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The switched-on FD Handbook: How to lead an awesome nance transformation projectIn collaboration with:Brought to you by:

ContentsThe benets of tech for the developing nance team 6Start with where you mean to get to 7Talk is cheap 8Chunk it up 9Before you kick-off 10Include inclusion 11The resource conundrum 12Use your software provider 13On the day 14Think you’re done? Think again! 15Integrating your systems and reporting with Aqilla 16What to do with your people after 17Conclusion; It’s not rocket science 18How do you know you are ready for transformation? 5What’s the point of nance transformation? 42Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation project

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation project 3IntroductionFinance transformation is both exciting and terrifying for any nance leader and something that can feel incredibly daunting when you have to run your rst project.If you are at the point where you know something needs to be done, or if you think that you’ll be there before long, this guide is aimed squarely at you.We’re delighted to be partnering with Aqilla to bring you this handbook aimed at Finance Directors and teams looking to improve and streamline their nance function.We wanted to produce something of a ‘how to’ manual with plenty of practical tips and insights from leaders who have been there, done it and very denitely got the t-shirt.When we started Aqilla just over 17 years ago we knew that we wanted to truly transform the way businesses manage their nance teams. Today we’re incredibly proud of what we’ve built – a Cloud-based accounting and business solution for demanding mid-market and international organisations.One thing we’ve seen time and again from our clients is how using the right technology and integrating information seamlessly across their organisations can simplify and improve the way they run their businesses.We’re delighted to be working with AccountingWEB to bring you this hands-on guide to how you can make the changes that could transform your team.It can be tempting to think about nance transformation purely in terms of the tech behind it but in our experience, this is a big mistake as the people side of projects is equally, if not more important than the software or systems you are implementing.That’s why our guide looks at the tech aspects of the transformation process but marries this with a heavy dose of real-life experience of handling change from a people point of view.So read on, and remember that if you have any questions we are always here to help.Richard HattersleyManaging Editor, AccountingWEBHugh ScantleburyCEO, Aqilla

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation project 4What’s the point of nance transformation?This might seem like a stupid question but in fact, the point of nance transformation doesn’t have to be simply changing one system for another. What we have found in our experience is that there are plenty of other reasons to look at transforming your team and making your department t for purpose. We’ll cover this a little more in the next section but the rst point of transformation is to give your people the tools to do the job. Better systems are quicker, more stable and more secure and in today’s world of User Experience (UX) design, they are simpler to get to grips with. There’s a good chance that your nance department and its systems and processes were set up several years ago when the company was very different and had different needs and ways of working but as PWC points out “Companies undergoing transformative business/market changes must constantly be reevaluating their existing systems and processes”. A nance transformation project can be a way of making sure that your team delivers the services that your stakeholders need and that it is set up in a way that maximises the value it provides the organisation. At a fundamental level, nance transformation gives the CFO or FD a chance to ask searching questions about their place in the organisation, what they deliver and how they will continue to adapt to a rapidly changing world. A transformation project also allows you to look at your people, make sure you have round pegs in round holes and that you are giving people the skills to cope with the tasks that will be required in the future. So far from being a simple technical exercise, a nance transformation programme can be genuinely transformative for the organisation, the department and the people who work there.

