An industry-leading manufacturer and distributor of HVAC systems planned to relocate (“lift and shift”) its finance shared services center from a metropolitan center to a new site outside the city limits. But the physical move meant the company faced the risk of immediate staff attrition and loss of institutional knowledge in its accounting function, especially accounts payable. Moreover, their accounting procedures were mostly undocumented and reliant on outdated practices and technology, making operational knowledge transfer near impossible.
We helped management evaluate and reduce immediate attrition risks and secure day-to-day accounting operations. At their request, we also helped envision a future labor solution that might be easier to source and keep more cost-effective.
We worked with the client’s staff to formally document the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for every core accounting task. This documentation exercise crossed into process improvement, with our experts identifying missing controls and making recommendations to address deficiencies.
Our efforts to document, stabilize and improve core accounting operations gave management immediate protection against significant attrition. The company also made process improvements by implementing our recommendations to eliminate inefficiencies and achieve “quick wins.” Finally, we provided the company with a vision and roadmap of how they might address future labor challenges in a cost-effective way.
