It’s not a secret that the need to modernize traditional finance operations and evolve into a “Digital Finance” organization has become a key priority for finance leaders.
In this video recap of the webinar held on 12/11/ 2019; Raul Vega, Auxis CEO, discussed the key risks and challenges organizations typically face as part of their transformation journey, and how to develop and execute a strategy that provides the business case and outcomes you expect based on your specific company size and needs.
What was covered:
- What does Modern Finance really mean?
- Digitization as a Key Element of the Modern Finance Organization
- Most Common Tools you should be implementing as part of your Digital Finance journey
- What’s driving RPA’s growth?
- Implementation Strategies & Alternatives
- How Outsourcing can help finance executives self-fund their Digital Finance Strategy and drive faster outcomes
2. 5
• Blah, Blah….
• What does “Digital Finance” even mean?
• Why is it important?
• What does it take to implement properly?
3. 6
76% of CEO’s say their growth
relies on the ability to challenge
and disrupt any business norm
- KPMG 2019 US CEO Outlook Survey
52% of companies in the Fortune 500 have
either gone bankrupt, been acquired, or
ceased to exist since the Year 2000
- Harvard Business Review, July 2017
“Our Analysis shows that fewer organizations are finding
it possible to pursue innovation on their own”
- IBM Global C-Suite Study - 2019
50% of CEO’s report that their current business model
is being threatened by competitors using technology
to create more compelling value propositions
- IBM Global C-Suite Study- 2019
71% of IT projects are challenged
or outright failures
- Standish Group- 2017
We operate in an era of creative disruption…
4. 7Traditional Corporate Finance operating models are outdated
and not well positioned to deliver on today’s demands
Modern Finance
• True Business Advisors
• Commercially & performance focused
• Future oriented
• Scorekeeper Mentality
• Transaction processing focused - 70%+
• Historically oriented
Traditional Finance
6. 9
“I want you to bring me
the answers before I
ask the questions”
Al Pacino
as Willy Bank in
Ocean’s Thirteen
The Modern CFO must help the CEO drive strategy
and outcomes…
7. 10The Need for Business Insights Has Never Been Greater…
10
Analytics capabilities need to move from Descriptive to Prescriptive
Value
DESCRIPTIVE
ANALYTICS
PRESCRIPTIVE
ANALYTICS
PREDICTIVE
ANALYTICS
10
DESCRIPTIVE
ANALYTICS
What
happened?
What will
happen?
How can we
make it happen?
Difficulty
DIAGNOSTIC
ANALYTICS
Why did it
happen?
Source: Gartner
Traditional Finance
8. 11
The Modern Finance Organization
• Maintain Quality
• Free up Time
• Reduce cost
Get out of being a Transaction
Processing Shop
• True understanding of
business drivers
• Market Knowledge
Develop a Commercial Mindset
• Real-time Analytics
• Predictive Insights
Become an Analytics
Powerhouse • Internal and External
• Core and Flex Model
• Expanded access to talent
Build a Collaborative Ecosystem
Key Principles
PROCESS EXCELLENCE
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Powered By:
INNOVATION MINDSET
DATA
TRUSTED PARTNERSHIPS
RE-SKILLED WORKFROCE
9. 12Finance departments have the opportunity to be at the
axis of strategy, analytics and digital transformation
The road to Digital Transformation is limited if
you don’t have an effective Finance Department
to make key data and intelligence available to
the customer-centric operations:
• Customer Order History
• Pricing & Promotion Data
• Product Cost & Margin Data
• Supply Chain & Delivery Data
• Financial Performance
Disconnected and
unstructured data
Manual processes with
many exceptions
Resistance to change
10. 13
Digitization is a Key Element of the Modern Finance Org
It’s not about the technology itself, but in how it can enable the transformation of business processes
Collaboration
Analytics
Intelligent Automation
ERP (Systems of Record)
CLOUD (Infrastructure Layer)