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation project 5How do you know you are ready for transformation?A large transformation project is a major undertaking and shouldn’t be entered into lightly so how do you know when it’s time to take the plunge? Julie Davis, Finance Director at Ryedale explains what led them to decide to switch platforms as part of a larger transformation project, “Our existing platform was expensive to maintain and not agile enough to pivot with the new organisation, so we decided it was time to replace Syspro with a cloud-based platform. A new accounting software application was needed to integrate accounting with sales and production processes, save time, and improve the overall experience for staff and customers." There are a number of signs that you need to look at making a change but don’t feel bad if you haven’t spotted some of these. The truth is that they often creep up on us and it’s only when we take more of a ‘helicopter view’ that we realise that actually, something needs to be done. A good sign that you need to do something is if you nd yourself throwing people at a problem or process. For example, you may take on a temp ‘just to get us over a hump’ with the full intention that they would only stay for three months to get you through the audit, or year-end or reconciling the bank accounts. A year later the temp is now full-time and permanent and you are looking for another one to get you through this year-end! You may have heard rumblings from suppliers that they aren’t getting paid as quickly as they should be or you might be hearing on the grapevine that people hate your expenses system. Negative stakeholder feedback is a good sign that you need to think about change. How long does it take you to run your month-end? Is it a major undertaking or can you have a rolling close? If reporting and closing down the books is onerous then technology may help. Do you nd yourself elbows deep in spreadsheets late on a Friday night? The combined effect of a spreadsheet jungle and long-winded reporting can take years off a young FD’s life and are a clear signal that it is time to make the move. Business changes are also a catalyst for a transformation programme, especially when you are moving from a single company to a group through acquisition or start-up. You may tell yourself that you had no problem with consolidation when you were doing your exams but when you have to do it month in, month out it becomes a different matter. Remember also that whilst your (now permanent) temp is spending their time manually processing AR receipts they could in another world be doing something much more useful for the business. If you have a lot of capable people simply punching in numbers then now is the time.

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation projectThe driver for the majority of finance transformation projects is a need to update the tech that underlies the day-to-day work of the department. In many cases, this is simply because the organisation has grown and is holding much more data, handling a lot more transactions or needs greater capability than they get from their current system. This is not a slight on smaller systems, far from it. Accounting systems are designed with the end user in mind and whilst entry-level offerings may be perfect for SMEs they start to creak as the business gets larger. Any organisation should be using a system designed to match their size and complexity and if you get the choice right, then there are plenty of benefits that will naturally flow. Bigger systems are designed to handle a lot more data and many more transactions per second. They are set up with integration in mind and the best have great automation options. This means that your data is stable and manual processing can be kept to a minimum. The benets of tech for the developing nance teamSME’s are invariably single-entity businesses meaning that smaller systems aren’t set up expecting to have to deal with consolidation. You can do it of course using extensions, programming and a raft of spreadsheets but that doesn’t mean you should do it this way. A system that is designed for a larger company will have much better reporting options, will handle consolidation as a matter of course and will require fewer third-party applications to get everyday work done. More capable systems will also make light work of foreign currency transactions and inter-company sales will be simplicity itself. Let’s not forget security here. Finance is the heartbeat of any organisation and a data breach doesn’t bear thinking about. Better, newer systems mean better, newer security and in the cybersecurity world of today, you can never be too careful.6

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation projectStart with where you mean to get toSo how do you kick off? It may be tempting to get on the phone and arrange some demos but this would be a mistake and you probably won’t get far with most good software providers.The very first question you need to ask yourself is what life looks like in the future.• What problems are you seeking to solve?• What things would you like to be able to do that you can’t do now?• How does your team look?• What services are you providing to the business that you can’t do now, either because you don't have the capability or the time?It’s worth writing these down or trying to explain them to someone else. You’ll find that expressing the issues you have out loud helps to clarify your thinking and gives you a much better insight into what you are really looking for.When you do call your favoured software provider, you’ll be able to explain what you are looking for and get them to show you how they would help.When Sage 200 Extra Online was withdrawn, it was the perfect opportunity for Robert McCluskey, Financial Controller at The Spa Hotel in Tunbridge Wells, to implement new accounting software that would offer advanced financial analysis, reduce the time spent on manual tasks, and gain a competitive advantage for this independent hotel. He chose Aqilla’s Cloud-based accounting software to help achieve these strategic goals and get streamlined, accurate accounting and access to cross-company data. Robert explained some of the benefits he’s seen: Summing up, Robert says, Robert McCluskey Financial Controller at The Spa Hotel in Tunbridge Wells.“The daily banking process used to take two and a half hours with Sage. With Aqilla, it takes less than an hour. The bank reconciliation process at month end that used to take three or four days now takes me less than half a day.”“Our accounting needs are basic; bank rec, general ledger and purchase ledger. Mainly, I want to get large volumes of data in and out of the system, fast. The level of analysis we can get from Aqilla and our ability to combine data from various sources gives us a real advantage. I’ve got big system analytics from a fast and light mid-range system. It doesn’t matter if it’s 10 or 100 lines, I push a button on the toolbar, and the data is in.”7

