Transforming the Finance Function for a Health Care Provider
The Situation
A public and PE majority owned leading operator of 120+ ambulatory surgery centers and17 hospitals launched a multi-faceted Finance Function Transformation initiative. Due to rapid growth, there were a large volume of manual activities dispersed across disparate systems. Each month, Accounts Payable (AP) manually processed 10,000+ invoices and Accounting manually posted 4,000+ journal entries supported by 5,000+ reconciliations. Accordion was engaged to perform a full finance transformation for the Company.
Services
Finance Function Transformation
Business Process Outsourcing
Process Optimization
Financial Close Automation & Acceleration
The Execution
Workstream 1: Finance Process Transformation
Module A: Business Process Outsourcing & Process Transfer to Offshore Location
- Objectives Accomplished: $3M annual cost reduction, redeployed onshore team to more value-add tasks in support of business, designed end state scenario.
- Methodology:
- Vendor selection; led RFP, pricing/scorecard comparisons, roadshows, and contract negotiation for commercial terms.
- Led workshops, established governance, project managed transition: Employee Comms Strategy, Discovery, Knowledge Transfer, Steady State.
Module B: Comprehensive Process Automation
- Objectives Accomplished: Replaced manual time-consuming processes with faster solutions and an improved control environment. Supported ability to scale.
- Methodology:
- Financial Close Automation: Project managed transition to BlackLine solution for Task Management, Account Reconciliation, Variance Analysis, & Journals.
- Robotic Process Automation (RPA): Vendor selection, manual process identification, and project management.
Module C: Optimization
- Objectives Accomplished: Accounting and AP process acceleration and error reduction. Created intercompany procedures, & entry automation roadmap.
- Methodology: Identified process optimization modules and solutions, partnered with Finance and IT to execute.
Workstream 2: Procure to Pay Transformation (P2P)
- Objectives Accomplished: Transformed operating model and workflow; system architecture upgrades, workflow digitization, 3-way match, reporting, and training.
- Methodology: Led 2-day P2P workshop, identified 9 workstreams, established governance across multiple departments, project managed, executed deliverables.
Workstream 3: Dynamic Models & Dashboarding
- Objectives Accomplished: Created PowerBI dynamic metrics to track Accounting & Accounts Payable team performance and working capital optimization.
- Methodology: Created business requirement, partnered with IT on data delivery, delivered dynamic dashboards for Finance Function management team.
The Results
As a previous client, the Sponsor hired Accordion because they valued our strong track record to drive superior transformation results and our deep experience in the health care sector. The operating model was transformed, processes were successfully outsourced to an offshore location, and manual accounting/ accounts payable processes were standardized and automated. Significant ROI was achieved as the workflow accelerated and controls were enhanced.