The financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland – like the rest of the world – were far-reaching and devastating. Parts of some industries slowed or shut down completely; cash flows dried up; and livelihoods were threatened.
This economic shock led the government to consider a new law that would provide Finnish companies in distress with cost subsidies. And it tasked the State Treasury with processing the applications, determining eligibility and issuing payments – a completely new endeavor for the agency.
But launching the service wasn’t the only challenge. The State Treasury needed to have the service up and running and the personnel trained and ready as soon as the law was approved. It had just six weeks to implement a solution alongside corresponding legislation.
With such a tight deadline, the State Treasury turned to long-time partner Accenture to help it find the easiest, fastest and most reliable way to deliver this new service, ensuring companies get much-needed support payments. Fortunately, the State Treasury already had the basis for a digital service using the same cloud-based platform that Accenture previously developed with the agency for digital claims and compensations services.