Treasury Leaders on SAP Finance Transformation

Transformation is easy to describe. Execution is where it gets difficult. Across my career, I have led very different finance transformations: - I have built a global productivity function that increased cost visibility from 30% to 70%. - I have led SAP S/4HANA change across multiple entities. - I have led finance operations across countries, functions and cultures. Different challenges, but one lesson has stayed remarkably consistent: Execution starts to fail when ownership becomes vague. - Who makes the decision? - Who owns the outcome? - What actually needs to change? - How will we know it has changed? - And who will keep it working once the project team moves on? A good transformation does not leave behind a presentation. It leaves behind a stronger organisation. Strategy creates direction. Execution creates credibility. For those leading transformation today, what is the earliest sign you look for that a change is actually working?

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗔𝗣 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺. I regularly meet organisations that have already fixed their deployment model, their timeline and their implementation partner, but cannot answer one simple question: what does this programme change about how we compete? That gap is expensive. It resurfaces 18 months later as scope creep, business resistance and a benefits case nobody owns. An SAP strategy worth the name answers four questions before the first design workshop: 🎯 Which business outcomes justify the investment, in numbers the CFO recognises? 🧩 Where do we standardise globally, and where do we deliberately allow difference? 🏛️ Who decides what, once the programme ends? 📈 Which capabilities do we want in three years that we do not have today? None of these are IT questions. They are business questions with significant technology consequences. The strongest programmes I see invest six to ten weeks in getting this right. The ones that struggle spend six to ten months recovering from skipping it. 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: if a business leader outside IT cannot explain your SAP case on one page, you do not yet have a strategy. You have a plan. How early does business leadership genuinely shape ERP decisions in your organisation? 👇 More on how we work through this with clients at PwC's Centre of Excellence for SAP Strategy: https://lnkd.in/gdU7C7tV Martin Paul | Marc Bourdé | Ioannis Potamitis | Xavier Verhaeghe | Veerle Van Puyenbroeck | Nicolas Debeer | Wim Rymen | Eva De Vries | Alexander Hartwig | Dr. Ulrich Störk | Bernd Huwe | Adam Bieńko | Frank Ruland | Frederic Chapelle | Nacho Verges | Jens Gladikowski | Mukul Dixit | Murugananth Chockalingam | Marcin Rydlewski | Daniel Smola | Ali Bedirhanoglu | Florian Lau | Markus Hörterer | Dany Poussard | Christof Menzies | Nico Reichen | PwC Belgium | Eva Stolper Falkenthal | Sven Waltert | Nordin Sahil MSc | Dimitris Gologiannis | Juan Carlos Carrillo | Alexander Pahl | Rachel McClure | Ragnar van der Valk | Jesper Vedsø | Kerstine Rencourt | Marco Sartor | Radu Badiceanu | Neil Morton

Launching a digital advisory practice requires a delivery model as well as a market opportunity. Cognativ helped an accounting firm define ERP and technology services, deliver early engagements, and develop internal capability under a fractional leadership model. Explore the practice launch case: https://lnkd.in/eVH_99y7

Your Finance team doesn’t need another transformation project. It needs measurable results. Finance Transformation is everywhere today — SAP S/4HANA, AI, automation, Shared Services, new operating models. But behind the big transformation programmes, many Finance teams are still dealing with the same everyday challenges: • Month-end close taking too long • Too much manual work and reconciliation • Processes differing across countries and entities • SAP capabilities not being fully used • AI pilots that never become part of day-to-day Finance • Highly qualified Finance people spending time on transactional work Maybe the starting question shouldn’t be: “Which technology should we implement next?” It should be: “Which Finance problem are we actually trying to solve?” At Future Finance Network Europe (FFNE), we are building an ecosystem connecting Finance leaders, transformation professionals, SAP experts, SSC/GBS specialists and technology & delivery partners across Europe and India. The objective is simple: bring the right expertise together around real business problems — and turn transformation into measurable outcomes. For the Finance leaders here: what is the ONE Finance process in your organisation that you would fix first if you could? #FinanceTransformation #Finance #SAP #S4HANA #SharedServices #GBS #ArtificialIntelligence #CFO #OperationalExcellence #FFNE

How long should ERP selection actually take — and who needs to be in the room while it happens? This is the companion piece to our 10-step selection process: same framework, timeline and roles laid out phase by phase, so you know what to expect before you start the search. Most selection timelines run longer than leadership expects going in, and shorter than the cost of picking the wrong system and redoing it in three years. Swipe through for the breakdown, then grab the full white paper. Starting a selection process soon? Let's compare notes. 📩 I've added the links in the first comment. #ERPSelection #ProjectManagement #ERPImplementation #BusinessConsulting #COO #CFO #ITLeadership

One of the biggest strengths of Macrospect Planning Packs is the balance between standardization and configuration. We’ve standardized proven planning methodologies, design principles, and delivery practices developed through years of implementation experience, while configuring each solution around the customer’s actual business requirements. It’s a disciplined approach designed to deliver both speed and quality.

