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1. OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE
1.1
Objective of this ProcedureSYENSQO GAR List of Companies
The objective of this procedure is to describe the process and the actions that should be taken when there is a change in the Solvay Structure of Companies, the changes can be:
- Acquisition of New company
- The change of Consolidation Method of a company
- End of a Company: Sale, Liquidation or Merger
The actions concerns the update of the GAR List of Companies, the update of the monthly Scope of Consolidation in BFC and update the users' accesses.
1.2 Scope
This procedure applies to the BFC Administration team.
2. REFERENCE DOCUMENTS
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3. DEFINITIONS
BFC - Business Financial Consolidation (Solvay's Group Consolidation Tool).
BFC-Admin - BFC Administration Team (Team in charge for the Administration of the BFC).
GAR - Group Accounting Reporting Team.
CAM - Company Accounting Manager.
IG - Full Consolidated.
IP - Proportional.
ME - Equity Method.
NC - Not Consolidated.
PRS - Production Reference System.
ERP - Enterprise resource planning.
4. SUMMARY
4.1 Principle and Context
GAR LIST OF COMPANIES
The GAR List of companies is the official database with all companies of the Group Solvay, and where can found the main information about the companies.
This list may be found in the GAR AODOCs Library, and any update must be performed directly in this list to guarantee an up to date database with all necessary information of a company.
The main information in this list are:
- BFC code (Reporting)
- The conde in BFC has 5 digits
- SAP company code
- The code in SAP (PF1 and WP1) has 4 digits
- PRS company code
- The code recorded in PRS, according to the information received by the Corporate Secretary
- Entity name
- The name informed by the Corporate Secretary
- Auditor
- The external company which perform audit of the entities
- Scope Audit
- NO - simply not audited
- NO-Liquidated/Sold/Merged - not audited. For liquidated companies, the year of liquidation is indicated. See also the metadata “Comment” for more information.
- Statutory only - audited at a statutory only. In most case, the entity is controlled at 100% but not always consolidated (by opposition to the “Conso” scope audit)
- Tax only - for some US entities which are not necessary fully audited
- JV - joint venture, special distinction for some entities controlled at 50% but not consolidated
- Internal audit only - entity not consolidated
- WISE Companies
- The entity has their payable and receivable assigned to WARP in PI1
- Country
- The country where the company are located
- Conso meth and Control %
- Indicate how the entity is consolidated in the Group
- Equity method (ME) - entity controlled at least at 30%
- Fully consolidated (IG) - more than 51%
- Proportionally consolidated (IP) or joint venture - controlled at 50% (Includes Joint-ventures)
- Not consolidated (NI)
- Sector
- SOLVAY
- RHODIA
- CYTEC
- Region
- EMEA - Europe
- APAC - Asia Pacific
- LAM - Latin America
- NAM - North America
- Lead Finance Director and Localization of Lead FD
- Lead Finance Director and their location (for information only): responsible of the compliance ensured by the Company Accounting Manager (CAM)
- Accounting ERP
- PF1, PI1,WP1, RHO
- RCM RtR Country Manager
- Supervises several CAM
- SBS Scope
- Indicates the level of Service provided by SBS
- Date migration to SBS
- Indicates when the entity (and if) has been migrated to SBS RtR
- CAM Company Accounting Manager
- Is the contact in first line for any questions regarding the entity
- Accounting site and RtR BO Teamleader
- Is the contact at Back Office for any questions regarding the entity
- BOIC contact
- The queries should be sent to interco-sbs-rtr@solvay.com when the management of inter-company transactions is managed by BO. For any other cases, a contact name is indicated
- Comment
- Contains some useful information such as: the date of merge or liquidation, the change in company code or name
- Key entities
- When it is informed as “Y” refers to entities that are audited and considered as strategic business units having at least 50% of control and fully consolidated. This corresponds also to the value “Conso” in the metadata “Scope Audit”
SCOPE OF CONSOLIDATION
On a monthly basis it is created a Scope of Consolidation, named SOLVAY14. This scope concerns all consolidated companies of the Group (IG, ME and IP). This way when there is an operation this scope must be updated to reflect the new structure of cosolidation.
The oparations and actions in the scope are:
- End of a company (Sold, Liquidated or Merged) - exclude the company from the scope
- New Consolidated company - add the company into the scope
- Change in the consolidation method - add the company when it becomes consolidated, or exclude when the opposite
4.2 Responsibility
The BFC-Admin is responsible to performe any update in the List of Companies, and the actions that have impacts when there is an operation, as to update the Scope, perform any updated for a company in BFC, add a CAM or Controller to the concerned Distribution list, and update the user access when necessary.
The Corporate Secretary is responsible to maintain the PRS System and then communicate the operations.
The GAR Consolidation Team is responsible to update the Structure file with the operations.
4.3 Overview
The following flowchart describes the process to keep the GAR List of companies up to date and the further actions.
5. GAR List of Companies
The need created a new company or to update the Consolidation method of a company is linked to the operations in the Solvay Structure. This changes are communicated in the following ways:
1. OPERATIONS COMMUNICATED BY THE CORPORATE SECRETARY
When there is an operation in the Solvay's structure it is firstly updated in the PRS system.
The PRS System is a SAP module directly connected with the ERP.
When the updated is performed in the PRS, an email is sent to the mailbox $SBS-StructureManagement RtR.
Example of email received:
The following topics describe how to update the List of Companies according to each type of operation, as soon as they are communicated.
5.1 GAR List of Companies - Add a new Comapny
In the List of Companies, click on the option NEW.
Then, fill the fields according to information received.
The only field that is mandatory to create a new item in the GAR list of companies is the Entity Name, but note that there are some important information to enter:
- The BFC code
- The country
- The consolidation method and Control
- The local currency
- The sector
- The region
- The comment
* The Document Title should be the same than the Entity Name.
After enter all the information save the new item, clicking on the icon 
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5.2 GAR List of Companies - End of a Company
There are three situations for the End of a Company:
When the information of these types of operations is received, the GAR list of companies must be updated accordingly. The following fields have to be updated:
- Scope audit - change to “NO-Liquidated/Sold/Merged”
- Conso method - change to “Liquidated/Sold/Merged
- Control % - change to 0%
- Comment - indicate what happened to the company according to the information received
- Year of liquidation - For liquidated companies, the is indicated
* As example, the company 5884 was merged into another Solvay's company.
