Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
20 Steps to Ensure Finance Transformation
Project Success
Phil Keet
Head of Global Consulting
Millennium Consulting
1. Agree Project
• In light of changing business requirements/market conditions Board of Directors agrees need for new Finance System
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
2. Appoint Project Sponsor
• Appointed by the Board of Directors
• Responsible for project delivery
• Sets the tone of the project
• Someone of influence in the organisation
• Authority, respect and gravitas
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
3. Appoint Steering Committee
• Project Sponsor and other Senior Executives
• Regular meetings dictated by project size
• Project updates supplied by PM
• Authorise change requests
• Ensure project remains on schedule, within budget as per the Project Charter
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
4. Appoint Project Manager
• Project Manager appointed by Steering Committee
• Prior Financial Transformation experience
• Internal or external appointment
• Interim or permanent
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
5. Change Management• Liaise with users regarding deficiencies of existing
system and requirements of replacement
• Manage expectations regarding realistic future options
• Resistance to new system likely as users generally conservative and rarely welcome change
• Alter mind sets, encourage users to accept change positively
• Provide support and reassurance
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
6. Gather Requirements• Requirements Statement describes key
objectives and environment • Requirements assembled by BAs following
discussions with key users/stake-holders• Requirements Statement approved by
Steering Committee forms basis of system to be selected and designed
• Requirements gathering ensures solution meets user needs
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
7. Select Software
• Rigorous, thorough equal-handed process
• Selection consistent with organisation’s long-term interests
• Level playing field for software vendors
• No pre-conceived competing agenda or loyalty to particular product or vendor
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
8. Produce Project Charter
• Project Charter produced by PM
• Signed-off by Project Sponsor
• Statement of scope, role & responsibilities, outlines objectives, identifies primary stakeholders and defines PM’s authority
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
9. Assemble Project Team• Selected by Project Manager • Includes employees from impacted areas• External Specialist Consulting Partner• PM to manage internal and external resources • PM produces project plan to ensure delivery within
budget and time scales • PM works according to Project Management methodology• Documentation, managerial, communication,
organisational and project delivery skills • Project team: Project Manager, Business Analyst, System
Architect, Functional Consultant, Technical Consultant and Trainer
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
10. Produce Project Initiation Document (PID)• PM produces Project Initiation Document • PID provides Business Case, Terms of Reference,
Project Goals, Scope, Organisation, Communication Plan, Risk Register, Tolerances, Project Plan, Controls and Constraints
• Assembles key information required for project• Conveyed to stakeholders• Agreed and signed off by Project Sponsor • Forms basis for management and assessment of
project success
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
11. Produce Systems Design Document (SDD)
• SDD created by Solution Architect
• SDD defines architecture, components, individual modules, system interfaces and data
• Includes software, hardware, operating system, network, database and third party software applications
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
12. Purchase/Install Technology
• Computer hardware
• Operating system
• Database
• Network
• Software
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
13. Configure Software
• Prototype built according to business requirements
• Chart of accounts
• Process workflows
• Interfaces developed
• Reports developed
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
14. Conduct User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
• Prototype tested by users in test environment to ensure it fulfils their requirements
• Any issues/bugs identified referred to software vendor for resolution
• Importance of this process should not be underestimated
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
15. Train Users
• Thorough training on new system functionality is essential
• Insufficient knowledge may result in software being poorly utilised and may lead to inefficient working practices
• Training should take place off-site to ensure users completely focussed and avoid distractions of day jobs
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
16. Migrate Data
• Historic data from legacy system migrated to new system
• Level of detail to be migrated varies
• Detailed records should be reconciled between old and new systems to avoid discrepancies
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
17. Go-Live
• Plan go-live date
• Ensure sufficient expert resources available
• Cut-over involves processing transactions in new system whilst legacy system decommissioned and subsequently used for historic data interrogation
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
18. Provide Post Go-Live Support
• Go–live process rarely straightforward
• Users obliged to embrace new whilst relinquishing old system
• Problems do occur
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
19. Celebrate!
• Celebrate with project team and users
• Announce project success to organisation
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
20. Close Project
• Following go-live, project signed off as “closed/complete” by Steering Committee
• Disband project team
• Assign system to Business as Usual (BAU) team for future management and support
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
Conclusion• Finance system transformation can reflect corporate evolution• It can be a catalyst to deliver revenue growth• Board of Directors expects clarity, faster results and transparent
operations to drive growth and deliver profit • Finance can provide robust cost-control and risk management and
add value by creating synergies between accounting, commercial planning, cash management and forecasting
• Finance technology innovation can positively impact corporate performance
• Embracing change and effectively delivering it can play a key part in achieving further commercial success
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
Q&A
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk
Thank you
Finance Transformationwww.millenniumconsulting.co.uk