Discover
what leading companies have learnt about developing world-class
finance capabilities
The payback from tackling the transformation of practices, processes
and working relationships can be counted in superior business results.
Finance functions showcased in the case study section provide vivid
examples of the payback from transformation, as well as the barriers
to be overcome in achieving world-class status.
Alcoa
Alcoa, the US-based aluminium fabrication and products company,
currently rates as world-class in both finance effectiveness and
efficiency, according to independent benchmark studies. The case
study reveals how Alcoa achieved this rating by closely integrating
financial and general management at business unit levels and using
process standardization to drive down costs. It also explores Alcoa’s
approach to continuously adding value to the business, including
recent initiatives to implement common profitability reporting by
customer, market and product down to line item on every sales order
on a global and business unit level throughout the business.
Barclays
Extensive restructuring and reskilling of the finance function has
enabled Barclays to record substantial savings of £30m over
a four-year period. To improve service delivery, the bank has set
up a shared service centre, integrated 37 general ledger systems
onto one common platform to create a ‘single version of the
truth’, and cut reporting times by up to eight working days.
The case study provides first-hand accounts from programme leaders
of how the process and people aspects of the transformation were
handled.
Carlson Companies
The US-based marketing, travel and hospitality group has found that
achieving world-class performance in both effectiveness and efficiency
can be a tough stretch. Using a benchmark service, Carlson established
what targets it needed to set and how it could raise its efficiency
score in line with its world-class effectiveness rating. The company
identified existing barriers to improved efficiency, including a
decentralized structure, fragmented and time-consuming processes.
Carlson’s global finance director explains how the company
tackled these and other issues by focusing on centralization, standardization
and the introduction of technologically enabled world-class processes.
Easynet
Finance at Easynet, the pan-European broadband networking company,
has built a business partnership with operational management that
has delivered a steady flow of business benefits. By working closely
with sales, billing and other managers, finance has played a leading
role in identifying and overcoming performance improvement barriers.
As a result, changes in customer proposal pricing practices customer
churn management and automated order handling and processing have
all helped to raise performance. The company’s CFO explains
how Easynet manages the business partnering process and its continuing
role in driving further business benefits.
GlaxoSmithKline
Alongside cost-effective finance measures and business partnering,
GSK’s finance function has identified governance as part of
its commitment to ‘performance with integrity’. In this
context, risk management is high on the agenda, not only in relation
to its financial processes, but also more broadly throughout the
business. The senior vice president, financial control, explains
what this means in practical terms and why the company is continuing
to develop a high degree of business literacy within finance staff
involved in business partnering to manage the non-financial, business
risks associated with its business.
Purolator Courier
Part owned by Canada Post, Purolator Courier, Canada’s leading
overnight courier service, has based its approach to world-class
finance on a customer-based analysis of needs. The resulting insights
underpinned its Redefining Finance initiative to transform finance
both operationally and behaviourally. The vice president, finance
and administration, describes the skills, cultural and change-management
challenges involved in establishing the function as a business partner.
Benefits include a radical improvement in reporting and enhanced
support for decision making. In terms of efficiency, the company
has reduced staffing of the billing operation by 50 percent as a
result of process automation.
Reuters
Reuters, the international information service, embarked on a radical
restructuring programme designed to set the company on a sounder
footing and growth path. The remit to finance was to reduce its
own costs and provide more valuable support for the business. In
the process, finance has introduced a shared services organization,
created common accounts and streamlined and standardized month-end
reporting packs. It has also developed a business support role for
finance. Reskilling finance has become a continuing requirement
for Reuters. The head of global finance reveals how the company
deals with this challenge and has reaped the benefits from its transformation
programme.
Whirlpool
Whirlpool, the American white-goods manufacturer, launched a global
transformation programme in 2003 to ensure that finance worldwide
is aligned with its corporate strategy. The company has defined
its three-fold vision of world-class finance in terms of organizational
capabilities, compliance and control and business performance management.
The CFO, along with key members of his team, discuss the details
of how the transformation programme was implemented, the co-ordination
and resourcing of the worldwide programme. The case study underlines
the importance of establishing firm objectives for improvement and
benchmarks for assessing performance.
In addition, the Report includes many other examples drawn from
companies including AstraZeneca, Boston Scientific, Microsoft and
the Texas Nameplate Company
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