Visualization Data Warehouses
Analytics Engines
Communication Imaging/Workflow
Knowledge Management
AI Machine Learning
Robotics Process Automation
Natural Language Processing
Cognitive
P2P O2C R2R
Supplier Portal Customer Portal Accounting/Reporting Portal
Contract
Management
Requisition
Management
Audits &
Compliance
Invoice
Management
Receivables
Management
Collections
Management
Deductions
Management
Audits &
Compliance
Recons & Close
Management
Management
Reporting
Variance Analysis
& Reporting
Budgeting &
Forecasting
• Vendor Master Maintenance
• Purchase Order Processing
• Coding & Indexing
• Invoice Processing
• Payment Processing
• Vendor Statement Recons &
Distribution
• T&E
• Customer Master Maintenance
• Order & Returns Management
• Cash Application
• Collections/Aging Reporting
• Sales To Cash Reconciliation
• Customer Statement Recons
& Distribution
• Journal Entry Processing
• Intercompany
• Fixed Assets
• Automated Reconciliations
• Financial Closing Management
• Sales & Use Tax Calculation
11. 14The emergence of software solutions in the finance
automation space has exploded, and so has the complexity of
selecting the right option for your company…
15. 1885% of finance organizations are in the midst of a finance
transformation initiative, but 70% of them still fail...
16. 19
Why is it so hard?
Getting the
Right Talent &
Experience
Setting
Realistic
Expectations
Achieving True
Organizational
Adoption
Funding &
Delivering the
Expected ROI
Top 2 issues CFOs feel
least confident in solving:
• Competitive labor market for
finance talent
• Declining relevance of
current finance skill set
63% of organizations do not
meet delivery deadlines for
RPA projects. For the ones that
succeeded, longer-than-
anticipated implementations
delayed ROI.
70% of finance
transformations don’t
deliver on their forecast
outcomes or cost
objectives.
46% of CIOS report that
culture change is their
biggest barrier to success in
digital transformation
projects
Sources: Gartner, Deloitte
17. 20Begin with the End in Mind
Process
Improvement
Operational
Transformation
Enterprise
Transformation
BenefitofChange($)
Complexity of ChangeImproving How Work is
Currently Performed
Performing Current
Work Differently
Perform Different Work
Change is not a “One Size” fits all proposition
What is the level of
change you are
seeking to
accomplish?
18. 21Align in advance on your Business Value Drivers
What are the business
improvements you are
seeking?
One Version
of the Truth
Real Time
Reporting
Touchless
Transaction
Processing
Cost Reduction Scalability Agility
Quality Focus ?
19. 22The Digital Finance Journey
A Proven Roadmap for Success
Executive Alignment
Getting the Organization
Excited – Build Momentum
Operationalize, Scale and Monetize
What’s the end goal?
• What does digital finance mean for my
organization?
• What are the key tools and technologies
that get me to where I want to be?
• Where are the best opportunities?
• What is the business case?
• How should I prioritize?
• What is the Implementation Roadmap?
Where do I start?
• Picking the right process and technology
to prove the value
• POC candidate selected based on your
key business drivers:
• Highest cost reduction
opportunity?
• Biggest operational pain point?
• Most predominant control gap?
• Etc.
• Proving the technology into production
• Lessons learned
How do I industrialize it?
• Operating & Governance Model Definition
• Building Center of Excellence – In-house vs. Hybrid
• SLA Definition
• Performance Management Framework
• Job Redesign & Change Management
• Expansion to more processes for same technology (e.g.
RPA)
• Implementation of other technologies in the roadmap
Proof of
Concept
Expansion &
Operating Model
Definition
Vision
20. 23
Picking the Right Service Delivery Model
Organizing for Success
In-house
1.
• Implement – Internal
• Operate - Internal
Hire DT Consultants
to support the
transition
2.
• Implement – External Support
• Operate - Internal
Hybrid (BPO + DT)
3.