5.3 GAR List of Companies - Contacts of a Company
Since this is the official list used by the Group, it is important to have duly updated the main Accounting Contacts of a company, as:
- Lead Finance Director - responsible of the compliance ensured by the Company Accounting Manager (CAM)
- RCM - RtR Country Manager - supervises several CAMs
- CAM - Company Accounting Manager - is the contact in first line for any questions regarding the entity
The information to update a contact can be raised to the BFC-Admin mailbox, by the RtR Process Owner, the ROPM or other GAR List user. It also may be seen through the appointments done in the Solvay One portal.
When it is necessary to update one of these contacts, it has to be granted that they have access to the companies under their perimeter on BFC and also if they are properly added to the Distribution List according to the position.
6. Company Management in BFC
The Companies management is done in BFC FC_Top platform, then the changes should be transferred to the BFC FC_Prod.
The companies can be accessed in the Dimension Builder module, through the option RU - Reporting Unit.
6.1 Company Management in BFC - Create a Company
The creation of a new Company can be done from the scratch or through Save As from another company.
* To create with reference to another company select another one that has the same definitions (Country, Consolidation Method...) than the company to be created. In this example to create the company 63270 it was takes as reference the company 60624.
In the tab General enter the following information:
- The code
- The short description
- The long description
- The extra-long description
in the tab Properties enter the following information:
- GR (Intra Group Partners): for consolidated companies. The company will be considered in the scope of consolidation
- HG (Out Of Group Partners): for non-consolidated companies. The company will not be considered in the scope of consolidation
- ME (Equity Partners): for companies with Equity method (when Solvay does not hold the control of the company). The company will be considered in the scope of consolidation
- MI (External Mother of IP Companies): This is a very specific situation. When one entity is owned by 50%, the mother company will be considered as an “External mother” and not as a “Partner HG”
S (Legal Company) - for consolidated companies
H (Third Parties) - for non-consolidated companies
IG (Full Consolidation) - for full consolidated companies
IP (Proportional Consolidation) - for proportional consolidated companies , according to the percentage of shares held by SOLVAY on the company
ME (Equity Method) - for companies with Equity method, when Solvay does not hold the control of the company
NC (Not Consolidated) - for non-consolidated companies
- SOLVAY
- RHODIA
- CYTEC
- AUTRES (Other)
In the tab Translation, update the short, long and extra-long description for French and English languages.
6.2 Company Management in BFC - Update the Consolidation Method
When there is a change in the Consolidation Method of a Company, its information has to be updated in BFC.
Example a company that changed from Not Consolidated (NC) to Full Consolidated (IG), the information to be changed in the tab Properties are:
6.3 Company Management in BFC - Send the Updates from FC_Top to FC_Prod
Go to the Task List module within the Administration domain.
As the creation of a new company comes from Consolidation team, select the task list type of EXPL-CONSO, for Consolidation.
Click on the icon 
New Transference Object, select the option “Reference table members” then the item Entity.
Ensure that the Entity is the only object Selected for Transfer.
To select or deselect an object, choose the option "Select for Transfer" with right click on the object.
Then Save 
the selection and close this window.
In the Task List select the task and click on Start, to begin the transference process.
Go to the module “Task List” within the domain "Administration".
First, launch the Scan of tasks, by clicking on "Start" option.
The task transferred from BFC_Top will appear in the list type "Task".
Then Start the task.
After the task has finished the process, check if the company was properly transferred.
7. Scope Management
The update must be performed in accordance to the operation available in the "Solvay Structure" file.
Depending of the changes there are 3 updates to perform:
in BFC FC_Top Select the "Scope Builder" module of the "Operation" domain.
The scopes can be created from the last version available, through the Save As option, and it should be created firstly in FC_Top database.
For this go to the Scope Builder module, select the last version of the Scope to be used as reference to create the new one.
In this instance it will be created the scope SOLVAY14 2017.04, thus it should be selected the scope SOLVAY14 - 2017.03.
Open it, choose Save As, enter the Period and then click on OK.
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At this stage the scope is created, however check in the Structure file if in the current month there was any operation in the Structure that should be considered in this scope. |
7.1 Scope Management - New Company
Within the Step Scope, click on the button 
to Insert Reporting Unit.
Indicate the BFC code of the company to be inserted and fill the consolidation method of this company according to the information received from the GAR:
- Financial interest %
- Ownership interest %
- Consolidation method
And click on Next.
When the rate is changed in the filed Ownership Interest %, the system changes the consolidation method by default, thus it should be payed attention whether the consolidation method should be updated or not, otherwise it has to be amended manually to the previous method. The BFC concerns the following ranges for each consolidation method:
7.2 Scope Management - End of a company
For the reporting period corresponding to the month of the sale, the company sold will be excluded from the scope of consolidation and it will be generated an "intermediate" package.
As example the company 0309 Solvay Indupa that was sold in December of 2016.
In the step Scope select the company and updated the consolidation method to "Not consolidated (NC)".
In the tab Incoming/Outgoing inform:
- In the Intermediate data entry period - the reporting period correspondent to the previous month (M-1).
There are 2 types of merge:
In the step Scope select the company and change the consolidation method to "Not consolidated (NC)".
As example the company 5907 SOLVAY ORGANICS, that was merged in February 2016 into the company 1196 Solvay GMBH.
In the tab Incoming/Outgoing inform:
- In the Acquiring reporting unit - the reporting unit of the absorbing company.
With NO retroactive effect
Nothing to change in the scope.
The company will continue to report until the end of the year and certainly it will be necessary to copy the reporting data from the month of the merge until the end of the year.
As example the company 5697 SOLVAY SA INFORMATION SERVICES, that was merged in May of 2016 into the company 00001 Solvay SCH.
In the month of the Liquidation the company remains in the Scope, and the packages are generated normally. But in the next reporting period it will be necessary to exclude the company from the scope and generate an "intermediate" package (same as for the sale of a company).
