Client vs. Implementation Partner Perspective

From financial software client to consultant

Having recently moved from being a client to being a consultant, there are a few things which look different from this side of the playing field.

As the client, my role was to understand our unique business requirements as well as our business model and reporting requirements. Having spent considerable time creating wireframes, thinking of how our reporting and analysis could be standardized, our key drivers and our annual financial cycle, we were well prepared to discuss our needs and goals in very specific terms.

As an implementation consultant, my role is to understand those requirements and translate them into an application design that will meet the client’s needs and maximize the functionality of the selected Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) solution.

Some words of advice to those considering, or starting an EPM implementation:

Finding the right EPM implementation partner

As a client, when we developed criteria for the selection of our implementation partner, the focus was on the depth of knowledge, specific EPM and industry experience, and bench depth of a potential partner.

After vetting four competing implementation partners, we selected the partner we felt best met our criteria as well as our organization. By engaging the right implementation partner along with the appropriate internal resources, we implemented our selected EPM ahead of timeline and under budget. The project was hailed as a success by the organization and served as an example of how to best manage a software implementation.

What might be more interesting is the perspective a good implementation partner can bring to the project. Both the client and the partner should be fully vested in achieving the best possible outcome. This is where there are opportunities for differences and possibly even disagreements. A good implementation partner should also be thinking about design elements that maximize the capabilities of the software while minimizing any deficiencies.

Appropriate resources are key for a successful implementation

Now viewing the process from the implementation partner perspective, there are some additional factors which appear to increase the probability of success: 1) an executive project sponsor, someone with decision making ability who will also commit the necessary time to understand the implementation process and 2) a strong and committed project team with appropriate span of control and clear accountability.

While most software implementation projects are in addition to the ‘day job’ of the client team, the process cannot be successful without real and meaningful time and effort from the appropriate client resources. In most instances, having a single client resource can be detrimental to the success of a project, as they may try to keep control of every aspect and can become a bottleneck in the project with their “day job” demands their focus.

360° View of EPM

Having deep experience with the selected solution and a deep bench of knowledgeable resources, the right

 implementation partner will know where potential limitations are and how best to avoid or minimize them. Equally as important, they understand what is needed to maintain and administer the application to marry application design with efficient maintenance and administration.

Whether these functions will be performed by the client FP&A team, client IT or a third party, application design and implementation should consider the client’s comprehensive desired state post go-live. This is another instance when having an implementation partner with a deep team and extensive experience with the EPM solution is invaluable.

Learn more about CFO Solutions and how our team has implemented hundreds of successful finance projects.