Monitoring and Reporting • Time or data event based • Monitor data for “material events” • Root cause analysis
Functionality comparison with Process Flow Capability Smart Notes Process Flow • Notifications with rich, actionable content? Yes - Focus No • End-user subscribe and customize model? Yes No • Dynamic links into Lawson applications? Yes No • Delivery to a wide range of devices? Yes No • Monitors data from both Lawson and non-Lawson systems? Yes No • Ability to define and monitor complete processes / workflow? No Yes - Focus • Ability to automatically route workflow requests? No Yes • Perform automated steps based on workflow decisions? No Yes
Lawson ProcessFlow - Packaging • ProcessFlow Standard • Every Lawson release 8 customer receives ProcessFlow Standard at no charge • ProcessFlow Standard is delivered with the 8.0.X Environment • ProcessFlow Professional • Saleable version of ProcessFlow • Full-capability version of ProcessFlow • ProcessFlow Solutions • No charge, licensed products; 28 pre-built processes (flows) • Available to every ProcessFlow Standard or Professional customers • Will operate with either ProcessFlow Standard or Professional
ProcessFlow Standard • Can build processes (flows) from scratch using the ProcessFlow Designer • Can not build processes from scratch that contain any of these three nodes: • UserNode • HR UserNode • Work Object Node • Can operate and configure processes that contain any of these three nodes
ProcessFlow Professional • Full-capability version of ProcessFlow • Can build processes (flows) from scratch that contain any node in the ProcessFlow Designer • Can build processes from scratch for multi-step, multi-user review and approval • Job requisition • Salary increase • Purchase requisition • Etc. • Can build processes from scratch that contain these three nodes: • UserNode • HR UserNode • Work Object Node
Types of Triggers (Standard or Professional) ProcessFlow Start
ProcessFlow Inbasket • Delivered with both ProcessFlow Standard and ProcessFlow Professional • Two versions: • Web/HTML Inbasket • Lawson Portal based Inbasket • Both versions of Inbasket have same functionality • Both versions of Inbasket only require a web browser connected to internet/intranet for access • Only difference is deployment method • Reviewers and approvers in ProcessFlow do NOT need to be set-up as Lawson applications users • Unlimited number of end users
ProcessFlow Designer • A Graphical User Interface (GUI) to define a process • Simulate the process at design time • Upload the process on the ProcessFlow Server Repository for server side execution
ProcessFlow Designer: Nodes • Activity Nodes • AGS, DME (Internet Object Services, IOS) • Email • Message Builder • Work Object Creator • Web Run • Can be used to integrate with non-Lawson, web-addressable applications • User Action • HR User Action • Logical Nodes • Branching - conditional channeling of data • Iteration - looping over defined sub-graph • Assign – basic mapping of variables
ProcessFlow Designer: Salary Change Approval Can NOT use ProcessFlow Standard to build a process from scratch that includes the User Node(s)
ProcessFlow Metrics • Track how long to complete each step in a multi-step, multi-level review and approval workflow process • Metrics are stored in the database powering the Lawson applications • Answer questions to identify bottlenecks: • “How long does it take to approve purchase requisitions greater than $1,000 by store, by region?” • Can be analyzed by: • Lawson’s Enterprise Performance Management products • Lawson Smart Notification • Other reporting and analysis tools
When to use ProcessFlow Web/HTML Inbasket? • Can be assigned per end user • Reviewers and approvers that do not use the Lawson Portal, i.e., LID users, non-Lawson application users • Non-organizational reviewers and approvers • Supplier or vendor personnel • Customer personnel • Low-frequency reviewers and approvers • Example HTML templates delivered by Lawson • Very customizable • Modified with any HTML editor • HTML skills required
When to use Lawson Portal based ProcessFlow Inbasket? • Can be assigned per end user • Reviewers and approvers that do use the Lawson Portal • High-frequency reviewers and approvers • Integrated user experience with Lawson Portal • Quicker and easier to implement • Only need to “turn on” Lawson Portal based ProcessFlow Inbasket flag in each person’s RD30 Lawson web user record • Very customizable with Lawson Design Studio • Can be modified with any HTML/JavaScript editor • Do not need Lawson Design Studio • HTML/JavaScript skills required
Business Problem • New and Returning Employee Security Set-up • Employees initiated the request for access • Time consuming process • An average of 60 - 80 new hires or returning employees each bi-weekly pay cycle • Small security division staff
Problem Resolution • Used ProcessFlow Professional (or Standard) to Automate Security Set-up Process: • Identifies all new or returning employees • Verifies Status Code and Process Level • Creates the user personal profile and web name (RD30) record • Creates the interface file for use by the current Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) account creation system • Emails the employee or HR office the logon information
Example This process can be built from scratch with ProcessFlow Standard • PHR008 Security Flow Note no User Nodes, HR User Nodes, or Work Object Nodes
Smart Notification • Proactively monitors data, filters out noise, and automatically delivers important information • Simplifies and guarantees reporting, analysis and information dissemination • Eliminates uncertainty
Data Sources Smart NotificationServer Smart Notification makes it easy
Functionality comparison with Process Flow Capability Smart Notes Process Flow • Notifications with rich, actionable content? Yes - Focus No • End-user subscribe and customize model? Yes No • Dynamic links into Lawson applications? Yes No • Delivery to a wide range of devices? Yes No • Monitors data from both Lawson and non-Lawson systems? Yes No • Ability to define and monitor complete processes / workflow? No Yes - Focus • Ability to automatically route workflow requests? No Yes • Perform automated steps based on workflow decisions? No Yes