The finance function is facing a major change as the focus shifts from decision making support towards a genuine business partnership to set strategic direction and manage performance. Therefore, the finance function needs to reassess its approach to the demands of a digital, agile, and innovative world. New ways of working, methods and processes are becoming essential to deliver sustainable results.
We can help you achieve your goals, prepare for the changes ahead and successfully implement change initiatives, whether it's a new financial operating model, advanced technology, or expertise to help you make more informed decisions. Our skilled financial consulting team supported by our extensive international network ensures that you always have access to industry-leading expertise.
Take the next step towards a successful finance transformation – find out more about our services below and contact us to help you achieve your goals within the digital and innovative business world.
Future finance vision and operating model transformation
Is your finance organisation struggling to meet the demands of a changing environment? Finance function is under constant pressure to change: digitalisation, automation and increasing business demands are forcing finance to reconsider its role and capabilities on an ongoing basis.
We can help you manage this change. Future finance function's skills and capabilities start with creating a vision and objectives. Our services also cover the complete transformation of the finance function at all stages. We have helped numerous companies to clarify their vision and objectives for the future and to plan and implement changes to their operating models.
We can support you in areas such as:
- Developing finance vision based on your business strategy
- Creating competence and capability development plans
- Defining development roadmap towards digital finance function
- Finance operating model changes and strategy implementation
- Designing and implementing finance governance models
- New finance management tools
Sustainability for CFOs
Sustainability can drive new business growth, reduce risks and achieve cost savings. On the other hand, it is common to reassess the business's earnings logic and business strategy based on sustainability.
Finance consulting works in close collaboration with our sustainability consulting to support clients on sustainability-related topics. We advise companies on the definition of sustainability goals (SBTi, Net Zero) and strategy, and related development projects. We support implementing green financing solutions to enable the green transition of companies. We advise on the implementation of modern and reliable sustainability reporting to support internal decision making and to meet the requirements of changing legislation (e.g. CSRD). Where appropriate, we help to integrate sustainability reporting into normal financial planning, budgeting, forecasting and reporting.
We can support you in areas such as:
- Setting sustainability targets and strategy
- Implementing sustainability strategy (e.g. emission reduction plan, carbon pricing)
- Designing and implementing a green finance strategy and an investor communication plan
- Developing sustainability reporting, considering changing legislative requirements such as the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive):
- Double materiality analysis
- Gap analysis (ESRS standards)
- Development of sustainability reporting processes
- Selection and implementation of IT tools as part of the sustainability reporting development
- Governance and organisation of sustainability
- Finance operating model development and integration of sustainability into finance function's day-to-day activities (e.g. governance, organisation, responsibilities, policies and processes)
- Change management and management training on sustainability topics
Finance workforce
Changes in the business environment are significantly increasing the expectations set on the finance function and, as a result, the finance workforce needs to adapt to new roles and responsibilities. Finance workforce development is a key element in envisioning and implementing future finance organisations. Our aim is to help you design a sustainable finance organisation with roles capable of fulfilling your current and future needs. To support in this goal, we conduct comprehensive analyses to help you understand the weaknesses, strengths, and change readiness of your current workforce, organisational structure and incentive program. In addition to analysis, we can support the implementation of talent strategies on a practical level, driving the development of new capabilities and the introduction of new roles.
We use PwC's proven frameworks to track and measure the change through the design, implementation, post-change continuous improvement, and monitoring phases. Please contact us to discuss more about developing your finance workforce. We look forward to presenting the results of our recent projects and the frameworks used to achieve said results.
We can support you in areas such as:
- Workforce planning and talent strategy development
- Organisation and role design
- Workforce performance & experience management
- Workplace environment optimisation
- Talent and people performance management
- PERFORM – our patented approach to driving business performance
- Finance academy – building competencies and future ways of working
Shared services and Centres of Excellence
Finance shared services development
Shared service centre (SSC) is a well-established way of delivering finance and support function services efficiently and to a high standard of quality. Group-level operating model enables cost-effective location choices and continuous development of processes, ways of working and information systems, as well as the development of new critical skills. Today's automation and collaboration tools also allow for a variety of hybrid operating models independent of geographical location.
