Integrating ESG Reporting with Financial Consolidation and Planning Processes

Koenig & Bauer is one of the world's leading manufacturers of printing presses and digital solutions for the printing and packaging industries. With approximately 5,500 employees and annual revenue of approximately EUR 1.3 billion, the company operates globally through more than 40 legally independent entities across Europe and around the world.

“With the OneStream solution, we have achieved significantly higher process and audit security. We can systematically pursue our ESG goals while benefiting from significantly more efficient and structured reporting that meets comprehensive regulatory requirements.”

- Dr. Bernd Heusinger, Certified ESG Officer, Koenig & Bauer

1. Building a Unified Reporting Platform for a Global Organization.

As regulatory requirements increased and reporting processes became more complex, Koenig & Bauer recognized the need to modernize both its ESG reporting and financial consolidation processes. The company wanted to move beyond spreadsheets and disconnected systems to create a unified Corporate Performance Management (CPM) platform supporting sustainability reporting, financial consolidation, planning, and future management processes.

2. Spreadsheet-Based Processes Limited Transparency and Efficiency.

Prior to OneStream, both ESG reporting and financial consolidation relied heavily on Excel-based processes.

For consolidation, subsidiaries submitted financial information through extensive spreadsheet packages that were reviewed and manually loaded into the consolidation environment. The process was time consuming, vulnerable to version control issues, and lacked sufficient transparency into ownership, approvals, and data changes.

At the same time, ESG reporting requirements were expanding significantly due to the introduction of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), and EU Taxonomy requirements. Koenig & Bauer estimated that ESG reporting data points increased nearly tenfold, creating additional reporting complexity across a decentralized organization.

“In the past, we worked with Excel. However, with our large number of production sites and global sales and service branches, this became too confusing and complex. Creation and editing also involved an enormous amount of manual effort and was very error-prone.”

- Dr. Bernd Heusinger, Certified ESG Officer, Koenig & Bauer

The company needed a modern solution capable of supporting rigorous ESG reporting requirements while modernizing financial consolidation and delivering a common data foundation for future growth.

3. A Single Source of Truth for ESG and Financial Reporting.

Koenig & Bauer began working with a dynamic and leading CPM/EPM consultancy in the DACH-region, specializing in the design, planning, implementation and optimization of business systems and processes. The consultants introduced Koening & Bauer to OneStream, which offered a modern and secure system architecture that integrates seamlessly into their existing SAP landscape, while also allowing for flexible integration with the organization’s non-SAP companies. This enables the standardization of data sources within a single source of truth. This creates traceability and increases data availability and reporting efficiency.

The implementation followed a structured methodology that included design, implementation, testing, and rollout phases. The company launched ESG reporting and consolidation initiatives in parallel. ESG reporting was implemented first, establishing the foundation for broader CPM transformation. Throughout the project, OneStream was configured to integrate with both SAP and non-SAP systems while creating standardized processes and workflows across the organization.

Today:

• More than 60 SAP and non-SAP systems contribute data into OneStream
• Over 120 users participate in data collection and reporting processes
• Financial data is automatically sourced from SAP S/4HANA, SAP Business ByDesign, and a centralized Google BigQuery data warehouse
• Smaller entities can submit structured data directly to OneStream
• ESG and financial reporting teams operate from a centralized platform with consistent governance and controls

The result is a single source of truth that improves transparency, standardization, and enterprise-wide reporting efficiency.

"Today, we have a modern, scalable, and audit-compliant consolidation solution. The key to our success was not only the technology, but above all the way we worked together. Our consultants did not just implement the solution. They guided us, explained the process, and empowered us."

- Julia Muller, Head of Group Accounting, Koenig & Bauer

4. Expanding OneStream Across the Enterprise.

Koenig & Bauer views OneStream as the foundation for a broader CPM transformation.

Having successfully modernized ESG reporting and financial consolidation, the company plans to extend the platform to additional management processes, including planning and tax reporting.

By managing financial and operational data on a common platform, Koenig & Bauer is creating an integrated CPM environment capable of supporting future regulatory requirements, management reporting needs, and strategic decision-making.

“I would choose OneStream again in a heartbeat.”

- Julia Muller, Head of Group Accounting, Koenig & Bauer