Abstract
A large mutual insurance company sought timely and accurate financial reporting to more effectively allocate capital across its business units and determine its strategic direction. The company engaged Deloitte Consulting LLP (Deloitte Consulting) to help redefine the role and operating model of finance, and help the company achieve its aggressive growth goals.

The Challenge
The company’s growth was being driven by expanding distribution into new, but related, businesses, which made it increasingly difficult to manage performance and allocate capital across business units. In addition, each of the company’s five strategic business units had its own finance systems and processes and defined data in different ways, making it difficult to analyze, consolidate and compare information. More specific challenges included inaccessible information, data discrepancies, process inefficiencies and reduced effectiveness.

The company engaged Deloitte Consulting to help in its efforts to transform the finance function enterprisewide. The goal of the two-year finance transformation project was to help make the finance function a valued, capable and trusting “partner” to the operating units, with deep knowledge of their businesses.

How We Helped
Deloitte Consulting worked side by side with the client on all aspects of the transformation. This included:

• Technology – establishing a single data and technology architecture with a common set of financial systems, applications and tools enterprisewide
• Processes – streamlining and standardizing processes, measurements and reports wherever possible
• People – managing and developing the finance staff to help meet the requirements of the business units and the company

We followed a “co-lead” model, in which every key leader or manager on the client team had a direct counterpart on the Deloitte Consulting team. This model provided close coordination on all project activities and significantly increased the likelihood the company would be able to operate on its own once the project was completed.

Lessons Learned
Transforming the finance function can be a major undertaking that presents a wide range of challenges. Deloitte Consulting was able to help the company complete its two-year transformation effort. The company now has data that is timely, accurate and consistent enterprisewide – making it easier to consolidate and compare information across organizational boundaries and improving overall decision-making. These streamlined systems and processes give the finance function the time and credibility to play a more strategic, forward-looking role within the company.

Read more about this case study in the attached PDF below.

Related Content:
Resource Library: Finance Transformation Case Studies
Overview: Financial Management