RYAM Switches to Workiva to Transform SOX Processes

Previous software limitations = more work

With more than 2,500 employees and operations in several different countries, RYAM’s small internal audit team of six doesn’t have time to waste. Genna Smith, Internal Audit Manager, said their previous software had limitations, including a lack of visibility into status, which created even more work for her team.

“We were having to do extra work and create more spreadsheets. I also had trouble knowing who was doing what, and what had been completed,” Genna said. “ We were using an Excel spreadsheet to manage it all because it was easier.”

Daniel Bradley, VP of Internal Audit, said they had a similar experience with the reporting features "not being up to par" for their needs. That's when it was time to look at something new. 

Centralized, secure, and supported

When their previous SOX and audit software wasn’t addressing their need for speed, efficiency, and secure collaboration, they asked their financial reporting team—long-time users of the Workiva platform—if they would recommend it. “Our financial reporting team spoke very highly of Workiva,” Daniel said, which gave him and his team even more confidence in the product.

From sales to support, RYAM has had a positive experience with Workiva throughout their interactions. “In contrast to some competitors, I never felt Workiva was trying to bring down other products. The team was always highlighting the positives of the Workiva platform and how they’re continuously improving,” Daniel said. Plus, he said “the support has been impressive.”

In addition, collaborating with external auditors and their financial reporting peers in one centralized location has been a huge benefit. “Everyone can see the same information and make adjustments as needed,” Genna said. "We used to have items on our drive, on our SharePoint site, on our previous software, so now I’ve made it my goal to make the Workiva platform our one source of truth."

RYAM has also increased visibility across stakeholders with a real-time dashboard view. “Now I can go into the Workiva platform and can customize what dashboards I want to look at and can immediately see what the status is,” Daniel said.

The road ahead

From here, the internal audit team has their eyes set on using the certification functionality and exploring Workiva’s partnerships to help with continuous monitoring on the platform.

They are excited about the possibilities with Workiva knowing they have a strategic partner that cares about their success. “Our representative has continued to reach out even after we signed the contract to check on how implementation was going and asking if we needed any other support,” Daniel said. “Their network has been great too.”

The results

• Increased accuracy: RYAM now works from a single source of truth in one centralized platform
• Saved time: No more creating additional spreadsheets or manually tracking status—everything is in one place and automated
• Improved visibility: All key stakeholders can easily see where they are in the SOX process

See how you can simplify your audit, risk, and compliance processes with Workiva. Request a demo at workiva.com/request-demo.

Excel, SharePoint, and Word are registered trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies in the United States and/or other countries.