Case Study
QBD is Australia’s leading online bookstore, connecting readers with a world of stories, knowledge and inspiration.
- Retail
- Finance
When the accounting standards in Australia changed, QBD Books needed a fast, scalable, and compliant solution for managing lease accounting under AASB 16. QBD turned to Minerva Partners, leveraging our expertise in EPM and custom Jedox solutions to deliver a system that dramatically reduced manual effort, improved accuracy, reduced audit burden, and brought confidence and clarity to complex processes.
In 2019, the introduction of AASB 16 Leases represented a shift in accounting treatment, requiring all leases, to be recognised as finance leases on the balance sheet. For QBD Books, this meant valuing over 100 leases and aligning them with the new standard. Most Off-the-shelf software couldn’t handle QBD’s scale, capped out at 20 leases, lacking the scalability QBD needed. With a long-standing relationship already established, QBD once again engaged Minerva Partners for a tailored solution.
Initially, QBD managed its lease accounting through Excel. However, with over 100 leases, the model quickly became unmanageable. Despite the CFO’s technical knowledge, the process remained complex and time-consuming. When implementing the new solution, the team uncovered an error from the auditors from the previous year. This confirmed the need for a more reliable, systemised approach.
QBD Books engaged Minerva with three primary objectives:
- Compliance: Ensure full and accurate adherence to AASB 16 lease accounting requirements.
- Efficiency: Reduce the time and effort required
- Scalability: Create a system capable of handling hundreds of leases and growing with the business.
Minerva Partners translated QBD’s Excel model into a dynamic, web-based Jedox solution. The project included:
- Custom Jedox Web Development: Converting QBD’s complex lease model into a streamlined, user-friendly platform.
- Automation: Creating processes to calculate valuations, generate journals, and reconcile lease data across reporting periods.
- Audit Integration: Building tools to compare current calculations with the general ledger and flag discrepancies.
- Ongoing Support: Maintaining the solution and adapting it as needed over time.
The benefits of Minerva’s solution were both immediate and significant. Time savings were a major win; what once took two weeks can now be completed in just half a day. Accuracy, efficiency, and trust in the numbers also improved dramatically. Jedox delivered more reliable calculations than previous models, reducing the need for manual adjustments. With automated journal creation and built-in controls, the system is now well-equipped to support QBD’s continued growth.
The new solution transformed a messy, manual process into a streamlined workflow. Now, the team loads the data, runs the process, and completes a reconciliation. The upgraded model is not only fast but also transparent; anyone can trace the numbers and understand how they reconcile. Additionally, QBD CFO Mark Reid explains how Deloitte initially increased the audit fee because of the complexity that other clients usually face. “The unexpected win was that Deloitte can audit this a lot quicker. They tried to increase our audit fee, but that fee has now disappeared.”
“My experience with Minerva has been very consistent. I’ve worked with several people across the team, and the level of service has always been the same. The system itself is highly adaptable, and I’m constantly impressed by how quickly the Minerva team picks up what we put down.” Mark Reid – CFO – QBD Books
From rapidly translating business logic into automation to navigating a major accounting standard shift, Minerva delivered more than a solution, we delivered peace of mind.
