Case Study - LBJ Infrastructure Group

LBJ Infrastructure Group Automation

LBJ Infrastructure Group implemented Vena Solutions to modernize its accounting and financial close processes. The company was able to recondition its budgeting and forecasting and found a single data source that allowed the finance team to save time on manual touchpoints Since deploying Vena Solutions, LBJ Infrastructure Group has substantially grown, allowing the finance team to focus its efforts on future planning and strategic work.

LBJ Infrastructure Group is a transportation infrastructure company that provides congestionmanagement solutions to North Texas drivers LBJ is responsible for the financing, design, construction, operations, and maintenance of the LBJ Express (I-635 Freeway) and its 13.3 miles of LBJ TEXpress Lanes which opened in September 2015

LBJ Infrastructure previously conducted its financial operations entirely in Excel These processes were time-consuming and prone to errors due to the large number of people contributing and/or receiving data, coupled with the number of interdependent files needed to manipulate, store, and report said data. Major pain points for LBJ included manually updating budgeting and reporting files, which relied on multiple separate sources, while ensuring the latest data was utilized across 75+ files used at any given point during a planning or reporting cycle, leaving opportunities for data accuracy issues for the various stakeholders. The company needed a solution that could optimize the data input and aggregation for budgets and forecasts, as well as a single data source for monthly reporting that could ultimately allow the company to save time on manual touchpoints throughout each cycle. By automating data collection and verification, LBJ’s finance team was able to focus their efforts on future planning and strategic work.

Dominic DiBernardo Partner, Corporate Performacne Management ddibernardo@citrincooperman.com

The Strategy

LBJ Infrastructure began its search for a solution at the beginning of 2017. Around 25 companies were considered in the research phase until Vena Solutions was discovered in Q4 of 2018. Upon a thorough vetting of Vena, LBJ immediately decided to move forward with the solution, as it met and exceeded the criteria that LBJ had set when it began its search for a solution. Primary considerations that went into selecting Vena included:

Familiarity

With LBJ operating entirely in Excel at the time, decision makers anticipated a smoother transition if the solution was similar to the processes that were already in place End-users were also going to have the opportunity to build on their current Excel knowledge and maximize the use of Vena, rather than exhaust resources and time on learning to navigate a new system.

Adaptability

Unlike other vendors, Vena can adapt to the company’s needs by not being a pre-built solution. Considering LBJ runs three different entities in one office, there were specific requirements to maximize the new system This included being able to retain current reports and files, which LBJ had already invested hours of work behind being built to the exact needs.

CLIENT QUOTE:

“One thing I don’t think a lot of people think about, because it’s hard to put a dollar amount on it but it is of huge value, is how much Vena benefits teams other than finance and accounting. At LBJ, Vena had a huge impact on the operations, marketing, customer service, corporate affairs, legal, HR and IT teams. It helped every single one of them become more efficient, not only getting the reports sooner and more accurate, but also putting budgets together and providing more detailed data on money expenditure Before Vena, there were a lot of independent assumptions that were used when putting together OPEX and CAPEX plans; where now, there are more details than ever, all housed within Vena.”

– Drew Goss. Former FP&A Manager, LBJ Infrastructure

Key Benefit Areas

Vena Solutions optimized LBJ Infrastructure’s monthly reporting cycle, data collection, and overall data accuracy Primary value drivers for this deployment include:

Data accuracy

With Vena in place, entries from the accounting team flow in daily which allows the finance department to review real-time data and identify errors immediately Being able to correct any issues with data well before month-end close occurred leads to more accurate financial reports

Time efficiency

Thanks to templates and workflows set up in Vena, LBJ can gather and share data across the organization easier and faster. Updating and sharing monthly financial reports with business unit leaders was a task that would consume three days for each of the three entities; however, after implementing Vena, it was reduced to just 20 minutes.

Scalable solution

Vena enables all the teams and departments from LBJ’s three companies to be in sync. With Vena’s features like line-item details and memorialized spreadsheet commentary, managers can provide deeper insights into how money will be deployed These details are critical for the finance team as well the senior management to understand the numbers behind performance metrics.

1.9 YEAR PAYBACK PERIOD

84% ANNUAL ROI

$68,704 AVERAGE ANNUAL BENEFIT

The largest cost area of the FCM deployment was the initial purchase and consulting for the implementation of the Vena Solutions software. Other cost areas included the annual subscription charges for FCM users and employee time spent being trained on the new system.

LBJ and Citrin Cooperman made a great team during the implementation. It took five weeks to gather data for the three companies and to build reports, templates, and workflows

A certified trainer from Citrin Cooperman’s team visited LBJ’s offices in the Dallas/Fort-Worth area and successfully completed Vena training for LBJ. Vena training is designed to last two days and incorporates software theory; however, most of the training is hands-on with Vena, allowing users to explore and ask questions. The end-user training for non-finance team members was conducted by LBJ’s FP&A manager, who said that “what took the longest when doing the end-user training was downloading and installing the Vena add-in. Knowledge transfer from Citrin Cooperman was great, plus everyone was already so familiar with Excel that training for Vena went quick and smooth

CLIENT QUOTE:

“When we started implementing Vena with Citrin Cooperman, I was thinking there were going to be limitations. We were running three different companies out of one office, so things just weren’t normal. Plus, our parent company just built their own systems instead of hiring third parties. Thanks to the expertise Citrin Cooperman has, there was never a process we couldn’t put into Vena. Every one of the things we threw at them was completed. The more we did, the more complicated we got into our processes, and they were able to handle everything. Ultimately, we wanted to put everything into Vena Them knowing Vena so well is what helped us do that, while making it so smooth.”

– Drew Goss. Former FP&A Manager, LBJ Infrastructure