Big Data Accounting Analytics Engine

Oakleaf has delivered services for many years to a large financial institution covering departmental and corporate-wide initiatives, including model applications, databases, and platforms for model infrastructure and integrating analytics tools. Oakleaf has also provided Oakleaf-managed teams and Client-managed supplemental resources. We implemented a human capital strategy tailored to an assessment of skillset gaps and based on continuous conversations in collaboration with hiring managers to ensure that the right talent was available as the project moved through its lifecycle.

This case describes our work supporting several corporate-wide initiatives being led by the business area we support— a Big Data platform transformation and analytics engines for new accounting and regulatory requirements such as key earnings metrics and Current Expected Credit Losses (CECL). The challenge was to transform the Big Data platform and accounting analytics engine for FAS 114 graphical presentations among other application tools that Oakleaf’s staff assisted with.

Our Approach

Oakleaf’s engagement with the financial technology department represents years of engagement with their teams supporting their model infrastructure responsibilities, where the company’s principal forecast and historical statistical models are executed, including the runs and reports of outcomes. These reports support analysis and research by sophisticated users without technical programming skills. Oakleaf’s efforts resulted in the models executing faster, and therefore their large volumes of statistical data had understandable and accurate metrics, reports and graphical dashboards and displays, which the risk management and economists used in their key decision-making processes.

One of these applications, the Big Data Transformation platform, is an engine for calculating and providing graphical presentations of FAS 114 and CECL accounting requirements. This complex engine includes Oracle, Netezza, and Tableau among many other tools used to build a suite of leading-edge analytical tools. Our team provided SAS, R, Python, SQL, Unix, and Java, amongst other resources. Oakleaf delivered the application into production and supported it in production, implementing ongoing modifications.

Results

As part of supporting this work, the Oakleaf team assisted the Client in the transition from their Waterfall to Agile development process, part of a massive enterprise-wide initiative.
Our team addressed the challenge resulting from applying iterative prototyping in the Agile development to a model infrastructure environment associated with testing and new team dynamics. Oakleaf’s long history with the institution’s SDLC and mature change management requirements made the transition smoother, saving time and development costs.
Oakleaf consultants successfully tested this new engine using manual and automated test processes.
Our team’s mastery of both business concepts and technologies distinguished us for selection to support massively expanding projects.