Business Performance Improvement

Financial Effectiveness

The finance function is under pressure to enhance its value contribution to the business, deliver information and maintain effective controls in line with ever changing governance needs. It is at the same time being subject to continuing internal demands to reduce the cost of its operations. In combination, these pressures create a challenging environment for the finance function.

Multiple pressures imply multiple roles for the finance function:

• Scorekeeper – processing transactions and maintaining accounting records at low cost and delivering efficient month-end reporting processes.
• Communicator – explaining the business story to internal and external stakeholders.
• Diligent caretaker – ensuring effective operation of governance and control in matters of financial management and operations.
• Business partner – providing the business with insight and advice on competitive issues, developing strategy and plans, operating as business advisor and challenging the complexity of the business model.

If this is your situation

• You want to reduce complexity, standardise and simplify the business model and finance function.
• You wish to establish an integrated governance framework.
• You need to understand the value drivers which impact business performance and align key performance indicators (KPIs) to business strategy to support behaviours to drive performance.
• You have to improve the efficiency of the finance team and develop the people.
• You wish to improve management information to align internal reporting to the way external stakeholders view the business.
• You want to leverage investment in Sarbanes-Oxley and moving from ‘project’ mode into a sustainable process.

PwC can help you

In Financial Effectiveness we work closely with CFOs, Controllers and Treasurers to provide innovative viewpoints, independent advice and support in developing and optimising their finance operations, in order to meet the changing requirements of their businesses.

Standardisation and Simplification

• Conduct assessment of current standards applied to finance control, processes, behaviours, data, organisation, people and systems
• Conduct detailed benchmarking of core finance processes and functional activities
• Provide Best Practice illustrations of finance process and functional models
• Provide ‘Route maps’ to support improvement in finance process and function effectiveness
• Advise on re-engineering of finance department processes and support functions

Performance Management

• Prepare value driver analyses
• Assist with planning & budgeting
• Assist with forecasting
• Advise on stakeholder management
• Provide industry and trend related benchmarking information and business intelligence
• Advise on the alliance of financial and business strategies
• Advise on how to develop and use a risk-based reporting framework
• Advise on how to structure function-specific data models and applications architecture for effective performance management
• Assist in the development of Finance IT strategies supporting performance management
• Support in the selection of function-specific reporting packages

Consolidation and Management Information

• Advise regarding the assessment and redesign of function-specific reporting environments
• Support consolidation & close including SmartClose - PwC's methodology providing a top-down approach to accelerate the closing process and achieve more timely and accurate reporting
• Advise on financial reporting and new reporting standards, including:
• XBRL
• Regulatory reporting
• IFRS consulting (training, system & process reviews)
• Assist in assessing alternative approaches to meeting MIS/data needs (e.g., package applications, XBRL, etc.)
• Advise on simplification and remediation of spreadsheets
• Produce business models to support financial spreadsheets decision making

People and Organisation

• Advise on organisation structure
• Assessment of skills and requirements
• Provide recommendations to align and develop competencies and skills
• Provide coaching and assistance with training and development programmes (e.g., Finance Academy)
• Setting Balance Scorecard performance frameworks for finance staff; developing reward models consistent with corporate frameworks
• Conduct feasibility studies and provide recommendations on the improvement of function-specific;
• shared service centres (SSC’s)
• outsourcing & off-shoring solutions
• Support the design and setup of company administrative SSC’s
• Support the selection and transitioning to an outsourcing solution

Controls Optimisation

• Advise on operating models
• Advise on sustainable Sarbanes-Oxley and other control related processes to be embedded in risk and control systems
• Revise and document the control environments to support operation of new systems

Data analysis and transformation

• Data quality reviews
• Data cleansing (e.g. during system migration)
• Business Intelligence through data analysis
• Design for complex reporting solutions
• Design for interfacing systems
• Data warehousing design and deployment