Finance shared services: Delivering the promise 

In a changing and often challenging economy, many investors and business leaders are looking for simpler, leaner internal structures that enable their organizations to focus on core competencies. Increasingly, they may be drawn to SSCs as a way to reduce costs by cutting staff numbers and relocating to lower-cost locations.

Based on a survey of 230 senior finance executives from large organizations that use SSCs, Finance shared services: Delivering the promise, shows that top-performing SSCs are distinguished by active executive sponsorship, excellent interaction with the business, continuous improvement to service quality and high levels of standardization.

However, almost one in five respondents rate the performance of their SSC as "poor" and nearly a third of respondents feel that they have not delivered the promised business benefits. It seems that many organizations have underestimated the scale of change and management effort involved in setting up and maintaining a SSC.

Key insights from the survey include:

• Poor processes and lack of standardization prevent underperformers from realizing business case benefits
• Continuous improvement programs are not fulfilling their potential, hindered by a combination of inadequate processes and a lack of investment in people and technology
• Most SSCs lack a strong focus on customer satisfaction, failing to measure service performance and responsiveness
• Top-performing SSCs recognize the potential to move up to higher-value processes such as management information and analysis
• Staff in SSCs suffer from a lack of career opportunities and limited experience in other areas of the business, which can inhibit effective relationships and service quality.

 

Publication:

 

 (424kb) Finance shared services: Delivering the promise