Our staff augmentation projects usually involve much more than simply filling a role on an interim basis. Whether we’re working on a short-term defined project or a longer-term backfill role, we do more than execute daily business-critical activities. We embed ourselves in our clients’ operations to deliver not just support, but specialized expertise that often leads to lasting process improvements.
Turning staff augmentation into lasting process improvement
For instance, a multibillion global pharmaceutical company needed a director of financial planning and analysis (FP&A) to backfill for the current director who was asked to dedicate time to an important corporate project. We provided a highly skilled financial consultant who not only had the experience to seamlessly step in but, in carrying out the role, he identified several meaningful process improvements that made it easier for the company to manipulate and retrieve financial data, saving the client time and increasing efficiency.
Excel-based reporting improvements
One issue the consultant immediately identified was that the client was using Excel files to build their reporting. Although the reporting fundamentals were in order, the client’s Excel-based reporting process was not as efficient as it could be.
Reducing file size and processing friction
The client was using SUMIF formulas, which limited functionality and made for large files that were slow to open. Any modifications also took several minutes to update. We introduced improvements by changing to an online analytical processing (OLAP) model that dramatically reduced the file size (from 15MB to 6MB). This relatively simple yet significant change improved the team’s ability to drill into numbers and perform complex financial analyses.
Streamlining monthly reporting
Our consultant then discovered that the monthly reporting process would also benefit from improvements for better efficiency and consistency. The company built monthly financial reporting decks in PowerPoint, but because they couldn’t easily manipulate the data in them, they were posting Excel snips into slides.
Applying advanced Excel skills, the consultant created views of the financial data in Excel and linked them to PowerPoint. When numbers were updated at month-end, this was reflected immediately in the PowerPoint decks. This enhancement created a clear audit trail of slides and backup activity and provided streamlined views of the data across business functions.
The client was very pleased to have a much improved, more automated process for managing its financial data and reporting. What had been a cumbersome and often time-consuming process now took mere minutes to perform.
Short- or long-term support
Whether your company needs short-term accounting and finance operations support or a role backfilled for an indefinite period, we can supply experienced professionals with hard-to-find expertise who can help you find better ways to work. Learn more about our Accounting & Finance Operations Support services.
Read more about the transformative process improvements we implemented to save this client time and resources and enhance financial reporting efficiency.
Providing Operations Support with a Side of Process Improvement
