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Our client faced operational risk due to inconsistent, undocumented month-end close processes utilizing legacy, home-grown systems. Compounding the challenge, the company was managing turnover of key finance personnel and had no existing framework to guide continuity or growth efforts. The recent acquisition of another company created additional urgency to standardize and streamline operations.
The finance team was heavily reliant on institutional knowledge and manual detective controls to execute its close, often depending on IT support to resolve system issues without fully understanding their root causes. These dependencies led to delays, added risk and limited visibility into performance. In addition, the company lacked standardized documentation, a structured operating model and clarity around roles and responsibilities—all essential to managing risk, maintaining continuity and enabling future growth.
We deployed an experienced team to lead an intensive engagement focused on the client’s Record-to-Report (R2R) process. Through a series of collaborative working sessions with the two business units, our team captured end-to-end close activities and catalogued existing pain points, gaps and controls.
A customized process framework was built from the ground up, tailored specifically to the client’s finance operations. Flowcharts were developed to document R2R activities across departments, highlighting responsible roles, systems, controls and risks. In total, 80 SOPs were created, giving the client its first comprehensive documentation of its finance close processes.
Beyond documentation, we conducted a current-state assessment against best practices and categorized findings across key dimensions of the operating model: people, process, data and technology. Recommendations included improving system integration, reducing reliance on IT for transactional processing, formalizing training, and streamlining manual controls to strengthen process integrity and reduce delays.
The immediate value of the engagement was evident. The client used the SOPs we delivered to successfully onboard a new hire following the departure of a key deputy. Those same SOPs are also now serving as templates for the integration of a newly acquired company.
With a structured framework in place, the client now has a clearer picture of how its R2R process functions, where inefficiencies exist and what steps are needed to evolve. While full transformation has not yet occurred, the groundwork is in place, and the client is equipped with tools to pursue improvements when ready.
The collaborative approach helped the client stabilize its operations amid change and created momentum for future initiatives. Our team was praised for hitting the ground running and creating value early in the engagement, which quickly established trust and set a high standard for the ongoing engagement.