LOS ANGELES, Nov. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading financial close software provider BlackLine Systems will be hosting its 2012 Annual User Conference next week from Sunday to Wednesday, Nov. 11 to 14, at the iconic Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco.

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Former NASA Astronaut Garrett Reisman, Ph.D., will deliver a keynote drawing on his experience and life lessons learned from two space shuttle missions, during which he logged over three months in space including three spacewalks and two trips to the International Space Station.  Other keynotes will be given by Deloitte Principal Lee Dittmar, who will speak on "Finance in the Post Digital Enterprise" and Peter Coffee, Salesforce.com vice president and head of platform research, who will give a presentation entitled "Social Connection and the Enterprise." 

Speakers also include senior finance executives from more than 20 BlackLine client companies including ABB, Atlas Air, Cox Communications and Zurich Insurance Group.  

Several sessions are expected to hone in on the benefits of selecting a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) provider to automate traditionally manual financial close processes, rather than hosting (and having to maintain) the software on-premise.

More than 300 clients, partners and prospects from around the globe are registered to attend the four-day event.  'BlackLine Certified Implementation Professional' firms from the company's global network, including conference sponsors Deloitte and UHY Advisors, will be presenting.  Ernst & Young, Horn Solutions, KPMG LLP, Resources Global Professionals and Robert Half International each have BlackLine Certified Implementers signed up and planning to present, as well.  

The day before the conference begins BlackLine employees and interested clients and partners will volunteer their time with GLIDE, a San Francisco organization that, for more than 45 years, has been providing a range of holistic services – from meals to housing to healthcare – to the poor and disenfranchised in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood.   Participants will assist with the GLIDE Daily Meals Program, providing food to families in this poor, harsh urban community.  BlackLine will be making a donation on behalf of the group and encourages others to contribute, as well.

At the BlackLine Annual User Conference, clients from around the world are given an opportunity to:

• Learn best practices from BlackLine's team of experts
• Hear how experienced users from other companies, and in specific industries, creatively use BlackLine
• Preview upcoming software enhancements
• Directly influence the product direction going forward

For more information, contact Howard Goldstein at howard.goldstein@blackline.com.

About BlackLine
BlackLine Systems was the first to develop and offer a commercially available Balance Sheet Account Reconciliation solution.  An experienced provider of software to companies from the Fortune 100 to beyond the Fortune 1,000, BlackLine provides quick-to-implement, scalable and easy-to-use applications that automate the entire financial close process to help improve financial controls for companies of all sizes.  BlackLine software applications complement existing Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Governance Risk and Compliance (GRC) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.

BlackLine offers clients its enterprise-class software in a simple and secure OnDemand/SaaS platform.  With a proven track record and a commitment to customer success, BlackLine seeks to reduce the burden the financial close places on accounting and finance professionals. 

BlackLine headquarters are in Los Angeles, with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, London, New York City and Sydney to serve the company's growing global client base.  For more information, please visit www.blackline.com.  

Media Contact:
Kimberly Uberti
Director of Corporate Communications
BlackLine Systems
kimberly.uberti@blackline.com

SOURCE BlackLine Systems