Overview
When two major pharmaceutical companies merged, consolidating their finance functions as quickly and as painlessly as possible into one new corporate entity was paramount.
One of Novo Altum’s consultants was briefed with the task of configuring their disparate and complex processes and systems into one cohesive framework, fit for what had now become one of the world’s leading pharmaceuticals giants.
Our consultant’s approach ensured reporting, planning and forecasting processes were re-designed and a new consolidation system delivered on time and to budget, enabling the unified company to continue as seamlessly as possible with business as usual.
The Challenge
The practical challenge of consolidating the finance functions to streamline all the various processes and systems was immense, with two head office units, a complex systems environment, separate legal and management reporting and a lengthy close process to contend with.
Significant effort would be required, but time was of the essence. The solution would also need to be one which satisfied a wide variety of stakeholders.
The Solution
By providing expertise on best practice, knowledge of the systems solutions available, programme management skills and extensive systems development experience, our consultant was able to direct a joint client / consultant team through all the necessary project phases.
The programme was broad in scope, involving: high level design, appropriate systems selection, detailed functional requirements, process re-design, systems build, data migration and testing, and phased implementation.
Results
This complex programme resulted in a number of significant benefits for the client, including:
- A single head office finance function
- The removal and simplification of systems
- Streamlined processes
- Removal of manual intervention and reconciliations
- Faster ‘time to close’
- A single consolidation process for legal and management reporting
Under our consultant’s leadership, the programme was successfully completed on time and on budget, despite the large number of stakeholders involved within the business and the range of different contributors to the overall solution.
