BlackLine

We have two employees who have attended the BlackLine conference to attain more knowledge of the system and how it can be used, and how admins can assist the preparers when necessary. These team members have also watched videos on the customer community and joined in other product implementations to learn what steps can be completed at our level when implementing the same product at other locations.

WE have 2 system administrators and are both career accountants that are curious. the curiosity is what keeps us expanding our use of Blackline.

Accounting and Finance IT skills.

One has to be an information seeker, ready to tackle any obstacles immediately with creative thinking. Also, able to understand accounting from an accountant's eyesight. Plus, it is not bad, if you have ever worked with an IT company before or closely to IT people and you know how to talk with them and capable of working together with 'em.

I recommend having experience closing the books, experience as a user or admin of Blackline, and taking the free online training in Blackline University

Ability to embrace technology and think outside the box. Can handle change well and help others with change. Pushes past failures to learn and ultimately build a better product. Clearly communicates with leaders where they need support internally and externally in order to achieve results. Patience Curiosity Growth mindset Patience (I know I listed that already but patience is sooo important) Ability to inspire others to take a leap of faith to try something new. Risk taker with healthy boundaries. In addition to that, a leader that embraces and empowers their employee to be the person above. Leadership support and encouragement is so incredibly important. No one should take this journey alone. They need to find their tribe and be able to network with others both internally and externally. They need the support to be able to fail and pick themselves up with a little support and try again.

We the have support from an IT system Admin, and 2 Admins within our accounting department - 1 System Admin and 1 Business Admin

The Director of Financial Systems is the subject matter expert for BlackLine and we identified one of our Financial Controller as the champion. Those roles are responsible for making BlackLine a success in the organization by making sure training and support are available and that the system is used to its fullest.

Myself and our organization's Assistant Controller are responsible for BlackLine administration. We have gone through different trainings and utilized BlackLine university to learn the system better. There are a few administration items that need to be completed each month, but for the most part, BlackLine doesn't require much support internally. We also have an IT employee who is responsible for making sure the interface between BlackLine and our ERP is working appropriately.

Tool can be supported by a tech-savy accountant

System admins with accounting knowledge

Knowledge of the company and the product

problem solver, can navigate well with system, not an IT but more technical than most business persons.

Our key internal support groups

• Super Users who are trained be be the first point of contact for addressing user issues
• BlackLine User Admins who interface between users and the System Admins to drive standardization, organize user trainings, run centralised BlackLine tasks, and collaborate with users on data updates and feedback.
• System Admins who help on back-end system updates and modifications

System Admin with knowledge of current system
Local Admin to assign accounts

Accountants

Knowledge of Local Finance

Understanding how to solve issues and fault messages, plus training

The people/skills that are required to support Blackline in most of my implementation are the companies Super Users with working knowledge of the organizational structure, Accounting policies, and have the ability to assist with change management.