In the step Scope select the company and change the consolidation method to "Not consolidated (NC)".
As example the company 5020 BLAIR INTERNATIONAL, that was liquidated in June 2017.
In the tab Incoming/Outgoing inform:
- In the Intermediate data entry period - the reporting period correspondent to the previous month (M-1).
Note that the company was liquidated in June/17, and the company is just being updated in the scope of July/17.
7.3 Scope Management - Send the Scope from FC_Top to FC_Prod
After the scope is duly created and validated in FC_Top it should be transferred to FC_Prod.
Go to Task List module within the Administration domain, and select the Object EXPL-ADMIN.
Open it and in the Definition tab select New transferable object icon.
Choose the option Scope Builder.
Open the list of available scopes and select the one to be transferred.
Save it.
With right click on the object select the Start option.
In FC_Prod environmental go to the Task list module, select the SCAN object and Start it.
Press F5 to refresh, then the object will be available in the subgroup Receive objects, it will be first one available, in the column Last Run it should be empty.
To make sure this is the correct object, open it and in Definition tab check the item.
After that Start the object transference.
Press F5 to refresh, the column Status shows a green flag meaning that the transference is completed with no errors.
Just confirm in the Scope Builder module that the scope is available.
8. Other Actions
When someone is appoint for a position within the RtR Team (Record to Report), or when a company is added in the List of Companies and then created in BFC, there are some actions to be taken, as:
8.1 Other Actions - BFC User Access
When someone is appointed as CAM for a given company, it has to be granted that this person has the properly access to this company on BFC.
If the appointed person has no access to BFC, please see the Procure:
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As example, Aleksandra KUCINSKA was appointed as CAM for the companies 0231 and 5884. After the update of GAR List of companies it had to be confirmed in BFC her access, if it was necessary any update.
*Screen of GAR List
To confirm if the person has access to the companies, go to BFC_Prod >> Administration module >> Security domain.
Double click on the person's profile.
Open the Data Access Group.
What defines the level of information the user will have, as:
The categories; Data entry and / or Data Analysis, etc.
Go to the option Change, to have more details.
Enter in a group available in the screen opened.
It there are different groups it must be confirmed in all groups.
In the Group opened select the option "Change", to have more details.
The person needs to have a filter defined in the Dimension Reporting Unit, which defines the companies that will be shown for the person.
So open this filter to see more details.
Select the option "Change", to have more details.
As can it be seen she has a common access to Luxembourg Team, which concerns both companies she is assigned (00231 and 05854).
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| If the CAM had no access to the company it would be necessary to add to the view, according to the instructions in the topic 8.2 Other Actions - Add a New Company to the Users Profile. |
8.2 Other Actions - Add a New Company to the Users Profile
When there is a new company in BFC, either when a company is acquired or become Full Consolidated, it should be granted that the people in charge for the company have it in their view.
Usually the proflies that have to be updated are:
- Owner Group: Usually RTR-FO-XX, where XX stands for the country code
- Owner Groups: Europe - RTR-BO-EUR; Asia - RTR-BO-ASIA; LAM & NAM - RTR-BO-LATNA
required to update the GAR List of companies.
GAR list is a critical document used each month to update many dashboards and for/during Finance processes by all Finance stakeholders as it contains key information on each legal company (GAR list is also called "Legal Entity Card"):
- Closing process in SAP
- Contacts for GAR
- Group Audit process
- Management of authorizations in Finance tools and portals (ServiceOne, Bank Acc. Management...),
- Master Data tables in SAP
This list is stored in the SYENSQO AODocs library FINANCE LEGAL ENTITIES MANAGEMENT,
Events triggering the need to update the GAR list may arise from:
- Change in the Syensqo structure of companies
- Acquisition of new company
- Change of consolidation method of a company
- Divestment, liquidation or merger of a Company
- Official source for such events usually comes from a communication from Syensqo Group General Secretary and/or an information from Syensqo GAR Consolidation team or BFC Admin manager
- "On request" changes made by Finance stakeholders to update any other field of the legal entities (Accounting responsible, Address, Tax number)
- CAMS Adhesion review
- KLE review
- CBCR activity review
These updates can be requested either by email or by GAR list syensqo Gform. The GAR List Syensqo Response file must be checked regularly, at least every Friday
Any action (creation / update) in the GAR list of companies can trigger at the same time an update in BFC and this is subject to a systematic check from BFC Admin team. As examples,
- Creation of a new company (whatever its consolidation status) will trigger in BFC:
- Set up of this company in the Dimension builder
- Integration of this company in the consolidation scopes
- Creation and generation of its reporting package
- Users accesses updates to include it
- Reorganization in Finance processes & teams will trigger:
- in GAR list, the review and update of fields related to Accounting & Finance contacts
- in BFC , the review and update of BFC users accesses
Service Level Agreement validated with GAR team (owner of the GAR list):
- Any required update must be performed as soon as possible (at least on a weekly basis every Friday).
- Every month end (last week of the month) before the start of reporting process, BFC Admin must guarantee the appropriate update of all changes
GAR List export to Gsheet
In order to be able to to export the GAR List of companies you should proceed as follow:
1) access this site to install the Document Export bookmarklet https://bookmarklets.aodocs.com/
Drag and drop Document Export to your bookmark tab:
2) Open the Aodocs / Legal Entity Card page and press Document Export in your bookmark tab:
NOTE: It is not possible to filter by active companies before the export. You'll need to do it in the Gsheet by filtering on the Group Company Status field.
Select all the fields or just the ones needed for your analysis an press EXECUTE:
1.2 BFC SYENSQO Consolidation Scopes
On a monthly basis, it is required for each Reporting and Consolidation process to create Consolidation Scopes in BFC.