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation projectTalk is cheapWe can’t overemphasise the importance of communication in projects. Seriously, never.Early, clear and effective communication can head off problems before they ever arise and ensure that the whole organisation is invested in the success of the project.If you have a bigger team then it is worth putting someone in charge of communications for the project, if you have a smaller one then put something in your diary to make sure you have regular catch-ups with the main stakeholders and publish a monthly/weekly bulletin of the latest advances for a wider audience.Communication is a really odd thing. It costs nothing to send out an email to tell people what is going on but the issues that could avert are legion.Make sure though that you have a two-way street here. It is really important that people can feedback any thoughts they may have, ideas for new developments or potential problems they can see ahead. Your no-cost email could end up saving you a fortune.8

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation projectChunk it upAnother temptation at this point is to do everything all at once and nd a solution that is perfect for everything. In real life, this can be a major mistake because trying to change everything all on day one will put way too much pressure on you and your team and could lead to major service disruption if just one aspect of your new system doesn’t work as intended. It is also important to make sure you don’t allow the search for perfection to become the enemy of action. In other words, it is much better to have a system in place that does 90% of what you want perfectly than spend another 12 months looking for the extra 10%. Hint: the perfect system doesn’t exist! The best approach is to chunk your project up into discrete sections and conquer each one as you go along. For example, start with your general ledger. When that is working, switch over your AP processing, then do your AR and credit control followed by payroll and expenses. By chunking your transformation up, you’ll be able to make sure each part is exactly right before moving on to the next piece of the jigsaw. You’ll also be more able to cope with things like holidays, year-end, and audits and your people won’t get burnt out.“I have worked with bigger systems like SAP and, while they serve a wider business purpose, if all you need is a nance system, Aqilla is very impressive in its functionality. It is quick to implement, has a low cost of maintenance and it’s more versatile than you might expect from a mid-range system. We were surprised and extremely impressed when we evaluated Aqilla’s performance capability against other systems.”Andrew Bryant Business Analyst, Outright Games9

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation projectThere’s a saying in the military - “perfect planning prevents poor execution” and this is never more true than when you are looking at a nance transformation project. Don’t wait until day one of the project to start your planning. Instead, begin by adding things to your plan on a day-to-day basis well before you start. In the early days it will be pretty much just a skeleton outline with the big headings on but as you go along, add things in as they occur to you even if they are only questions. You’ll nd that you get a much richer plan and by adding in uncertainties you can have a clear sight of where the risks lie. There are also many tasks you can do before any project kicks off, even if you haven’t chosen your system yet. A good example here would be data cleansing. After all, there is no point in bringing over every supplier you have ever worked with if you haven’t used 30% of them for more than a year. You should also consider what your new chart of accounts looks like and get that eshed out. This is also the time to think about processes rather than systems. List out all of your processes and adopt a zero-based approach. Ask why we do what we do. Keep asking why until you can’t go any further. You’ll probably nd that a lot of the processes are dictated by shortcomings of your current system and won’t need to be replicated in the new world. Or you’ll get the answer “We’ve always done it that way” which is equally valuable as it shows that there are gains to be made on the process side.Before you kick off10

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation project 11Include inclusionAnyone reading this far might be tempted to think that the transformation project should be planned and managed by the CFO or FD alone but nothing could be further from the truth. You should include as many people in your planning and preparation process as you possibly can. In terms of stakeholders you may nd that your internal customers have some very clear thoughts about what they’d like to see in the future or specic problems they think you may be able to help with. Speak also with your suppliers and customers because you could well nd that there are some excellent ways to link up with their systems and automate processes that give both of you benets. And most importantly speak with your people. You may decide that you should keep all of this under wraps and not tell your people what you are thinking for fear of ‘spooking the horses’ but this is a big mistake. We can guarantee that however secretive you feel you are being your people will nd out that you are planning a project and in the absence of information will make up their own theories about what is going on. It’s also important to remember that your people will have much more experience at the coal face and will be able to give you real practical insight into the day-to-day problems they face and how any new system or process should look. You can use the consultation phase as a way of assessing who you want to be on the project team and who shows the most aptitude and enthusiasm for the new project.

