Rentokil Initial plc and Next plc are two FTSE 100 companies with complex reporting requirements.

Their stories bring the Atticus workflow and features to life, solving common challenges such as: 

1. improving their manual way of working
2. getting people on board
3. transparent project communication

On the panel

Phoebe Stamford-Moroz, Deputy Company Secretary at Rentokil Initial plc

Lawrence Hagan, Senior Assistant Company Secretary at Next plc

Sam Spivack, Head of Growth (UK and Europe) at Atticus

Challenge 1: Moving on from manual processes

Both Rentokil and Next were dealing with:

• Highly manual reporting processes built on Google Docs
• Their manual processes breaking as requirements grew more complex
• A desire to find a better, less manual approach.

Lawrence Hagan from Next describes their existing manual process. 

“While our team had moved beyond static Excel spreadsheets, we were updating document references for evidence each time there was a new version of the annual report, which was only a live Google Sheet with some hyperlinks to evidence. There was a huge amount of opportunity to improve.” 

Phoebe Stamford-Moroz had a similar problem at Rentokil. 

“I think it’s a familiar story to have a single document where everyone has to input their changes. Version control is really difficult, and it presents more issues as the reporting requirements get more complex, as Rentokil experienced after its dual-listing in 2022.”

How Atticus helped

They left behind the chaos of Google Docs 

Multiple people could now work simultaneously without stepping on each other or creating a mess. 

“The move from a multi-versioned word document with a million comments of stakeholders writing ‘confirmed’ over large swathes of text to a system where people can work on it at the same time and communicate through the tool has been revolutionary.” 

—Phoebe Stamford-Moroz, Rentokil Initial

They sped up their processes significantly

They saved time normally spent doing consistency checks, evidence finding, and tracking the work. 

“Atticus has been a natural plug-in to this process, and hugely valuable to the business.”

“We have saved time in consistency checks across the suite of documents, identifying the correct backup through Evidence Finder, and tracking progress for completing our work with the green doughnut.”

—Lawrence Hagan, Next

Challenge 2: Getting people on board with new technology

Both companies needed:

• Strategic approaches to demonstrate value to stakeholders
• Systems simple enough for people outside finance and governance to use
• Ways to overcome resistance from hesitant team members.

Lawrence Hagan from Next explains their strategic approach to getting buy-in. 

“Having had the benefit of being a user elsewhere, I was pretty confident that a demo of Atticus in action, tailored for our most recent report, would strike a chord with my colleagues.”

Phoebe Stamford-Moroz from Rentokil Initial identified different types of stakeholders. 

“I’ve found there are two schools with new tech products – those who are keen to try and those who are hesitant because the current way of doing the task is just about holding together! The best systems to bring in are those that require minimal training, and Atticus is one of the few that I could name here.”

How Atticus helped

They turned finance teams into allies 

Finance teams became natural supporters because they were integral to the process and held the budget. 

“Finance are a key stakeholder as they are budget gatekeepers and integral to the reporting process itself. We have needed minimal training given how intuitive the system is.” 

—Lawrence Hagan, Next

They made onboarding simple and painless for their staff

Teams could start using the platform immediately without extensive training programs. 

“Training is virtually non-existent. You can effectively invite them in and they just get to work. There’s no need for your team, over the busiest time of the year, to run multiple training sessions or trouble-shoot for new users.” 

—Phoebe Stamford-Moroz, Rentokil Initial

“The system is quite intuitive and quick. This gives us more time to educate people on what good verification looks like.” 

—Lawrence Hagan, Next

Challenge 3: Communicating transparently throughout the process

Both companies needed:

• Clear visibility into progress and completion status
• Ways to build confidence with senior stakeholders and boards
• Transparent processes that auditors could trust and engage with.

Phoebe Stamford-Moroz explains why board confidence became so critical at Rentokil.

“Making sure we’re comfortable with the statements we put out is a core part of governance – being able to offer that security to our Board and EDs is integral to our reporting.”

“This is particularly acute when we have different reporting regimes in the UK and US and must ensure consistency across our reports. 

Lawrence Hagan describes the transformation in their reporting process. 

“The proof is in the pudding. After our first cycle using Atticus the final straight before publication felt less hectic. We had time available to focus on the quality of drafting and complete consistency checks at a manageable pace.”

How Atticus helped

They built trust with senior stakeholders

The “green doughnut” became a trusted indicator that disclosure committees and boards rely on for comfort.

“Our Disclosure Committee will always ask for the ‘green doughnut’! It’s a source of comfort to know that the experts on the figures and statements are reviewing these disclosures.”

—Phoebe Stamford-Moroz, Rentokil Initial

Results

Both companies now use Atticus across annual reports, half-year results, investor presentations, and regulatory filings. 

The platform has streamlined collaboration, bolstered internal controls, and brought greater oversight of their processes.