Several scopes are maintained in BFC, depending on the SYENSQO Consolidation needs:
- The main and monthly one is SYENSQO (including IG/IP/ME entities, excluding NC companies) that is used by GAR team to build Syensqo IFRS Consolidated Financial Statements (ACTUAL2, ACTUAL1, ACTUAL3, ACT1-TAX categories)
- Scopes dedicated to local US consolidation purposes:
- IFRS-FS-INC : IFRS Financial statements of Solvay USA Inc & its subsidiaries provided to external users who lease products to Solvay USA Inc (quarterly and contractual obligations). Scope also used when request for US Group valuation from Corporate
- IFRS-FS-RHI: IFRS Financial statements of Solvay Holding Inc, information to Governmental authorities on both quarterly and annual basis, as the company is required by law. Scope also used when request for US Group valuation from Corporate
- Every quarter for shareholding consolidation purposes (ACTUAL0 category) - dedicated scopes :
- SYENFULL : All IP IG MEQ NC @ 100%
- SYENCONSO: IG @ 100 % / ME IP NC in IP method at their % of interests
- For Business Controlling purposes (RSB and PREV categories) - dedicated scopes
- RSBSYENSQO: includes both legal companies (from SYENSQO scope) and fictive ones per Business (used to manage structure effects in RSB)
- PREVSYENSQO: includes fictive reporting companies per Business to report GBU's forecast
Each time there is a change in the structure of Syensqo legal entities, scopes must be checked and updated:
- Divestment, liquidation or merger of a company - exclude the company from the scope
- New Consolidated company - add the company into the scope
- Change in the consolidation method - add the company when it becomes consolidated, or exclude when the opposite occurs
In case of doubts, BFC Admin must always refer to Syensqo GAR team to validate the required changes before to proceed. Note: for controlling scopes (PREV, RSBSOL), BFC Admin must refer to Syensqo Corporate Controlling team.
Service Level Agreement validated with GAR and Corporate Controlling:
- Before the start of closing period, update of BFC scopes must be performed by WD2
- During closing period, any late change required by GAR must be performed within 30 minutes
2. DEFINITIONS & ACCRONYMS
BFC-Admin - BFC Administration Team (team in charge for the Functional Administration of the BFC
GAR - Group Consolidation Team
CAM - Company Accounting Manager
CAD - Companies Accounting Director
IG - Full Consolidated
IP - Proportional Integration consolidation
ME - Equity Method consolidation
NC - Not Consolidated
BFC SYENSQO - Business Financial Consolidation (Syensqo's Group Consolidation Tool)
BFC_Prod_SCO - Production database of BFC dedicated to Consolidation and Reporting cycles
BFC_Top_SCO - Customizing database of BFC (companies - scopes - category scenarios - exchange rates - reports...) to the sole usage of BFC Admin team. Updates of customizing subject to piloting to BFC_Prod_SCO once finalized.
PRS - SAP Production Reference System
ERP - SAP systems from Syensqo
WD - Working Day
3. RESPONSIBILITIES
3.1 Responsibility
The BFC-Admin is responsible to perform any update in the SYENSQO GAR List of Companies and in BFC customizing modules (scopes, structure tables, users accesses, reporting openings...).
The Group General Secretary is responsible to maintain the PRS System and then communicate any changes.
The GAR Consolidation Team is responsible to update the Syensqo Structure file (GAR team site in AODOC).
3.2 Overview of Syensqo GAR List's updating cycle
The following graphic describes when the GAR List of companies should be updated:
4. SYENSQO GAR List of Companies Update
The need to create a new company or to update the consolidation method of a company is driven by the changes occurring in the Syensqo Structure of Legal companies. These changes are officially communicated in the following ways:
1. OPERATIONS COMMUNICATED BY THE GROUP GENERAL SECRETARY
When there is a change in the Syensqo structure of legal companies, it is always communicated first to the Group General Secretary who will update in the PRS system (SAP system managing companies master data and then distributing them to the other ERP's).
GAR team will transfer to SCo-$BFC-Admin communication from General Group Secretary to SCO_PRS community
Critical changes such as new company created-sold-merged-liquidated should be updated immediately whether they are communicated by Group General Secretary or by GAR or BFC Admin manager, even if not all the detailed fields are known.
At the same time BFC Admin should get in touch with Finance stakeholders (CAD, Acc Platforms, TSU for cams adhesion) to complete the other detailed fields.
Special cases - new company code while company is not yet legally created: In some cases (carve out projects...), PRS codes are selected in advance and communicated by General Group Secretary while the legal company is not yet legally created. In such cases, the GAR list and the BFC Structure MUST NOT BE UPDATED for the following reasons:
- if not yet legally registered, the new company has no legal existence, has not received any investment from its mothers which have then no investment yet to report in their Balance Sheet
- if the new company has been legally registered, it means its mothers have made an investment to contribute it and thus own shares booked in their balance sheet => mothers need to declare such investments in their ACTUAL2
Other updates also under the responsibility of BFC Admin team are as follow:
"On request changes" - Finance stakeholders can also request the update of some fields at any time via a dedicated Google form GAR List Syensqo form . The form responses file GAR list requests (Responses) should be checked every week (on Friday) and GAR list should be updated.
Once updates done in GAR list, we must update the 1st column filling the date to indicate that it has been done.
- CAMS Adhesion review - Update of this field is requested by Syensqo Tools & BAM team using GAR List GForm (new process agreed in March 2024)
- KLE review - Key Legal Entities are defined by GAR and the auditors and are communicated each quarter, by GAR, in Closing instructions. In order to ensure that GAR list is updated, a comparison between both lists should be done.
- CBCR activity review - Country By Country Report is required by OCDE. In order to update the main business carried out by each legal entity, a yearly September review (by GBS FSL) and update (by BFC Admin) should be done.
The following topics describe how to update the List of Companies according to each type of operation, as soon as they are communicated.
4.1 SYENSQO GAR List of Companies - Add a new Comapny
In the List of Companies, click on NEW, and choose the option New LEGAL ENTITY CARD.
Then, fill the fields according to information received.
The only fields that are mandatory to create a new item in the GAR list of companies are the BFC Code and Entity Name, but note that there are some important information to enter:
- Document title, which is the combination of BFC Code and Company name
- BFC code
- Country
- Region
- Consolidation method and % of Control
- Functional currency
- PO2 allocation: must be SCO (Syensqo) from Jan 2024 (after spinoff date)
- PRS Code
- LER Acquisition/ Creation Date
After enter all the information save the new item, clicking on the icon .
