In recent years, we are seeing more Financial Shared Services Centre (FSSC) setups. Organizations adopt FSSC model to attain economies of scale by centralizing finance & accounting processes in a services hub. It aims to achieve Finance Operational Efficiency, which means to deliver higher volume of quality work but with lesser effort required.
Let’s explore some key factors to ensure successful transition to a new FSSC.
𝟏) 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐮𝐲-𝐈𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 To embark on a new shared services delivery model, leadership must have clearly defined objectives and guiding principles on how the FSSC would operate within the organization. This may include the desired workplace culture, team structure and scope of services. Throughout the transition, it is critical that leadership continue to play an active role in reinforcing the vision of transformation to wider organization as well as participating to make key decisions. 𝟐) 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 During the FSSC transition planning, it is important for both FSSC and the incumbent business team to align on roles and responsibilities; and to identify, discuss and agree on the job scope to be migrated to FSSC. This may cover:
◉ Detailed review of current activities to define scope of work for the FSSC
◉ Assess complexity of the tasks
◉ Identify volume of transactions
◉ Alignment on the timelines for transition (e.g. knowledge transfer, parallel run, hyper care support etc.)
𝟑) 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 A change management plan needs to be integrated with the transition plan. This is to ensure there is a deliberate consideration of how the organization will be able to win the support and participation of their organization’s employees on the change.
Effective communication is essential to inform all stakeholders or to keep them updated about:
◉ Why: reasons for the change
◉ What’s in it for you: benefits of successful implementation for the employee and organization
◉ When / Where / How: details of the transition plan
𝟒) 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Teamwork in the workplace is an essential part of any businesses. Therefore, FSSC employees need to work closely with the business team to understand their needs and wants. Doing so reduces the time spent for both teams on non-impactful activities and saves overall transition planning and implementation time.
On top of that, by proactively engaging with the business, FSSC may also identify opportunities to improve and improve efficiency of processes.
𝟓) 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬
FSSC has four key characteristics – Centralization, Standardization, Automation and Continuous Improvement. To assess how well the transition is progressing, the performance for each of the process delivered is measured through Key performance indicators (KPIs) on a periodic basis.
KPIs should cover the key targets of:
1. Internal process quality
2. Customer satisfaction
3. Financial performance index (e.g. efficiency, effectiveness & improved governance)
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 Achieving successful transitions enables the organization to be able further leverage the strengths and accelerate the ability of FSSC to integrate and provide more value-added services; that is supported by system / process automation and framework for continuous improvement and performance management.
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