Workiva SOX Compliance Solution Achieves Milestone

AMES, Iowa, March 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Workiva (NYSE: WK), creator of the Wdesk cloud-based productivity platform for business data collaboration and reporting, announced today that more than 100 companies, including Advance Auto Parts, FirstMerit Corporation and Gulfport Energy Corporation, are now using Wdesk to increase efficiency in documenting, implementing and assessing internal controls over financial reporting as required under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).

SOX requires public company CEOs and CFOs to individually certify that their annual and quarterly financial reports are accurate and complete and to assess the effectiveness of their internal controls over financial reporting. Increased scrutiny from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) on audits of management's assessment of internal controls – and the transition in the framework used for assessing internal controls – is driving public companies to find more efficient and accurate solutions for SOX compliance.

"SOX compliance can be challenging because building, implementing and evaluating internal controls requires collaboration across multiple departments, often involving hundreds of co-workers across the globe," said Matt Rizai, Chairman and CEO of Workiva. "Our Wdesk SOX solution allows simultaneous collaboration with the perfect mix of control, accountability and documentation of internal controls over financial reporting that is essential to auditors, executives and boards."

"Wdesk allows our auditors to easily observe review procedures performed and the conclusions reached during the review process," said Stacy Gilbert, Corporate Controller at FirstMerit Corporation.  "This is a win for both FirstMerit and our auditors."

Key features of Wdesk for SOX include:

• Control and Accountability - The risk control matrix, process narratives and dashboards are all linked in Wdesk. Changes to linked information—such as control language—are automatically updated across related documents. Users can control who has access to that information on a granular level.
• Transparency and Auditability - All stakeholders have instant and accurate visibility into the health and status of their SOX program. Wdesk stamps every change in SOX process documentation, including testing, for auditability.
• Certification and Reporting - Wdesk automates risk, process and control reviews and certification. Secure e-mails are sent directly to control and process owners as reviews are scheduled.

"Wdesk, and more specifically the commenting feature in Wdesk, has become a key tool for us because it allows our management reviews to be evidenced with the appropriate level of precision," said FirstMerit's Gilbert.

Gartner recently cited Workiva as a "best-of-breed vendor" in its report on enhanced financial controls and automation.¹

"By integrating the documentation, testing and implementation of internal controls over financial reporting inside Wdesk, our customers are saving time and improving the quality of their controls," said Rizai. "We are very pleased with the way our customers are expanding their use of Wdesk to reduce risk as part of their overall governance, risk and compliance (GRC) programs."  

About Workiva
Workiva created Wdesk, a cloud-based platform for enterprises to collect, manage, report and analyze business data in real time. Wdesk includes a sophisticated productivity suite for business data collaboration and reporting that is used by thousands of corporations, including more than 65 percent of the Fortune 500. Wdesk proprietary word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications are fully integrated and built upon the Workiva data management engine. Wdesk helps reduce enterprise risk and increase productivity with synchronized data, controlled collaboration, granular permissions and a full audit trail. This gives users confidence to make decisions with real-time data. Workiva (NYSE: WK) employs more than 900 people with offices in 15 cities. The company is headquartered in Ames, Iowa. For more information, visit workiva.com.

Contact:
Ali Shaffer
Grayling
1.206.508.4103
[email protected]

¹ Gartner. Enhanced Finance Controls and Automation Fills the Gaps in ERP and CPM Processes, John E. Van Decker. October 2014.

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SOURCE Workiva

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