4.2 GAR List of Companies - End of a Company
There are three situations for the End of a Company:
- The company is merged into another Solvay's company
- The company is sold to another Group
- The company is liquidated
When the information of these types of operations is received, the GAR list of companies must be updated accordingly. The following fields have to be updated:
Group company status - Deactivate + Reason (Liquidation/ Merger/ Sold)
Group exit date - The operation date (MM-DD-YYYY)
Comment -Details about the exit (Date, reason, buyer if any, etc)
- LER Sale/ Liquidation/ Merger date - Indicating the same date as in the Group Exit Date, but in the dedicated field according to the operation
Important: Latest known consolidation method and control % MUST be kept in order not to loose its historical existence in Syensqo Group.
* As example on the right, the company 07775 was merged into another company but its last consolidation method was kept
4.3 SYENSQO GAR List of Companies - Finance and Accounting contacts of a Company
Since GAR list is the reference for all Finance stakeholders, it is important to have duly updated the main Accounting and Finance Contacts of a company, as:
- CAD Company Accounting Director - is the accounting contact responsible for a country
- Accounting Compliance Officer - is the accountable people for compliance matters
- CAM - Company Accounting Manager - is the front line contact for any questions related to the company
- ACP Team Leader - Accounting Platform team leader
- GBS scope - Scope of accounting services provided by GBS Finance Service Line
- Accounting Site - Lisbon, Curitiba or Bangkok
The information to update a contact can be received at any time from the Google Form GAR List Syensqo available in BFC SCO Production web or from a direct mail from Finance stakeholders.
When it is necessary to update CAD/CAM contacts, it has to be granted that their BFC user access on companies is updated as the same time !
How to access to Google Form to request GAR List changes? Available in the Home Screen of BFC Syensqo Production database. See on the right side.
4.4 SYENSQO GAR List of Companies - Mass changes
Mass maintenance is required when we need to change certain data fields for a significant number of companies.
Mass changes in Aodocs are done with Bulk Updater tool.
Access Bulk Updater at this link https://bulk-updater.aodocs.com/
Chose the library, class and view as follow:
- Library - F FINANCE LEGAL ENTITIES MANAGEMENT
- Class - LEGAL ENTITY CARD
- View - 1- LEGAL ENTITY CARD
Give the name you want to the export/update file and select your email account to receive the notification once updates have been run.
- Export Name - GAR List Auditors change
- Email notifications sent to your account
Click on Export.
When the export finishes we are redirected to the list of our recent exports.
Access the exported data trough the icon 
.
We must work on the changes we want to do directly in this file.
In this example we'll change 2 fields: Audit Organization and Auditor Name.
1st - Filter the data by Active companies (because we want to update only active cies).
2nd - In Audit Organization field, replace current content by N/A
3rd - In Auditor Name field, replace DELOITTE by EY
Once all changes have been made in the file, we can run the update.
In Options, select Action → Start an update
Click on Run!
Once the updates are finished we receive the notification in our mailbox and we can consult the status of the update for each record in the file.
The status can be:
IGNORED - means that we didn't change anything in this record
UPDATED - changes have been updated in GAR list
ERROR - changes have NOT been updated in GAR list
4.5 SYENSQO GAR List of Companies - Quarterly KLE (Key Legal Entities) review
Every quarter, the list of KLE (Key Legal Entities) is disclosed in the GAR Closing instructions.
This list should be compared with the existing KLE inthe GAR list in order to check if any update is missing in the GAR list.
The comparison should be done looking at each list side by side.
5. Management of Companies in BFC Structure tables (Dimension builder)
Customizing of companies is done in BFC_Top_SCO database, then transferred to the BFCProd_SCO.
The companies can be accessed in the Dimension Builder module, through the option RU - Reporting Unit.
5.1 - Create a Company: Normal and Discop / AHFS ones
The creation of a new Company can be done from scratch or through Save As from another company.
* To create with reference to another company select another one that has the same definitions (Country, Consolidation Method...) than the company to be created. In this example to create the company 63270 it was takes as reference the company 60624.
Special cases - DISCOP & AHFS companies:
Those companies are fictive ones (no legal existence), used by GAR team to manage "Discontinued Operations (Discop)/ Assets Held For Sale (AHFS)"postings in Group FS.
Triggering event: when a scope of legal companies or Business is subject to an M&A divestment with a sufficient probability to occur and reaching certain thresholds, GAR team can decide to classify this scope under AHFS and (if applicable) under DISCOP:
- AHFS treatment in IFRS (balance Sheet impact): all the balance Sheet items of the scope are removed and their sums are reclassified under specific headings A46120 "Assets held for sale" / L47120 Liabilities associated with assets held for sale"
- Discop treatment in IFRS (P&L impact): all the P&L items of the scope are removed and their sum is reclassified under specific heading R85100"gain/losses from discontinued operations"
- Note that depending on its size, a scope subject to divestment can be recognized as AHFS in BS, while not recognized as Discop in the P&L
There are 2 types of Discop companies:
- codes starting with Dxxxyymm - used for both AHFS and (if applicable) Discop recognition:
- where xxxx stands for the M&A related project code and yy stands for the year and mm for the reporting month from which the Discop/AHFS treatment was decided
- codes starting with 9xxx(x) - used to post the write back of depreciation in both BS and P&L
- where xxx(x) stands for the M&A related project
Example: DODYS2009 and 9ODYS - fictive companies associated to Odyssey M&A divestment recognized under AHFS and Discop in Solvay Group FS from September 2020 - final divestment occurred in April 2021
As such, they never appear in "GAR list" or in "Syensqo structure file". They only exist in BFC.
They are only integrated in scopes, but never in package organizer as only used through top entries from GAR Consolidation team.
Request to create such DISCOP companies comes from GAR team (Dxxxyyyy companies) and from Corporate Controlling (9xxx(x) companies).
