“Now we have a solution that is easy to use, which removes dependency on key personnel, and saves us several days of work every year.”
Torhild Navestad Larsen, Group Chief Accountant of Europris, represents one of several hundred companies in the Nordic region that uses House of Control's IFRS 16 solution to manage IFRS 16 reporting.
Europris is Norway's largest discount variety retailer with 2,800 employees and NOK 8.3 billion in turnover. The company offers a broad range of merchandise at approx. 270 stores and franchises nationwide.
Centralised contract system for franchises
Torhild and Europris are long and experienced users of House of Control's solutions for contract management. The tenancy agreements are one of several types of agreements managed by the solution. All franchise agreements with the local Europris franchisees are also registered in Complete Control, a premium contract management tool. Agreements documents, details, and other information are stored in one place - and franchisees are notified well in advance of agreement's expiration date.
- Every single store has numerous supplier contracts. We have collected all the agreements in one place, Complete Control, says Larsen.
- This gives us better control of each store, and, a much bigger effect is that we can see the chain's purchases in a bigger picture. Now we can enter into joint agreements and framework agreements, with better prices and greater demands on quality - while the store managers can focus more on what they do best.
- Larger contracts and electronic invoicing simplify financial management. We spend less time on invoice and supplier handling.
New requirements
When the IFRS 16 requirements for capitalization of leases and leasing contracts were introduced in 2019, Europris was well prepared. It is primarly rental agreements related to the stores that are covered by IFRS 16.
“About 2 years before the new regulations, we starting making models and forecasts to see how IFRS 16 would affect results. These were thorough and precise, if we may say so ourselves, but they had an obvious weakness: They were made in Excel, with all the limitations it had for ongoing management and maintenance, including dependence on key personnel. An IFRS 16 agreement consists of many elements, which are far better handled when working in a suitable software.
“We got to be part of the development of the IFRS 16 solution for House of Control, where I experienced our contacts in House of Control as very responsive to users' needs. In many ways, we had the final say on which output to get from the solution. In addition to hitting one hundred percent on this, we now have a solution that is easy to use, which removes dependency on key personnel, increases continuity, and which saves us several days of work every year. Using a dedicated software gives us extra security for the quality of the reporting.”
