Case Study: Minnesota State Retirement System achieves a 3-week faster CAFR and 300 hours saved with Workiva

Retirement System Gains 3 Weeks in CAFR Process with Workiva

The Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS) produces a detailed, 200+ page comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) each year, a time‑intensive project that used to require sending PDFs back and forth with a publisher, creating version‑control chaos and heavy time pressures on staff. MSRS needed more control, accuracy, and flexibility—especially as remote work became necessary.

MSRS moved the CAFR process to the Workiva connected reporting platform, using linked data, in‑document attachments, quick blacklines, and cloud collaboration to streamline reviews and updates. The change shaved three weeks off the CAFR cycle (about 300 hours saved), freed an accounting manager to focus on her team, enabled secure remote review, was cost‑neutral compared with the previous publisher approach, reduced stress, and is now being extended to risk management.

Minnesota State Retirement System

Cheryl Jahnke

Financial Reporting and Risk Management Director