Shaw: For our financial planning, we use Cognos. From a general ledger point of view, because of the various companies that have been acquired over the years, we're on four different systems. We're moving toward SAP, but we're not all there yet. So in 2005, we basically had four different companies doing things four different ways. The accounting department was handling financial budgeting using spreadsheets. That's when Ryerson created a new department -- financial planning and analysis -- to come up with a unified way to look at the financials. We were charged with creating a model that would allow people to look at every Ryerson branch, regardless of what system they're on, in a similar fashion.

We had to map all the various general ledger codes to specific expense line items so that the company was no longer budgeting at a general ledger code level, which is what they were doing in the past. And we had to create a map that would allow everyone to understand which of the G/L codes from each system went into a particular line item so that they would understand how they had to budget each item. Then the budget could be developed in a common software system, with common definitions of the line items companywide. We pull the revenue data from the dashboard into the Cognos model, so once a general manager has done their payroll or head count in Cognos, along with their individual expenses, they can see their I&E, or income and expense, report.

BPM: And then do the budgets roll up into a look at the overall company's expenses?

Shaw: Exactly. Once we created the hierarchy, all the calculations became automatic. We have locations both in the U.S. and in Canada, so we had to make sure the system would take into account currency. Now the Canadians can budget in Canadian dollars, but then when we look at the rollup, we look at it in U.S. dollars.

BPM: Is there routine management reporting of the actuals versus the budget on a profit basis?

Shaw: Yes, there is. Things have changed over the two years since we started this project. At first, the accounting group was not looking at the information contained within the Cognos application. They had their own Excel reports that they used. But as they were working through the conversions, they found that the best source for information in a consistent fashion was to come to our consolidated financial reports.

BPM: What convinced the accounting department to begin relying on the BPM system you implemented?

Shaw: I would say it's because we had mapped the general ledger codes in a consistent fashion. We consolidated all the information in one spot so that they could either dig down deep into a particular branch, or else just look at the high level. It was because we had examined the general ledgers and come up with a consistent way to look at them. We removed the inconsistencies between them. Even though we've now created this unified view, there are still some differences in how the different ledgers handle certain things, but we try to root out inconsistencies.

BPM: How did you start the process of mapping the different general ledgers to one unified system?

Shaw: First of all, we had to decide how we wanted to categorize our expenses. The accounting department had been categorizing expenses to a certain extent already, and we just refined it a little bit. So then we talked to the accountants on each of the systems, trying to understand how their G/L worked and what the codes meant. From there, we determined which one of the expense categories each G/L code applied to. It's been an iterative process. We did it once, we had them look at it again, we did it again. When accounting became more involved, they had certain ways that they liked to see things, so that caused us to make further refinements.

BPM: What has reaction been like within the broader company to the consolidation of the information from these different general ledgers into one system?

Shaw: A general manager is now able to look at all of the locations that he manages and see them in a consistent way. In the first year that we set it up, we received many e-mails from GMs who were very appreciative of the information. At the same time, the accounting group is able to use the information to help answer the auditors' questions, and it helps in producing the commentary that's necessary for the financial reports. So in many ways it helps a general manager, a divisional vice president, and the accounting/finance department answer questions.

BPM: Are managers now able to look at their data in new ways?

Shaw: The process is much simpler for them. Our performance management system gives them more information without as much effort.

BPM: Are there any specific actions that the company has taken as a result of having a better view of its overall performance that wouldn't have been possible before implementing the overarching BPM system?

Shaw: One of the reports that we produce is a daily sales report. The accounting group actually used to produce the daily sales report, but they used a spreadsheet and had to get inputs from all the different G/L systems, so it was a very high-level document that didn't go down very deep into the data. In Cognos we've implemented a similar report, but it goes down to the service center level; it reports based on our 15 lines of business. It is updated daily with minimal effort, and it gives upper management more visibility into the sales that are occurring within the business so that they can more quickly see trends -- which enables them to determine how to act next.

BPM: And helps with sales-related decisions, like pricing decisions?

Shaw: Exactly.

BPM: Has Ryerson seen any other benefits from the companywide consolidation of its budgeting and actuals information?

Shaw: When companies come together, there are always cultural differences and different ways of looking at things, different terminology that is used. The implementation of the Cognos application has helped us unify the terminology, has given us a way to look at things in a consistent fashion. That's been a direct result of our efforts to bring together the different pieces of the different general ledgers, and I think that's the biggest benefit we've seen, aside from streamlining our processes for budgeting and examining the business.

BPM: Do you feel that the implementation was worthwhile, for the benefits of bringing the company together?

Shaw: Yes. The full conversion to SAP is not going to be complete till late next year. We still need to be able to manage the business and report on how we are doing and performing. For a general manager that has locations on the different G/L systems, that was next to impossible before Cognos. So we feel that this has been a very successful venture.