After more than 20 years of helping organizations improve planning and performance, we’ve learned a lot about what works — and what can unnecessarily slow progress. Macrospect Planning Packs bring that experience into a focused, practical offering while still configuring the solution around each customer’s business. Excited to officially launch these today!

Excited to introduce this new offering! We talk with finance teams every day that know where their planning processes could improve, but getting started can be a challenge. Macrospect Planning Packs are designed to change that: focused scope, predictable delivery, and quick time-to-value. Randy Marvel Jeff Hattendorf Tamara Vincent

The more a transformation grows, the more governance it needs. But too much governance can quietly become the bottleneck. One lesson has consistently shaped my leadership approach. In large SAP transformation programs, governance is essential. But I have also seen what happens when governance keeps expanding. More forums. More approvals. More checkpoints. More people involved in decisions. And suddenly... The program has more governance. But fewer decisions. 🔴 THE REAL PROBLEM As transformation complexity increased, we initially responded with more governance. The intention was right. More control. More visibility. More accountability. But decisions started moving through too many layers. Teams waited for alignment. Dependencies remained open. Escalations took longer. Governance was becoming decision friction. That was the turning point. I realized: The problem wasn't governance. It was governance without clear decision rights. 🟢 THE OUTCOME The focus shifted from creating more governance... To creating smarter governance. We started clarifying: ✔ Who decides ✔ Who recommends ✔ Who must be consulted ✔ What requires escalation ✔ What teams can decide themselves The result? Fewer unnecessary forums. Faster decisions. Clearer accountability. Better execution velocity. 🔄 THE SHIFT From More Governance ➡ Better Governance From More Approvals ➡ Clear Decision Rights From Escalating Everything ➡ Empowering the Right Level One leadership lesson continues to shape my approach. Governance should create confidence—not bureaucracy. The maturity of governance is not measured by how many controls exist. It is measured by how quickly the organization can make the right decisions. 🎯 In your transformation programs, what slows decisions more— lack of governance or too much governance? I'd genuinely value your perspective. #Leadership #ProgramManagement #SAPTransformation #EnterpriseTransformation #Governance #DecisionMaking #StrategyExecution

𝗔 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺. Most SAP business cases are built once, approved, and then never opened again. Eighteen months later nobody can say whether the value arrived. Four habits that change this: 📌 Every benefit has a named business owner, in their objectives, not in the programme plan 📊 Baselines measured before the programme starts, because you cannot prove improvement without a starting point 💵 Funding released in tranches, tied to delivered value rather than delivered milestones 🔄 A quarterly value review with the same seriousness as a budget review None of this is complicated. It is simply uncomfortable, because it makes value personal. 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: if your benefits owner is the programme director, you do not have benefits owners. More on value realisation at PwC's Centre of Excellence for SAP Strategy: https://lnkd.in/gdU7C7tV Martin Paul | Marc Bourdé | Ioannis Potamitis | Xavier Verhaeghe | Veerle Van Puyenbroeck | Nicolas Debeer | Wim Rymen | Eva De Vries | Alexander Hartwig | Dr. Ulrich Störk | Bernd Huwe | Adam Bieńko | Frank Ruland | Frederic Chapelle | Nacho Verges | Jens Gladikowski | Mukul Dixit | Murugananth Chockalingam | Marcin Rydlewski | Daniel Smola | Ali Bedirhanoglu | Florian Lau | Markus Hörterer | Dany Poussard | Christof Menzies | Nico Reichen | PwC Belgium | Eva Stolper Falkenthal | Sven Waltert | Nordin Sahil MSc | Dimitris Gologiannis | Juan Carlos Carrillo | Alexander Pahl | Rachel McClure | Ragnar van der Valk | Jesper Vedsø | Kerstine Rencourt | Marco Sartor | Radu Badiceanu | Neil Morton