Slack Simplifies with Workiva, from S-1 to 10-Q and 10-K

After the accounting team at Slack used Workiva to create its registration documents to go public, it seemed only natural for the messaging platform to use Workiva for SEC reporting too. 

Workiva gives Slack teams a modern way to produce SEC filings. “For as much as we innovate at Slack, we needed a platform that could innovate with us,” said Slack Director of Technical Accounting and SEC Reporting Taka Kawai. “Workiva was an easy choice.”

Taka had used Workiva at previous companies, and his team picked it up quickly thanks to its user-friendly interface, great training modules, and a Customer Success Manager who was ready to answer questions.

“I didn’t have to spend much time training my staff to use Workiva,” Taka said. “It’s very easy.” 

XBRL^® expertise

For Slack’s very first 10-Q and 10-K, the company asked the Workiva Professional Services team to set up the XBRL tagging from scratch.

“It was very accurate, nicely done. They definitely beat my expectations,” said Taka, who has done XBRL work himself before. "It requires a lot of understanding of a company’s business. I could tell the Workiva team made a great effort to understand Slack as a business as well as our accounting transactions. I really appreciate that.”

One place to go for the right numbers

Each reporting period, once Taka’s team has its final numbers for a quarter or year, he can share them with the corporate accounting, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), and investor relations (IR) teams via Workiva.

“We use Workiva as a single source of truth,” Taka said. “I set up a historical financial data workbook, where our FP&A and IR teams also have access to view. As long as the team gets their numbers from the historical financial data in Workiva, that’s always the right number.”

Loving the links

When Taka first started using Workiva around 2012, he liked how easily he could dynamically link source data to multiple destinations in spreadsheets, reports, and presentations. That keeps information consistent across every instance, even as teams update data.

Today, he appreciates that he can connect teams too. He uses permission settings in the Workiva platform to limit who can see and edit spreadsheets, documents, and presentations. He grants access to external auditors and counsel so they can add comments and track responses. Everyone can filter comments to see which are open and which are resolved, making the review process easier.

Taka’s team also can export Workiva files in a PDF to share with the CEO, CFO, and audit committee if they don’t want to jump in the platform.

What’s next

"As Slack grows and evolves, we know Workiva will empower us to do so with a single, powerful platform," Taka said.

XBRL^® is a trademark of XBRL International, Inc. All rights reserved. The XBRL^® standards are open and freely licensed by way of the XBRL International License Agreement.