+
• Implement – External Support
• Operate – External Support
21. 24
In-house vs. Consultants vs. Hybrid
Key Considerations
Key Factors
Implement
Internally
Project Based
Consultants
Hybrid
(Partner with BPO w/ digital
capabilities )
Implementation timeline
Level of investment required
Time to benefit
Ability to attract and retain qualified
implementation talent
Scalability and flexibility
Change Management Complexity
Long Term Sustainability
Enable focus on Higher Value Activities
Legend Worse Best
22. 25
The Power of a Hybrid Partner Ecosystem
A Hybrid Delivery Model can help accelerate ROI, build positive momentum more quickly
and make your program self-funding within four to six months
-The Wall Street Journal
25%+
RE-INVEST SAVINGS TO FUND
OPTIMIZATION EFFORTS
DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION
15%-40%
Capture 1:1 Labor Arbitrage
Savings by outsourcing
transactional processing
Re-Invest portion of Labor Savings
to fund the investments in new
tools
Capture Efficiencies gained from
process improvement and automation
(e.g. RPA, Operational Analytics, etc.)
CAPTURE ONE TO ONE
BPO LABOR SAVINGS
Self Fund
23. 26
Leveraging Outsourcing to Drive the Modern Finance Organization
Case Study Highlight – Global Media Company
• Finance organization located in a
high cost market in the Northeast
• Though the Finance Department
was already running its
operations very lean, additional
cost reduction synergies were
mandated to free up resources
to grow the digital channel.
Before…
• Migrated accounting transactional
functions to a BPO Model in Costa
Rica, including AP, T&E, General
Accounting and Cash Applications
• Achieved immediate labor savings of
40%
• Increased internal focus on business
growth activities
40%+ Labor Savings
through Nearshoring
from Costa Rica
Self-Funding Automation
& Innovation
• Implemented Robotics Process Automation
(RPA) across multiple processes (e.g. Invoice
Processing, Cash App, etc.)
• Developed a customized vendor portal
• Implemented Real-Time Analytics through
PowerBI
• Increased process efficiencies and controls
24. 27Demand for Greater Collaboration and Value Add Services
has driven the rise in Nearshoring
• Cost savings is a given but is not the sole
driver
• Outsourcer brings best-in-class
technologies and best practices to drive
innovation and high performance
• Nearshore enables a collaborative
approach where outsourcer serves as an
extension of your team
• Close to home with similar work schedules
and cultural affinity
VS
• Driven by labor arbitrage
• “Black Box”- lack of control and
visibility over the operation
• Quality concerns - Hard to
collaborate and drive innovation and
continuous improvement
• Significant time zone &
geographical differences with
language and cultural barriers (Asia-
based)
Traditional Outsourcing Outsourcing that works!
25. 28
• 170+ Multinationals with Shared Services in the
country
• #1 English proficiency in Latin America
• #1 Education System in Latin America with the highest
literacy rate (98%)
• Central Time Zone with quick direct flights to
most major U.S. Cities
• Strong Cultural Affinity to the US
• #1 Country in Innovation in LatAm by Global
Innovation Index (2017)
• Safest City in Latin America - recognized worldwide
for its politically stability and peace.
• Solid Infrastructure & Utilities with 100% power and
Telecom redundancy
Costa Rica has been consistently
ranked as the #1 nearshore
destination in Latin America
28. 31Key ideas to take with you as you embark 2020…
• Finance departments have a great opportunity to be at the axis of strategy, analytics
and digital transformation if they rethink and modernize their operating models
• Reducing the focus and cost spent on transaction processing is the key to
unlocking the time and funds to drive innovation and greater value-added services
• Digital Transformation can be very powerful, but remember its not about the
technology itself, but in how it can enable the transformation of business
processes
• Utilizing a Hybrid Service Delivery Model can reduce risk, accelerate benefits and
make your Modernization program self funding in less than six months