As Finance Director (FD) of an international pharmaceutical group, the current interim manager was responsible for outsourcing the accounting of the German sales company to a shared service center (SSC) in Poland. The group-wide SAP system was used for accounting under a standardized chart of accounts.
The SSC at a central location with a low salary level had the following advantages for the company:
- Cost reduction
- Uniform implementation of group requirements in accordance with IFRS
- Independence from local key employees in financial accounting (FIBU)
Project process defined and supported from feasibility study to handover
At the start of the project, the project manager drew up an inventory of the existing accounting system as part of a comprehensive feasibility study. The SSC then documented all relevant accounting processes. In a subsequent test phase, the SSC posted for several months under the supervision of the company's FIBU. With the new financial year, the SSC took over the accounting independently. During a hypercare phase of three months, the company randomly checked the account assignment until the last accounting employee had left. Overall responsibility for FIBU remained with the current interim manager.
In implementing the project, the current interim manager had to overcome various challenges both in his own organization and in the collaboration with the SSC service provider.
Personnel management and exit solutions motivate affected employees
In the company's own organization, outsourcing meant that all jobs in the local accounting department were eliminated. At the same time, these employees were needed in full to support the project until the handover was complete. The FD ensured this through motivating personnel management and generous exit solutions, which it had developed together with the HR department.
Network of tax consultants in the SCC qualified for new tasks
The SSC service provider also experienced problems. For example, responsible project staff at SSC left prematurely or changed their area of responsibility. This could be compensated for by additional deployment.
A more serious problem was that the professional qualifications at the SSC were not at the same level as the client's financial accounting staff. In particular, there was no position comparable to an accountant. In order to avoid tax risks, the current interim CFO implemented a network of tax advisors as part of the global relocation, who were available both at the SSC location and locally. The new global tax advisors were familiarized with the company's special tax features in an intensive transfer of know-how.
Authorization matrix adapted and document flow redefined
Invoices were previously approved for payment by signing off on the original invoices in accordance with an authorization matrix. With the relocation, an electronic workflow was introduced. It was the task of the FD to adapt the authorization matrix, instruct the employees of its own organization in the new work processes and redefine the document run.
Auditors confirm successful work in the SSC
The changeover was successful. This was also confirmed by the auditors' subsequent audits. Due to the lower level of training in the SSC, there were temporary quality deficiencies, but these were not fiscally problematic. For a limited period of time, the SSC delayed the payment of accounts payable invoices in the SSC. The current interim manager managed to work out alternative solutions and bridge bottlenecks in close coordination with the SSC and its own organization.
It remains a challenge to inform the SSC promptly about regular changes to the legal framework, to adapt the documentation and to implement the changes correctly. In addition, there is a high level of fluctuation at all SSCs in Poland due to the extensive range of competition from numerous other service providers of this type.