We can support you in areas such as:
- Feasibility analysis, investment calculation and roadmap planning for the shared service centre model
- Service centre operating model design, optimisation and support for transformation implementation
- Service centre location selection and optimisation of the global service centre network
- Creating and embedding a culture of continuous improvement in the organisation, using methods such as Operational Excellence, Lean, SixSigma and Perform
Finance Centre of Excellence
A Centre of Excellence (CoE) is a concept whereby services requiring specific skills can be developed and delivered globally by agile teams, either centrally or, increasingly, by virtual pools of talent. Typical services provided by centres of excellence include analytical reporting services in support of business controller functions, development and maintenance of analytical solutions, and process mining development and automation.
We can support you in areas such as:
- Designing the operating model and services of the Centre of Excellence
- Implementation of centres of excellence for analytics and automation
- Extension of the service centre to knowledge-based services
Insourcing and outsourcing
Outsourcing finance function can free up your own resources from basic processes to support and develop your business. An external partner can help, for example, with the development and automation of finance processes, or the organisation of local statutory reporting.
In some cases, the quality or cost-effectiveness of the outsourcing partner's services may not match the original service promise, or the company may want to take control of process development to take full advantage of new technology and automation. This requires well-planned insourcing arrangements to ensure successful in-house integration.
We have supported several domestic and international clients in outsourcing and insourcing arrangements related to the optimisation of service models, and in the selection processes of outsourcing partners.
We can support you in areas such as:
- Outsourcing process from scoping and strategy setting to outsourcing partner selection and managing the transition to outsourced service model
- Optimisation of the service centre model and insourcing of outsourced services
- Development of process management, including the establishment of a centre of excellence in process analytics and automation to support the change of operating model from outsourced finance management to in-house processes
Finance process excellence
To achieve an agile and value-creating finance function, CFOs are increasingly turning their attention to developing finance processes and prioritising core tasks. We help organisations to manage efficient financial planning, reporting and period-end processes, using tools such as process standardisation, automation and data harmonisation. We have extensive experience in the holistic development of end-to-end processes, from identifying areas for improvement to building capabilities while improving process quality, productivity, cost-effectiveness, timeliness and digitalisation.
We can support you in areas such as:
- Process mining and identification of bottlenecks
- Process simplification, standardisation, automation and data harmonisation in line with industry-leading practices
- Analytics to support process leadership
- Building and implementing performance metrics and management dashboards to support process management
- End-to-end process transformation and capability building
Finance technology
Modern finance technologies are key enablers for finance function, and with the right technology and design choices finance can drive substantial improvements in efficiency, automation, data accuracy and visibility to support end-to-end processes, reporting and analysis for both external reporting and compliance, as well as for management purposes. More recently, Generative AI models are being applied to finance and accounting use cases with the potential to reset the boundaries of digital transformation in finance.
We have comprehensive expertise in a wide range of ERP systems, including SAP, Oracle, Microsoft D365 and Netsuite, as well as leading EPM (Enterprise Performance Management) solutions. In addition, we are experienced in consolidation, cash management and treasury, purchase invoice processing, reporting, forecasting and budgeting solutions from an end-to-end process perspective. We can support you with system selection, implementation and related process development, be it analytics, process and data mining, enterprise performance management, reporting or automation of transactional financial processes.
We can support you in areas such as:
- Finance system architecture, strategy and roadmap developmen
- System and vendor selection
- Design and implementation of system solutions, both fit-to-standard and customized solutions
- SAP S/4HANA transformations
- Other key ERP solutions such as D365, Oracle, Workday
- Process mining solutions and automation assessments
- Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI driven process and reporting automation solutions, such as Predictive Forecasting and GenAI assisted reporting and analytics
- Developing systems related processes and reporting
- Training of end-users on the use of a new system or version upgrade
- Facilitation of acceptance testing
- Post-implementation production support
- Systems supporting financial and sustainability reporting and disclosure processes (e.g. Workiva, Microsoft)
Business insight and performance management
Performance management, and the new perspectives it brings, offers the finance function the opportunity to provide direction and act as an important strategic sparring partner at the heart of the business. Finance has a critical role to play in building the necessary capabilities and providing the metrics and analysis to support the business and drive performance.
We support companies in defining relevant insights and metrics for performance management. We also help build the capabilities needed for performance management, including systems and solution selection as well as knowledge management platform platforms.
We are your partner when you are considering organising to deliver performance management services, defining your people competencies and driving change. We help you build efficient, fit-for-purpose financial models and business analytics capabilities using modern technologies.
