Twin Towers – can Shared Services in Europe and Asia be like them?

It is an absolute fact that Shared Services business model is based on global processes and IT systems. Nevertheless it is also true that what works for one, will not necessary work for the other. Simply copy-paste is never good for a business, however being too flexible and adaptable to country specifics is also a bad idea, which drives for complexity and cost increase.

How to balance the need of process orchestration and business needs in SSC?

Based on my recent experience from go live of FSSC Europe and preparation for go life in FSSC Asia, I would advise you to concentrate on three items:

Global Processes – start from one unified process, designed for the best cost efficiency and performance effectiveness. Work out common solutions, organizational structure, and the simplest possible way of doing your financial processes. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel! There are a lot of shared services already existing around the world, so the best you can do is to find the once which are in your industry and learn from their experience.

Process maps, procedures or working instructions, and all related forms and templates need to be well documented and aligned with the process flow.

Never forget that controls are integral part of your financial processes and simply build them in. Make sure that your controls are evaluated by the auditors, especially if your company is listed on NYSE or need to follow any ‘SOX-equivalent’ rules, eg. as per Spanish ICFR rules.

Exceptions – once your global process maps and org charts are completed, you can start listing all country nuances based on local law or other regulations. It is very true that EU is much easier in that terms,  because it provides more homogeneous legal environment, however if your FSSC Europe provides services also to Russia or UK, you need to be much more careful. Never forget also about specifics in Spain (SII, Spanish Code), France (tax requirements), etc.

When it comes to Asia, you need to consider deeper analyses into Chinese taxation, archival process or payment regulations, which will mostly be based on cheques instead of wire transfer.

Document all of the exceptions and ensure proper time for the analyses before you move on. Your process maps will for sure need adjustments. You need to make sure that your processes work for your organization. In case of Europe/Asia nuances you need to only add notes on the maps. However in case of very specific process eg. for Cheque Payments you will need to create additional maps and supporting documentation.

Local Markets (operating companies) – moving finance process to SSC is always difficult for the organization. We cannot forget about the whole personnel related elements of the strategy. From the process perspective it is also not easy. It has an serious impact on business and business parties. All invoiced in this shifting exercise need to gradually learn how to communicate and work with each other for the common benefit and companies objectives.

You need a good local market alignment strategy built into the overall planning and performance communication. You cannot forget that details such as who is doing which step, or who is retrieving which reports become a crucial matter to be solved, agreed, and documented.

Speaking to your stakeholders is an absolute must. Easy to say, not that easy to do. Markets will not give you a total buy-in until you confirm to them that you bring them benefits. That can be probably achieved only after some time of operations. So, what you can do just before go-live? Be transparent,… communicate what they can expect, and what is expected from them.

To me, FSSC in Europe and Kuala Lumpur are very much the same, in terms of construction. They are both based on the same basis and have the same framework. I truly see them as Twin Towers! The differences between these two towers are within their constructions, i.e. within the processes.