Special instructions for creation of DISCOP companies:
- to be created from save as of the last similar company created (either Dxxxyyyy or 9xxx(x))
- check very carefully each of the characteristics (GAR must always give country / currency / legacy )
- Dxxxyyyy: "Entity type" value MUST always be T "Technical"
- 9xxx(x) companies: Entity type MUST always be S "Legal company"
- put in comment date of creation and why created (ie reference to the M&A deal related to Discop classification)
- after creation check filter CF017 - Dxxxyyyy newly created must be excluded
- after creation check filter CF027 - Dxxxyyyy and 9xxx newly created must be included - note: this filter is used by Corp Controlling
- when 9xxx fictive created, update filter TX0001 to add the newly created 9xxx fictive in the list of companies to be excluded
In the tab General enter the following information:
- The code
- The short description
- The long description
in the tab Properties enter the following information:
- Company - The new BFC company code
- Country - Country Code
- Currency - Currency Code
- Activity - is linked with the consolidation method of the new company, There are four activities used in Solvay's definitions:
- GR (Intra Group Partners): for consolidated companies (Fully Conso or Proportional Integration). The company will be considered in the scope of consolidation
- HG (Out Of Group Partners): for non-consolidated companies. The company will not be considered in the scope of consolidation
- ME (Equity Partners): for companies with Equity method (when Solvay does not hold fully the control of the company). The company will be considered in the scope of consolidation
- MI (External Mother of IP Companies): This is a very specific situation. When one entity is owned by 50%, the mother company will be considered as an “External mother” and not as a “Partner HG”
- Entity Type - is linked with the consolidation method of the new company. There are three types:
S (Legal Company) - for consolidated companies
H (Third Parties) - for non-consolidated companies
- T (Technical) - each time a DISCOP ("Discontinued Operation" cases) company has to be created upon GAR request. Refer to special instructions listed above in this section
- TYPEREM - There is only one type used in Solvay, the STAT (Statutory)
- Entity Portfolio -
IG (Full Consolidation) - for full consolidated companies
IP (Proportional Consolidation) - for proportional consolidated companies , according to the percentage of shares held by SOLVAY on the company
ME (Equity Method) - for companies with Equity method, when Solvay does not hold the control of the company
NC (Not Consolidated) - for non-consolidated companies
- Legacy - Keep empty
- PGESTION - This field is related to the "Management Country" of the company
- for Controlling purposes, the "Management Country" for some companies, may be considered on a different Country than the one where the company is located
- by default select the same value than the one selected on "Country" property. Any request to select adifferent value must be approved by Corporate Controlling team.
- PO2 - This field was created in the context of Solvay spinoff project to allocate legal companies between ECO (Solvay) and SCO (future Syensqo Group after spinoff)
- 2 possible values : ECO (Solvay) / SCO (Syensqo)
- From 2024, it is expected that any creation of company will be allocated to SCO (Syensqo) as Syensqo has its own BFC since spinoff in Dec 2023
- Deferred Tax - never flagged
- No automatism activated in Solvay Group
- Tax headings and dedicated schedules are subject to manual collection
In the tab Translation, update the short, long and extra-long description for both French and English languages.
5.2 - Update the Consolidation Method
When there is a change in the Consolidation Method of a Company, its information has to be updated in BFC.
Example: a company that changed from Not Consolidated (NC) to Full Consolidated (IG), the information to be changed in the tab Properties are:
| Field | From | To |
| Activity | HG | GR |
| Entity Type | H | S |
| TYPEREM | STAT | |
| Entity Portfolio | NC | IG |
Special case - Companies moving from "NC - Non Consolidated" to "MEQ - Equity method" consolidation status:
2 cases for Equity methods - the case applicable has always to be validated with GAR:
- Case 1: Equity method reports itself in BFC submitting a special (=simplified) MEQ package:
- For such companies, in dimension builder RU: characteristics Activity = GR / Entity portfolio = ME
- Note that the Equity method treatment (generating in Consolidated FS in the P&L the portion of net result (R75000 heading) and in the Balance Sheet the investment (A24000 heading) is managed by consolidation rules
- Case 2: Equity method not reporting a package, but declared directly in the pack of its mother:
- For such companies, in dimension builder RU: characteristics Activity = ME / Entity portfolio = NC
- Note that mothers will declare directly in their package the P&L portion of net result (R75000 heading) and in the Balance Sheet the investment they owned (A24000 heading)
5.3 - Piloting and Reception of Company Updates from BFC_Top_SCO to BFC_Prod_SCO databases
Go to the Task List module within the Administration domain.
As the creation of a new company comes from Consolidation team, select the task list type of SCO-ADMIN.
Click on the icon New Transferable Object, select the option “Reference table members” then the item Entity.
Ensure that the Entity is the only object Selected for Transfer.
To select or deselect an object, choose the option "Select for Transfer" with right click on the object.
Then Save the selection and close this window.
In the Task List select the task and click on Start, to begin the transfer process.
Go to the module “Task List” within the domain "Administration".
First, launch the Scan of tasks, by clicking on "Start" option.
The task transferred from BFC_Top will appear in the list type "Task".
Then click on Start on the task, to initiate the Reception process.
After the task has finished the process, check if the company was properly transferred in the Structure tables
6. Scope Management
6.1 Scope Management - Existing scopes and company's events triggering updates
The update must be performed in accordance to the changes recorded in the "Syensqo Structure" file directly maintained by GAR team in AODOC
Depending on the changes there are 3 updates to perform:
- New company: the company must be included in the scope of the Group.
- Change of Consolidation method: if the company became consolidated, the company must be added to the scope.
- End of company: the consolidation method must be updated to "Not Consolidated"
As explained before in this procedure, several scopes are maintained in BFC and must then be checked to determine which one (s) have to be updated:
- SYENSQO :
- New company: to be added if its consolidation is either: Fully conso or IP or Equity method (not to be added if Non Consolidated)
- Change of Consolidation method: if the company becomes consolidated (Fully conso or IP or Equity method), the company must be added to the scope.
