Outsourcing: Robust, proven technology is the key

Financial Times

8 December 2010

This article in the Financial Times ‘The Connected Business’ special report looks at how finance and accounting outsourcing remains strong, despite tough times ahead for the global outsourcing industry.

Simon Tennant, finance transformation specialist at PA Consulting Group, comments on how chief financial officers are turning to business process outsourcing (BPO) as a way to reduce costs and administrative burdens: "CFOs and their functions are moving up the value chain in terms of services to the business. It is more of a chief operating officer’s role, ensuring the implementation of strategy. To have the headroom do to this, they are relying more on outsourced solutions."

"Businesses are outsourcing financial work, to avoid having to extend or upgrade enterprise resource planning systems, or to take advantage of labour arbitrage opportunities."

Simon goes on to point out that businesses need to do their groundwork before turning to BPO, especially for shared services: "You have to have common charts of accounts and common ways of working."

You can read the article in full here.

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