We can support you in areas such as:
- Identifying development areas to support business steering, considering future growth expectations
- Building a development roadmap to ensure capabilities now and in the future
- Selecting modern and scalable solutions to support growth
- Assessing and supporting the development of finance capabilities to support business partnerships
- Modelling, defining and supporting the implementation of management reporting content (profitability, monitoring responsibilities, modelling of management accounting e.g. product costing)
- Agile proof-of-concepts to support the definition
- Building dynamic BI dashboards and defining data sources
- Introducing new perspectives to business management (e.g. sustainability, market data)
- Financial monitoring of new business models
- Coaching and supporting change management during the development path
Analytics for pricing and profit capture
We use analytics to help you optimise pricing and profitability. We provide comprehensive analyses to help our clients understand the impact of their cost structure and pricing model on profitability, for example. We use advanced analytics tools to make forecasts, simulate different scenarios, increase transparency and find new ways to improve our clients' profitability. We are happy to provide a quick analysis of your profitability against your peers at our first meeting.
We can support you in areas such as:
- Customer and product profitability analyses
- Pricing changes and monitoring their impact
- Identification of unbilled revenue through analytics
- Analysis and hedging against cost inflation
- Profitability comparisons against industry or peers
Finance integrations and carve-outs
In corporate transactions, the finance function plays a pivotal role in integrating or building independent reporting and monitoring capabilities. In addition to financial reporting and regulatory compliance, a successful M&A requires the finance operating model to be adapted to the changed situation. In particular, the success of the finance function’s transformation is strongly linked to the overall success of the business restructuring. We offer comprehensive services for the successful implementation of integration and carve-outs.
- Designing a target operating model for finance function and roadmap
- Effective implementation of change
- Defining and implementing financial management capabilities to meet changing needs
- Designing, managing, and supporting the implementation of financial systems integrations
- Defining and supporting the implementation of finance function service model during a carve-out
- Defining the scope and supporting the pricing of the Transitional Service Agreement (TSA)
- Supporting an efficient exit from TSA agreements
- Managing service provider selections and overseeing suppliers during the process
- Ensuring IPO readiness in a corporate restructuring
Our Finance Integrations and carve-outs services cover a broad range for private equity firms, including pre-transaction, investment period, and exit phases. Our services include:
- Comprehensive assessment and evaluation of the target company's financial performance
- Developing the finance function's capabilities during the investment period
- Building exit and listing readiness
Interim finance services
We provide temporary support for finance teams
Interim finance service helps clients bolster their finance teams with additional resources, provides increased bandwidth, and access to specific skills.
We provide a wide range of roles, from Chief Financial Officers to junior staff who support with core finance function activities or in specific finance projects. We provide the right level of expertise and seniority as per need.
We will make sure our support suits your needs. We know that your requirements may change, so we are ready to adapt our support accordingly. We offer resources and professional services fully tailored to your situation. Our flexibility will help you to avoid long-term investments and unnecessary overhead expenses.
We bring a fresh perspective to your finance team and provide recommendations and share best practices alongside the daily work. Our interim services cover areas such as finance leadership and finance day-to-day operations (e.g. financial/management reporting, business planning & budgeting and sustainability reporting). In addition, we support you in your finance projects (e.g. project manager roles).
Our services are set apart by our flexibility, access to global network of PwC professionals and our commitment to develop your business with you alongside the day-to-day duties.
Who is interim finance service for?
- For companies that have a resource shortage (e.g. sudden resignation or significant increase in workload). We can provide you with an experienced person to help you achieve results quickly while you hire a permanent staff member.
- For startups / a mid-size company that needs to strengthen the finance function with a part time CFO / Group controller / Business controller without a need for a permanent full-time recruitment.
- For companies looking to grow and expand the finance function.
- For companies that need to develop finance function’s capabilities (e.g. processes).
- For companies looking to develop or upgrade sustainability reporting to meet the needs of changing regulation (e.g. CSRD).
- For companies that are starting major transformations (e.g. M&A activities, ERP programs).
Below you can find example roles we can fulfill for you:
- CFO and Finance Manager
- Group controller
- Financial controller / Chief Accountant
- Business partner / Business controller / Project controller
- Sustainability reporting / ESG controller
- Finance process owner
- Treasury manager / specialist
- IFRS specialist
- Project manager (e.g. ERP rollout, business process automation project etc.)
What sets us apart?
Flexibility
We can start quickly and we are ready to adjust our service when your situation changes.
Wide range of expertise
As a large professional service firm, we have plenty of expertise to choose from. In addition, our individuals can reach out to additional expertise in our global network of PwC professionals.
Development mindset
We can assist in developing any area of finance function by bringing fresh perspectives from other industries. For our people, a development mindset is a second nature. We can help you to improve your operations during our agreed day-to-day routines.
