The client grew significantly through acquisition and needed to streamline efficiencies and reduce costs across their organization. To achieve this, Sutherland conducted in-depth onsite assessments where our team organized reviews by observing and mapping processes, and interviewing subject matter experts.
Overall the research revealed several opportunities for improvement:
- Account reconciliation work was often reprioritized and lacked effective backup plans
- Billing & collections, financial reporting, and general accounting activities were centralized for some businesses and not others
- Accounts payable and travel expenses were only partially transitioned to shared services centers, leaving varied processes in disparate locations
- European processing was mostly contained within each country and within the businesses, with very little shared services
- Reinsurance accounting was being supported in multiple locations, using different technology in each location