CFO Insights: Enabling High Performance through Leading Practices for Finance ERP

Accenture's research shows that finance capabilities enabled through enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions both drive and enable high performance. Successful organizations have learned to treat an ERP solution as a broad program that impacts business processes, policies, organization and technology, rather than as a one-time event. This new book includes a number of case studies and experiences from Accenture clients across a variety of industries that have implemented, upgraded and operated Oracle/PeopleSoft and SAP. Each case study highlights vital thoughts, benefits and considerations and provides relevant guidance as one proceeds with a finance ERP implementation on the journey toward high performance.

Metrics and insights for the book are also provided by The Hackett Group.

Read more details from the book:
Chapters 1—4
Chapters 5—9

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Related Press Release:
Read our press release: Maximizing Enterprise Resource Planning Enables Finance Executives to Drive Value, According to New Accenture Book

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Return to the CFO Insights Series Overview

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions have—in the past—consumed vast amounts of time, resources and money as organizations strive to implement, upgrade and operate complex, integrated solutions from vendors such as Oracle/PeopleSoft and SAP.

Successful organizations have learned that an ERP solution encompasses and impacts all aspects of the enterprise. In fact, ERP solutions should be treated as a broad program that impacts business processes, policies, organization and technology.

In the third of the CFO Insights series books, Accenture executives offer an alternative view of ERP programs. By looking at end-to-end business processes rather than individual functions, organizations are able to identify and understand key integration points and areas of focus.

An ERP program is not a one-off event, but rather an ongoing business challenge and opportunity.

Through the ERP journey, CFOs have come to realize that finance is impacted more directly and far more frequently by all areas of operation. Increased expectations have driven finance to often take the lead as ERP solutions are being implemented or upgraded.

This book reviews essential end-to-end business processes including Procure to Pay, Order to Cash and Asset Lifecycle, along with key finance functions such as the closing process and financial and management reporting. Each chapter discusses process, technology and organizational considerations, all components of high performance. The book also provides key points on broader imperatives such as:

• ERP in a shared services environment.
• Total cost of ownership.
• Beyond basic transaction processing.

Metrics and insights for the book are also provided from The Hackett Group, a strategic advisory firm and a world leader in best practice research, benchmarking and business transformation services. Hackett empirically defines and enables world-class enterprise performance in finance and other sales, general and administrative (SG&A) areas, and also and supply chain activities with analysis gained through 3,500 benchmark studies over 14 years at 2,000 of the world's leading companies.

Cristian Wulf

Cristian Wulf is an executive partner in the Accenture Finance & Performance Management service line. He is the global lead of the service line's Finance ERP practice and sponsors the Next Generation Enterprise Solution offering. His client experience includes full lifecycle finance and human resources ERP programs (including Oracle, PeopleSoft, and SAP) and business architecture, finance transformation programs and finance and accounting operations. He has assisted organizations across many industries, including wireless communications, high technology, media and entertainment, professional services and automotive, retail and financial services. He holds an accounting degree from the Universidad de Buenos Aires in Argentina and an MBA from the University of Washington.