Mapping out a Successful Finance Transformation

Many SAP organizations are looking to reshape and improve their financial workflows and operations. With such a major investment of time and resources, businesses must be careful to strategize and execute finance transformations with accuracy and precision.

Companies may not have all the tools they need for a successful transformation at their disposal right away, so learning from experienced finance professionals is an imperative early step.

Learning from the Experts

To help companies understand the major requirements of finance transformation, BlackLine recently hosted a roundtable discussion with Christian Hecker, SVP, Chief Revenue Officer, CFO at SAP, David Turk, Global Finance Transformation Leader at Deloitte, and Deirdre Ryan, Global Finance Transformation Leader at EY.

The panel acknowledges that transformation can be difficult, with statistics suggesting that 70% fail or don’t achieve their intended outcomes. One of the most common issues companies run into is focusing on implementation before clearly defining the end goal.

To avoid the issue, the panel outlined several key strategies that can help businesses achieve financial transformation success.

Vision is Absolutely Critical

Companies with a very clearly defined vision, including end-state architecture and operating models, were more than two and a half times more successful in their transformations. This vision needs to be unified, consistent, start from the top, and be underpinned by clear ROI and governance. The ability to articulate this vision and align teams is paramount.

Find the Right Technologies

Finding the right technological solutions enables finance to pivot from manual transaction processing and book closing towards adding value, driving insight, and looking forward. Tools like those from BlackLine can automate foundational tasks, minimizing errors and freeing up finance team members to accomplish important tasks.

Build in Accountability

Transformations can fail to achieve business outcomes if people are not held accountable for implementing agreed changes, such as operating model adjustments, even when technology is in place. While difficult, it is necessary. This accountability ensures that the project comes together as one unified objective, rather than scattered tasks.

“Think about it as remodeling your house. If you want to tear down a wall here and build something up over there, that all needs to be connected. You need governance; how is it all aligned? This alignment is critical, from my point of view. Don’t just make it a list of projects. To overcome this, what we did internally, and developed together with our customers, is a kind of Transformation Office approach. What is really important for us is that IT and business are aligned. In order to move this entire thing forward, we need to work together,” said Hecker.

Data is Paramount

Transformation is underpinned by accurate, cleansed, and harmonized data. As automation increases, finance must identify the specific data elements needed to drive insight and competitive advantage. Recognizing that cleaning data is a significant challenge, the key strategy for data is prioritization, focusing on data elements that will truly advance goals and provide insights. Data is considered the potential “fourth pillar” alongside people, process, and technology. Addressing data quality, governance, and ownership early is crucial, starting a data study well before technology implementation.

What This Means for SAPinsiders

Communicate your plans and plan to communicate. For companies undergoing a finance transformation, a robust communications and change management strategy is necessary from the start to address the resistance that transformation inevitably creates. Explaining the “why” behind the changes is key to reducing this resistance.

Expect the unexpected. Constant change, driven by rapid technological advancements like AI, is likely to be the norm within finance in the future. To prepare, finance needs a vision of where the future is heading. This requires investments in data, data science, automation experts, and technology. The goal is embedded AI that reduces manual work and allows humans to remain at the center of decision-making, focusing on higher-value tasks.

Humans and technology must work hand in hand. The changing role of finance and the CFO, moving from the “back office” to the “heart of the business,” demands finding ways to leverage people and technology to focus on the future rather than just transactional tasks. Companies should create a thoughtful plan covering data, operating models, and technology, and then work to achieve that vision. The concept of “humans at center” is fundamental, as technology alone is not enough for transformation.