Shared Services is Leading Delivery Model for Finance and Accounting Transformation

23 Jul 2007 | (Article)

Amid pressure to both improve the performance and reduce the cost of finance and accounting (F&A), more and more organizations are adopting internal shared services as a delivery model.

In fact, a recent EquaTerra study found that 60 percent of G2000 organizations had internal shared services for F&A.  The study further found that 50 percent of them were pursuing third-party outsourcing or offshore captive centers – which are in-house operations in low-cost locations – signaling an increasing trend toward alternative or mix-and-match service delivery options.

These findings, and many more, are presented in a new EquaTerra perspective paper that defines internal shared services, explores the landscape of F&A delivery options and identifies best practices. The paper, entitled, “The Role of Shared Services in Enabling F&A Transformation,” combines recent market research and insights from EquaTerra advisors.  It is available now by going to:  http://www.equaterra.com/KR/research/the-role-of-shared-services-in-enabling-finance-and-accounting-transformation-FA.aspx.

“CFOs increasingly are striving to transform the way F&A delivers value to their business,” said Tom Schramm, EquaTerra’s managing director of F&A. “Successful shared services can be a way to provide more meaningful analysis while also decreasing costs, improving efficiency and meeting regulatory requirements.”

The EquaTerra paper, aimed at current and prospective users of F&A shared services, explains that the pervasiveness of shared services is with good reason. Research by Accenture and The Hackett Group, for example, indicates that shared services operations are typical of world-class F&A organizations. Further, EquaTerra projects that shared services, after three to five years, can reduce F&A costs by 20 to 40 percent.

The paper observes that the companies with the most successful F&A shared services operations view the effort as a journey rather than an event – and they see shared services as just one of several tools to enable F&A transformation. The EquaTerra perspective paper charts a course for the journey, citing pitfalls, best practices and implementation stages for developing the business case, deploying the operation and sustaining value.

“Today’s many options for shared services can drive tremendous opportunity for F&A improvements, but they also create challenges,” said Schramm.  “The successful organizations often leverage shared services as one component of a long-term F&A strategy. They focus on continuous improvement while also maintaining a flexible delivery model to support changing business requirements.”

For a copy of “The Role of Shared Services in Enabling F&A Transformation,” please go to:  http://www.equaterra.com/KR/research/the-role-of-shared-services-in-enabling-finance-and-accounting-transformation-FA.aspx.

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