BlackLine Debuts BPO Partner Program

**Editor’s Note: Click here to read about last month’s global launch of BlackLine’s partner program for its finance control platform.**

PRESS RELEASE — LOS ANGELES, LONDON AND SYDNEY – Nov. 12, 2015 – BlackLine, provider of a leading cloud platform for finance controls and automation, today announced the launch of its ‘BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) Partner Program’ as part of a broader strategy to expand global usage of BlackLine and meet surging demand among Finance & Accounting (F&A) teams to automate key processes and ensure better internal controls – with global BPO leaders Cognizant, EXL, Genpact, IBM, RSM (formerly McGladrey) and Xerox already on board to help clients modernize their existing F&A operations with BlackLine. 

Finance & Accounting teams in many midsize and larger companies continue to manually reconcile accounts and handle other critical financial close activities using spreadsheets. Mistakes are common, as overburdened accountants drill down into accounts, journal entries and intercompany transactions to verify the balances are correct.  Today, more and more companies are outsourcing core F&A functions so they can shift time, money and other resources to strategic business activities and away from administrative functions. With the number of companies moving to a shared services environment and/or outsourced Finance function (often globally) continuing to rise, it is increasingly critical for proper controls to be in place surrounding the financial close and other key F&A processes.  Accuracy, visibility and timeliness, as well as the need for real-time access to information with clear, streamlined communications between all parties involved, is more important than ever before.

BlackLine provides a host of tightly integrated applications and packaged solutions that automate and accelerate the financial close and other key accounting and finance processes – from within a single, unified cloud-based platform.  Leading companies of all sizes are now integrating finance controls and automation solutions as part of their efforts to transform legacy, back-office operations into world-class, ‘Modern Finance’ organizations with greater efficiencies and reduced compliance risk.  Using an outsourced SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solution allows stakeholders at both the customer and outsourcer to gain oversight, real-time, into progress throughout the entire close cycle.   

“Midsize and larger organizations now see outsourcing as a smart and viable option to optimize business processes and ultimately improve the bottom line.  Customers want to partner with outsourcers who not only take on cumbersome functions, such as many of the processes found in Finance & Accounting, but that also add value to their business by innovating on those processes and providing leading-edge technology,” said Chris Murphy, BlackLine’s chief revenue officer.  “BlackLine solutions allow our BPO partners to profitably augment their current outsourcing services and extend their value propositions by adding automated finance and accounting processes that global clients need to ensure an accurate and timely financial close.  We look forward to a very collaborative go-to-market approach with our BPO Partners.”

Having access to BlackLine through a BPO as part of a BPaaS (Business Process as a Service) offering delivers customers domain expertise from the outsourcer combined with an industry-leading cloud-based financial automation platform, resulting in productivity enhancements to F&A processes, increased operational efficiency and improved bottom line performance.  Designed to help partners leverage the benefits of the BlackLine platform, the company is offering a range of services – from business planning, sales, marketing and enablement resources to training, education and certification, including onsite delivery in India, Eastern Europe and other regions that have a concentration of shared services centers.  The company has already begun implementing marketing, training and support services on a global level, so partners can quickly address the needs of their customers. 

The BlackLine BPO Partner Program is part of BlackLine’s Strategic Partner Community.  For more information about our current network of partners, please visit https://www.blackline.com/partners/.

About BlackLine
BlackLine is a leading provider of Enhanced Finance Controls and Automation (EFCA) software and the only one that offers a unified cloud platform supporting the entire close-to-disclose process.  The BlackLine Finance Controls and Automation Platform  is designed to help midsize companies and large enterprises significantly improve the accuracy of their financial reporting, achieve substantial efficiencies and improve overall visibility into their Finance & Accounting operations.  Delivered through a scalable and highly secure cloud model and built from a single code base, the platform supports many key accounting and financial processes including the financial close, account reconciliations, intercompany accounting and controls assurance, fueling confidence throughout the entire accounting cycle.

More than 110,000 users across 1,200 companies in approximately 100 countries currently leverage BlackLine to increase accountant productivity and elevate controls and compliance functions to ‘Modern Finance’ status.

BlackLine complements existing enterprise systems for Corporate Performance Management, Governance Risk and Compliance and Enterprise Resource Planning.  The BlackLine Financial Close Suite for SAP® Solutions is an SAP-endorsed business solution, joining the ranks of fewer than 40 other software offerings.  BlackLine also is an SAP Gold Partner, Oracle Gold Partner, and participates in the partner programs of NetSuite and several other ERP providers.

BlackLine global headquarters are in Los Angeles, with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, London, Melbourne, New York City, Paris, Sydney and Vancouver.  For more information, please visit www.blackline.com.