Oculis month-end efficiency and stronger controls with FloQast

Oculis is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to fighting eye disease and developing new treatments to improve eye care. Founded in Switzerland in 2017, Oculis’ clinical successes have led to rapid growth, with the company listed on NASDAQ in 2023. As part of that process, the Oculis finance team needed to uplift their accounting function to add efficiency and meet new regulatory obligations. They found their solution with FloQast.

Before FloQast

Oculis Accounting and Internal Controls Manager Diana Duriet stated that the company’s main objective in pursuing a finance transformation was to optimize its month end performance — to the point that it was completing its close on time, every month, to the highest standard of quality. 

With that goal in mind, she noted that, prior to the 2023 transformation with FloQast, the company’s finance function relied heavily on manual processes and an internal control system managed via an Excel Risk and Control Matrix. She added that the Oculis accounting team was relatively small at that time, comprising only 10 people spread over 5 entities. The compliance process was labor-intensive for those team members, who spent considerable time on tasks like copying and pasting into Excel spreadsheets. 

These manual processes made it challenging to monitor the work of external accounting teams and also limited management’s visibility into the close process and broader control environment.

Given the company's rapid growth and aspirations for a NASDAQ public listing, a new compliance framework was essential. This move necessitated adherence to more stringent compliance standards, including SOX compliance.

With that in mind, Oculis leadership realised that the company needed internal control software that would uplift its control process in numerous ways, especially by improving month-end control visibility. The team began the process of selecting a software platform to achieve that goal.

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We were being listed on NASDAQ so it became a necessity to have a tool that would help us with our compliance requirements. But we were also thinking about monthly and quarterly close management, so we wanted a tool that integrated all these operations.

Diana Duriet, Internal Controls Manager, Oculis

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Elaborating on the research process, Diana said that the Oculis finance team compiled a shortlist of six accounting software providers from both Europe and the US. FloQast was a late addition but immediately stood out from the crowd because it provided outstanding close management capabilities. Plus, it linked compliance controls directly to those close activities — and even allowed third-party auditor access for added efficiency.  

The seamless integration of close management and governance, risk, and control (GRC) made the difference, elevating FloQast above the competition and prompting Oculis leadership to move forward with implementation. 

FloQast Implementation 

Given the importance that compliance and internal audit buyers place on risk management, FloQast helped Oculis execute a straightforward and swift digital transformation process — with minimal downtime or disruption to ongoing services. FloQast also provided a valuable change management advantage during that process thanks to a comprehensive technical support system, and Oculis’ collaboration with global advisory firm and FloQast partner, CFGI. 

Diana highlighted the contribution that FloQast experts made during every stage of the transformation. Prior to implementation, for example, FloQast team members worked with Oculis accountants to steer the integration of new tools, determine how much efficiency they would provide, and explain how they would uplift internal workflows, including during audits. 

With that in mind, the primary challenge during the transition was to help the Oculis team move away from its reliance on a single spreadsheet, and towards a fully documented and centralized platform with mature, automated internal controls. 

With those risk-management issues resolved, and despite the need to coordinate across five entities, Oculis’ transition to the FloQast platform took less than two months. 

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FloQast team members helped us a lot throughout the implementation, including setting out what we would gain from the platform as we grew. Everything that they promised was delivered.

Diana Duriet, Internal Controls Manager, Oculis

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While FloQast delivered the control enhancements that Oculis needed for its public launch, Diana’s team also discovered that there were going to be significant benefits for the month-end close process. 

For example, the visibility that FloQast provides means that Oculis team members now have a much clearer perspective on month-end progress, and can see who is overloaded, and which deadlines may be at risk. It also means that Oculis managers spend less time chasing updates and can dedicate their focus and expertise with more efficiency during high-pressure accounting periods. 

Diana noted that, for many of the Oculis team, FloQast has become an essential part of daily work, with activities linked directly to the month-end close and to the company’s statutory responsibilities.

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Every activity that the accounting team needs to do is logged in FloQast, and directly linked to a control so that we can make sure it gets done. That’s essential to the journey Oculis is on.

Diana Duriet, Internal Controls Manager, Oculis

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Ongoing Compliance

FloQast has transformed Oculis’ finance and compliance functions and helped it meet the challenges of the public listing process. 

Beyond the impact on month-end workflows, FloQast has also made Oculis’ audits more efficient by opening up secure auditor access to documentation and control evidence. That uplift included specific SOX 404(b) compliance requirements, with tools to support deeper risk assessments, more thorough documentation, and stronger control testing. 

For Oculis, FloQast is more than just a software solution; it’s a foundational platform that enables scaling, transparency, and regulatory confidence. As Oculis continues to grow, and as its accounting compliance demands increase, FloQast is set to play a pivotal role in the company’s financial function.

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FloQast is by far our most innovative software solution. It’s hard to imagine our finance function and control environment without it because it's so integral to how we get things done.

Diana Duriet, Internal Controls Manager, Oculis

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