Banks regularly must enter commercial clients' financial statements into their credit risk management systems. However, since there are inconsistencies in how clients format and submit this data, banks typically rely on manual data entry, which can be time-consuming, difficult to manage and prone to errors. Now, banks can automate this process with the new Crowe Financial Data Automation solution, developed by Crowe Horwath LLP, one of the largest public accounting, consulting and technology firms in the U.S.

The Crowe Financial Data Automation solution automates collecting and extracting commercial customer financial data, establishes and enforces industry-specific standards and feeds the information into a bank's existing financial analysis, spreading and risk scoring systems. Using Crowe technology, data is extracted from customers' financial statements into the solution, and then is digitally mapped and delivered to the bank's systems.

"The Crowe Financial Data Automation solution is a complementary solution that doesn't replace a bank's credit risk management system, but increases efficiencies at the front end of its process," said Jeff Schmidt, a partner in the Crowe financial services performance consulting group. "Our banking clients have been looking to automate this time-consuming data entry process for years. Our solution works with their existing systems to reduce the burden on their internal resources and increases auditability and transparency. There is no need to change systems to achieve these benefits."

The Crowe Financial Data Automation solution process includes:

Submission: Bank customers submit financial data through a branded data portal or the bank provides batches of customer statements;

Scan: Data is extracted electronically and verified by the Crowe team;

Map: Bank users map the extracted data to their internal system templates and then the system repeats these mappings automatically on subsequent submissions;

Transmission: Bank users export the mapped data on demand and import it into their system, or Crowe will submit a batch file for processing; and

Access: A secure and easy-to-use website offers visibility, access and control for the credit administration team to monitor the flow of customer statements, configure customer submission reminders and view the underlying mapped statements in case of questions