- End of company: if the company was previously either Fully conso or IP or Equity method, its consolidation method must be updated to "Not Consolidated" - Important note : need for activation of options "Acquiring company" and / or "Intermediate package" has to be checked with GAR team
- IFRS-FS-INC
- Preliminary condition: the company must be a US one and must belong to the scope of US companies considered in IFRS-FS-INC scope (IFRS Financial statements of Solvay USA Inc & its subsidiaries) - in case of doubt, confirmation can be requested to Accounting network in US
- New company: to be added if its consolidation is either: Fully conso or IP or Equity method (not to be added if Non Consolidated)
- Change of Consolidation method: if the company becomes consolidated (Fully conso or IP or Equity method), the company must be added to the scope.
- End of company: if the company was previously either Fully conso or IP or Equity method, its consolidation method must be updated to "Not Consolidated" - Important note : need for activation of options "Acquiring company" and / or "Intermediate package" has to be checked with GAR team
- IFRS-FS-RHI
- Preliminary condition: the company must be a US one and must belong to the scope of US companies considered in IFRS-FS-RHI scope (IFRS Financial statements of Solvay Holding Inc) - in case of doubt, confirmation can be requested to Accounting network in US
- New company: to be added if its consolidation is either: Fully conso or IP or Equity method (not to be added if Non Consolidated)
- Change of Consolidation method: if the company becomes consolidated (Fully conso or IP or Equity method), the company must be added to the scope.
- End of company: if the company was previously either Fully conso or IP or Equity method, its consolidation method must be updated to "Not Consolidated" - Important note : need for activation of options "Acquiring company" and / or "Intermediate package" has to be checked with GAR team
- SYENFULL
- New company: to be added whatever its consolidation method ( Fully conso or IP or Equity method or Non consolidated) as 100% consolidated - Note: Fictive companies (such as DISCOP) have not to be added in this scope as it only includes legal companies
- Change of Consolidation method: no impact as in this scope, all companies are considered as 100% consolidated (as if they were all IG)
- End of company: whatever its previous consolidation method, its consolidation method must be updated to "Not Consolidated" - Note : no need to activate options "acquiring company" or "Intermediate package" in ACTUAL0 scopes
- SYENCONSO
- New company: to be added whatever its consolidation method ( Fully conso or IP or Equity method or Non consolidated) : IG companies consolidated at 100% / IP MEQ and NC consolidated as IP at their % of interests - Note: Fictive companies (such as DISCOP) have not to be added in this scope as it only includes legal companies
- Change of Consolidation method: adapt the consolidation method according to the new status of the company : IG companies consolidated at 100% / IP MEQ and NC consolidated as IP at their % of interests
- End of company: whatever its previous consolidation method, its consolidation method must be updated to "Not Consolidated" - Note : no need to activate options "acquiring company" or "Intermediate package" in ACTUAL0 scopes
- RSBSYENSQO (scope dedicated to Controlling category)
- Note that this scope includes both legal companies (from SYENSQO scope) and fictive ones per Business (used to manage structure effects in RSB)
- New company: to be added if its consolidation is either: Fully conso or IP or Equity method (not to be added if Non Consolidated)
- Change of Consolidation method: if the company becomes consolidated (Fully conso or IP or Equity method), the company must be added to the scope.
- End of company: no action to be taken as RSB scope includes companies consolidated at opening even if sold or merged during the year in ACTUAL2 scope - this is through the RSB consolidation rules or Controlling top entries that the deconsolidation will be proceeded
- PREVSYENSQO
- Important note: this scope includes only fictive reporting companies per Business to report GBU's forecasts
- New company: not to be added except if fictive company requested by Corporate Controlling
- Change of Consolidation method: no impact as fictive companies used in PREV are always 100% conso
- End of company: no impact as fictive companies used in PREV are always 100% conso (no management of deconsolidation effects in PREV)
6.2 Scope Management - Creation of Scopes
In the BFCTop Select the Scope Builder module within the Operation domain.
The scopes can be created from the last version available, through the Save As option.
For this, go to the Scope Builder module, select the last version of the Scope to be used as reference to create the new one.
* In this instance it will be created the scope SYENSQO 2023.12, thus it should be selected the scope SYENSQO 2023.09 (latest one created).
Open it, choose Save As, enter the Period and then click on OK.
In order to facilitate the understanding of the updates during the year, we should keep a record of the changes in the comments field.
In the Comments area click in Edit.
Add a short text informing which companies are being updated in the scope version being created.
6.3 Scope Management -Insert a New Company or a Newly Consolidated Company
Within the Step Scope, click on the button to Insert Reporting Unit.
Indicate the BFC code of the company to be inserted and fill the consolidation method of this company according to the information received from the GAR:
- Financial interest %
- Ownership interest %
- Consolidation method
And click on Next.
When the Consolidation Method changes from Not Consolidated (NC) to Fully Consolidated (IG) or Equity Method (ME) or Proportional integration (IG), the Company has to be added to the scope, the same way than a new company.
Link between % of Ownership and Consolidation method:
When the % of Ownership Interest is modified, the system changes the consolidation method automatically according to the range set for each consolidation method, thus it should be payed attention whether the consolidation method should be updated or not, otherwise it has to be amended manually to the correct method.
BFC is considering the following ranges for each consolidation method:
6.4 Scope Management - End of a company (Divestment / Liquidation / Merger)
The company sold will have to be excluded from the scope of consolidation. Decision about timing to exclude it has to be obtained from GAR.
An "Intermediate" package will be defined to activate the generation of divestment postings in Balance Sheet (through consolidation treatments - F98 flow in Balance Sheet) while copying the past cumulative P&L till the end of the Year.
In the step Scope select the company and updated the consolidation method to "Not consolidated (NC)".
In the tab Incoming/Outgoing inform:
- In the Intermediate data entry period - the reporting period being the previous month (M-1) versus month (M) of divestment - period to be chosen must always be validated with GAR (some exceptions to this M-1 rule can happen)
There are 2 types of mergers:
- With retroactive effect: Balance Sheet variations since January 1st and P&L from January 1st of the merged company are fully transferred line by line to the absorbing company.
- With NO retroactive effect: Closing Balance Sheet (closing balance M-1) and corresponding P&L result (L12000) of the merged company are directly transferred to the absorbing company.
In the step Scope select the company and change the consolidation method to "Not consolidated (NC)".
