Veikko Laine Oy is the country’s leading private fruit and vegetable wholesaler and importer, also operating in Estonia through its subsidiary. Founded in 1965, the family-owned group had a turnover of over 690 MEUR in 2020 and has also been an active investor in Finland and abroad for decades. The group employs more than 175 people.

Need for Competent Consultants and Modern Solution

Veikko Laine Oy’s consolidated financial statements were previously prepared mostly using Excel workbooks. The procurement process began in spring 2022, driven by the company’s desire to systematize group accounts and reporting. The aim was to complete the consolidated financial statements for 2022 with the new solution.

“We wanted to update the consolidation process of the group’s financial statements. Intito took up the challenge quickly already in the planning phase of the project and assigned two expert consultants to manage the project. The project stayed on schedule and on budget, and as a result we got a functional, simple and well-documented process for preparing annual financial statements,” says Jussi Kangaspunta, CFO, Veikko Laine Oy, about the project.

Client-Centric Collaboration was the Key to Success

The migration process entailed transferring consolidated financial statements into IBM Cognos Controller from previous years, which helped uncover hidden inconsistencies within the old process. The objective was to first reconcile numbers from 2020 and 2021 prepared in IBM Cognos Controller with the corresponding numbers prepared in Excel. The transition to IBM Cognos Controller required a very deep knowledge of group accounting from Intito’s consultants.

“Our approach involved systematically organizing the consolidated accounts step by step, avoiding the attempt to handle everything simultaneously. In meetings every three weeks, we made sure that the previous piece was working and went on to work on the next piece with the client’s experts. The adoption of a step-by-step approach ensured the gradual integration of consolidated accounts and enabled a controlled and effective transition,” says Senior Consultant Catarina Asplund of Intito, about the project.

At the client’s request, the meetings were regularly held at their premises and smaller challenges were addressed remotely. The workshop meetings allowed the client’s experts, together with Intito’s consultants, to use Cognos Controller to first rewrite the history and then the 2022 financial statements. This allowed the client’s experts to familiarize themselves with the new system by doing while the transition was being made.

“It is much more meaningful to look at your own figures and learn a new way of working in your own context. We were also not left alone after the project; Intito was very accessible and able to help us. This is the best IT project I have been involved in in my entire career. A very good collaboration and approach. We stayed on time and on budget, our wishes and needs were considered and implemented,” Pirjo Kunelius, Chief Accountant, Veikko Laine Oy sums up the successful project.

Successful Project Leads to Continued Partnership

With the consolidated financial statement foundation well-established, Veikko Laine Oy now enjoys a more streamlined reporting process. The initial objectives of the project were fully achieved and a potential follow-up project in autumn 2023 aims to further refine reporting and reconciliations for the next set of consolidated financial statements.

“It is good to have a partner who has in-depth knowledge of our consolidation process and the technology we choose. This allows us to focus on the substance. The success of this project has led us to eagerly anticipate collaborating once more. In a way, it was even unprecedented compared to similar projects. The schedule, the project plan and the budget all held”, says Jussi Kangaspunta about the ongoing cooperation.