The Company
CTS Cement is a U.S. cement manufacturer reporting under ASC 842. Its lease portfolio is operational in nature, covering assets such as vehicles, rail cars, and equipment used across the business.
Due to the size of the lease portfolio, lease accounting for CTS's finance team required more than a year-end compliance exercise. New leases, terminations, extensions, payment changes, and upcoming lease expirations needed to be captured throughout the year so the lease liability, right-of-use asset, and year-end disclosures remained supportable.
The Challenge
Limited visibility under an outsourced annual process
Before using Rubli's platform, CTS did not have an internal lease accounting process. Lease data was sent to an external CPA firm who maintained the schedules and provided the year-end journal entries for CTS to book.
While that approach satisfied the basic compliance requirement, it left CTS dependent on an annual handoff. CTS's finance team did not have access to the CPA firm's underlying lease accounting system, so it had no control over or visibility into the calculations and lease data during the year.
Lease changes surfaced too late
When CTS began taking ownership of the lease register from the CPA firm, it became apparent that the prior schedule did not fully reflect the current lease population. The team needed to validate which leases were active, which had ended, and whether any leases were missing from the schedule.
Under the old process, those issues were harder to identify during the year because CTS did not review the lease position monthly. For a portfolio with frequent lease activity and changes, CTS's Senior Financial Manager, Hugo Fabian, concluded that lease accounting could not be treated as a year-end-only exercise.
"I don't think our leases can just be looked at, at the end of the year. There was a disconnect with our old process."
Hugo Fabian, Senior Financial Manager, CTS Cement
Cost without enough internal control
The outsourced process with the CPA firm also incurred recurring costs that could increase significantly as the lease portfolio evolved. Michael Wu, CTS's Chief Financial Officer, estimated that by bringing lease-maintenance activities in-house with Rubli, CTS would save approximately $30,000 per year through reduced external CPA lease-accounting costs.
For CTS, the case for change was not only about reducing outsourced costs. It was about bringing lease accounting in-house, improving the finance team's visibility over the lease data, and creating a process that could be reviewed and updated throughout the year.
Why Rubli
CTS evaluated several lease accounting solutions before selecting Rubli. Michael Wu, CFO at CTS Cement, was involved in the selection process and identified two factors that made Rubli stand out:
- Ease of use. Rubli was the most user-friendly and straightforward of the options CTS reviewed. The finance team needed a system that could support internal ownership without adding unnecessary complexity.
- Ongoing implementation and customer support. CTS wanted confidence that support would continue after the contract was signed, especially as the company moved from an outsourced annual process to internal ownership.
"Rubli is very user-friendly and by far the simplest of the four we reviewed. But at the end, we wanted to make sure that we were getting the appropriate support post-signing."
Michael Wu, CFO, CTS Cement
The Implementation
When Hugo Fabian, Senior Financial Manager, joined CTS, he was tasked with helping bring ASC 842 lease accounting in-house using Rubli. At the same time, he was getting up to speed on the business, taking ownership of the lease portfolio, and balancing the project with his day-to-day finance responsibilities.
Hugo estimated that a team with dedicated resources and familiarity with its lease data could implement Rubli in around one month. For CTS, the process took approximately four months, as the team needed to validate, reconcile and clean up their lease information before uploading it into Rubli, while also balancing this project alongside other finance priorities.
Once the data was migrated, the team used Rubli's in-platform editing tools and import functionality to maintain lease records, update payment information, and review the resulting accounting schedules.
The Results
Lease accounting ownership moved in-house
Before Rubli, CTS relied on its external CPA firm to maintain the lease schedules and provide the year-end lease accounting entry. According to Michael Wu, CTS's Chief Financial Officer, bringing lease-maintenance activities in-house with Rubli reduced external CPA lease-accounting costs by approximately $30,000 per year.
With Rubli, CTS was able to move the ongoing maintenance of its lease portfolio into the finance team. The external CPA firm still prepares the year-end financial statements, but the lease data, monthly review process, audit support, and disclosure reporting are now managed internally through Rubli.
Monthly ownership replaced the annual handoff
Today, CTS manages lease accounting as a monthly internal process. Hugo reviews Rubli payment schedules against actual payments, investigates variances, checks for new leases, monitors upcoming expiries, and updates lease records when payments or terms change.
That gives CTS an ongoing, practical control point throughout the year. If a payment differs from the expected schedule, the finance team can quickly determine whether a lease has ended early, been extended, changed in amount, or requires an update in Rubli.
"I'm able to focus more on the data and what I'm feeding Rubli, as opposed to figuring out the formulas. It makes me feel more confident with the data I'm giving."
Hugo Fabian, Senior Financial Manager, CTS Cement
Audit questions were easier to support
Rubli also helped CTS respond more efficiently to audit queries. During an audit review, a vehicle payment issue highlighted the value of having lease data and amortization schedules in a single system. Hugo was able to trace the affected assets, update the payment inputs, and demonstrate the resulting impact through the updated amortization schedule.
The broader benefit was control. When an input issue affected the lease liability or right-of-use asset, CTS could identify the cause, make the necessary correction, and evidence the change from the same system.
Year-end disclosure information came from one report
CTS's external CPA firm still prepares the year-end financial statements, but the finance team now supports the lease disclosures directly from Rubli. Using Rubli's annual disclosure report, the finance team can generate the information required for the financial statement notes and provide it to the CPA firm.
Hugo estimated that once the lease data has been updated and reviewed, preparing and sharing the disclosure information can take around an hour. With lease data, movements, and reporting maintained in Rubli, year-end disclosure preparation becomes a review-and-export process rather than a manual rebuild.
Support continued after signing
Ongoing support was one of the reasons CTS chose Rubli, and Hugo's experience confirmed that the support continued throughout implementation, day-to-day use, and audit periods. When questions arose, the Rubli team helped him understand the data, resolve issues, and build confidence in the platform.
"The Rubli team was always available. We were under audit pressure, getting everything done and making sure it was accurate. They were a great help."
Hugo Fabian, Senior Financial Manager, CTS Cement
Spreadsheets were no longer practical at CTS's scale
Hugo had used spreadsheets for lease accounting in previous roles, but only for relatively small lease portfolios. With hundreds of leases and regular activity, he viewed a spreadsheet-based approach as impractical for CTS.
"I don't think I would be able to do it with this type of leasing. With all the information CTS has, all our leases, it's not possible. No way."
Hugo Fabian, Senior Financial Manager, CTS Cement
The Outcome
Before Rubli, CTS relied on an external CPA firm to maintain lease schedules and provide year-end lease accounting entries, leaving the finance team with limited visibility into its lease position throughout the year.
Today, CTS manages its approximately 500-lease ASC 842 portfolio in-house, using Rubli, through a monthly process. Lease data, payment schedules, audit support, and disclosure reporting are maintained in a single platform, giving the finance team greater visibility, stronger control over lease accounting, and reduced reliance on external providers. According to CTS, bringing lease-maintenance activities in-house also reduced external CPA lease-accounting costs by approximately $30,000 per year.
"It really helps me trust the numbers. If I spot-check it with the actual payments, it gives me even more confirmation."
Hugo Fabian, Senior Financial Manager, CTS Cement