In the tab Incoming/Outgoing inform:
- In the Acquiring reporting unit - the reporting unit of the absorbing company.
Nothing to change in the scope.
The absorbed company will continue to report until the end of the year:
- its cumulative and frozen P&L from January 1st till the date of merger
- its Balance Sheet with 0 closing (F99) balances (Assets and Liabilities transferred to the absorbing company using F70 flow)
To facilitate Accounting work, BFC Admin will centrally copy the last package (month of the merger) until the end of the year.
In the month of the Liquidation the company remains in the Scope, and the packages are generated normally.
In the reporting periods following the month of liquidation and till the end of the year, it will be necessary to exclude the company from the scope using an "intermediate" package (same as for the divestment/sale of a company).
In the step Scope select the company and change the consolidation method to "Not consolidated (NC)".
In the tab Incoming/Outgoing inform:
- In the Intermediate data entry period - the reporting period correspondent to the previous month (M-1) versus month (M) of liquidation - period to be chosen must always be validated with GAR (some exceptions to this rule can happen)
Cleaning of scopes
When creating the first scope of the year, January for SYENSQO scope, March for the other ACTUAL0 and ACTUAL2 scopes, a cleaning of the entities sold, liquidated or merged in the previous year must be done.
Entities to be cleaned can be easily identified in the scopes by looking at Opening and Closing method. The entities for which both methods are Not Consolidated (NC) should be deleted from the scope.
Choose the option "Delete" with right click on the entity.
6.5 Scope Management - Piloting and Reception of Scopes Updates from BFC_Top_SCO to BFC_Prod_SCO databases
After the scope is duly created and validated in the FBFC Top it should be transferred to the BFC Prod.
Go to Task List module within the Administration domain, and select the Object SCO-ADMIN.
Open it and in the Definition tab select New transferable object icon.
Choose the option Scope Builder.
Open the list of available scopes and select the one to be transferred.
Then Save the definitions set.
With right click on the object select the Start option.
Press F5 to refresh, then the object will be available in the subgroup Receive objects, it will be first object available, in the column Last Run it should be empty.
To make sure this is the correct object, open it and in Definition tab check the item.
By right click on the received object, choose the option Start.
Press F5 to refresh, the column Status shows a green flag meaning that the transference is completed with no errors.
Confirm in the Scope Builder module that the scope was properly transferred.
7. Other BFC Actions : Users Access Management
When new comers in Finance community (CAD, CAM, Accounting platforms, Service Units,...),
When a company is added in the Syensqo GAR list or/and created in BFC,
BFC Admin team must:
- Confirm if it is necessary to grant access to the BFC to a new Finance comer
- Add the new company to the filters of companies of the people that will be in charge for it
7.1 - BFC Access for New comers
Refer to the procedure related to Users access Management in BFC SYENSQO
7.2 - Add a New Company to the BFC Users Profile
Refer to the procedure related to Users access Management in BFC SYENSQO
END OF THE PROCEDURE.
Firstly, it needs to be confirmed if the company is in the Data access Group. For this enter in the profile of someone that is responsible for the company .
As example the company 63220, that becomes Full Consolidated on July 2017, then it was necessary to check the Mexican Front Office's profile.
Open the field Data Access Group.
Open the Group by selecting the option "Change", to have more details.
The Screen opened shows the level of access and the Data definitions for each category.
- The levels of access that someone can have is: Data entry, that allows to enter data in the packages; Data analysis, that allows only to consult data through the Run Reports domain; Consolidation and Central manual Journal Entries access.
Then select a Data definition to open and see more details.
A group may have different data definitions, if that is the case, it has to be entered in all to see the details.
Select the option "Change", to have more details about the Data definitions.
The screen opened shows the dimensions defined for the access, as a Filter of Reporting Units; Activities; Accounts, etc.
In this instance the user has a Filter of Reporting Units that defines the companies he/she has access.
Then it will be possible to see the companies that are set in the filter.
If the company is not available it has to be updated.
Note: The filters should be defined in the Setup module > Dimension Builder domain of BFC_Top database. And if any information needs to be updated, it has to be done in its origin.
Not all the filters are available on BFC_Top database, so firstly check whether it was created on TOP or PROD.
In BFC_Prod database, go to Setup module > Dimension Builder domain.
There are some levels of definitions of the dimension builder, it must be select the option Filters.
Then check if the filter that needs to be update has any information in the column Created By. If it is empty means that the filter was created in TOP, then it must be updated in this database. Otherwise, the update can be done directly on Prod database.
Open the filter and with double click over the companies, it opens the edition mode, then the company has to be added in sequential order.
Afterwards, Save the change.
If the Filter was updated in Top database it has to be transferred to Prod, following the step:
6.3 Company Management in BFC - Send the Updates from FC_Top to FC_Prod
* The transference process of a Filter of Reporting Units is the same as than the transference of a single Reporting Unit.
8.3 Other Actions - Distribution Lists
When a new contact is appointed for Accounting or Controlling teams the new member must be included in the related Google Distribution List.
The process to add a user to the Distribution List can be found in the procedure:
| Content by Label | ||||
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8.4 Other Actions - Communications in the Solvay One Portal
In the Solvay One portal it is possible to follow the appointments made in the Group.
As soon as an appointment for RtR is identified it is a good approach to be proactive and anticipate the person appointed needs (Creation of BFC user, update of GAR List of Companies, add to Google Distribution List, etc).
As example: on February 1st of 2017 it was identified a new CAM for some US companies. In the announcement is possible to see that the person is a new comer in the Group, thus has no access to BFC.
This way it would be a good approach:
- Identify the companies the person will manage;
- Create access to this person with the needed rights;
- Update on GAR List of Companies, in this instance, the CAM for the companies that this person will be assigned.
The companies that the person will manage, can be confirmed directly with the person, or with the person's manager, which usually sign the announcement, in this instance it was signed by the Regional Company Accounting Manage. It also could be confirmed with the RCM - RtR Country Manager available in the GAR List for country that the person will work.
Also it might be seen announcements of people changing their roles within the group, leaving the group, etc. These kind of information may need some actions either in BFC or in the GAR List of Companies.
END OF THE PROCEDURE.