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation projectThe resource conundrumThis leads us to one of the stickiest problems that face any transformation project - resources. There’s a project management ‘golden triangle’ theory which says you can have it good, quick or cheap but you can’t have all three. In essence, if you want it quick then you’ll have to spend more money or compromise on quality. If you want it cheap then it is going to take longer or be of poorer quality. And if you want the best possible system then you will need to spend cash and take your time. This means that you need to make sure you have adequate time or money and you have to build the right project team. If you are in a large organisation you may have a Project Management Ofce (PMO) who will be able to provide project management expertise. If you are in a smaller business then you may well end up doing it all within the department. If this sounds like it is going to take your people away from doing their day-to-day work then you are right. You have the option here of choosing a few people to work full-time on the transformation or getting more people involved but on a part-time basis or on specic sections. You may want to bring in some temporary staff to backll roles so that your people who already understand the company can work on the project. You also have the option of bringing in outside project management expertise to add skills and experience if you or your people haven’t done anything like this before. It may be expensive but in the nal analysis, it will be worth it.“Implementing Aqilla is a relatively straightforward process. I knew when I saw it that I could do most of the work myself. With Aqilla, you are simply adjusting the conguration, there isn’t any coding involved and you don’t need extensive project planning or expensive implementation experts. We put it in over six weeks.”Andrew Bryant Business Analyst, Outright Games12

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation project 13Use your software providerIn the olden days, a software provider was just that. They provided software and little else. To them, selling the software was their business and the success or otherwise of the project was secondary. Sadly there are still plenty of companies out there like that so it pays to be careful about who you choose. A really good provider will dedicate project management resources to you from their side which means that you have someone who has taken time to understand your business and knows where your project is at and what issues you are trying to solve. The strong advice here is that if this resource is provided anyway then make sure you use them and don’t confine your questions to just system queries. Remember that whilst this implementation is the only one you are likely to have done, they do this all the time so they have vast experience of their system in different settings. This means that they may well have seen another organisation in a completely different sector solve a problem in a way that would work perfectly for you.“I’ve installed many systems over the years and this was one of the easiest to set up, verify the data, and we were o and running. The advice we got up front was excellent and Aqilla’s Excel add-in made it very straightforward. It’s a very powerful tool.”Jonny Evans Group CFO, AEI Group

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation projectOn the dayWe have some bad news for you here. The day you switch your system on won’t go without a hitch. If this sounds unduly alarmist then don’t worry, we’re not talking about massive system crashes and outages! You’ll nd there will be lots of little issues that don’t amount to a major problem but that need solving. For example, Sandra has forgotten her password (again), David in sales can’t log on using his phone because he has mobile data switched off and your first report has come out with the wrong font because you forgot to put it on your ‘to-do’ list. Don’t worry. There are always snags and as long as everybody knows who to contact to put them right then they won’t amount to anything. Just keep your sense of humour and everything will be fine. While we are on the subject of going live, please make sure your team are all working and your project manager isn’t on leave. There needs to be a definite embargo on holiday booking on go-live day!14

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation projectThink you’re done? Think again!So you’ve got your general ledger in and it’s working ne. There were fewer issues than you expected and you are breathing a sigh of relief. Time to relax? Not at all. Some of the biggest wins in a project come after the transformation is nished. Firstly write up a ‘lessons learned’ document. What went well? What could have been better? What would you do differently in the future? It’s always worth making contemporaneous notes as you go along and then writing them up later because you will forget them otherwise. The lessons learned document is incredibly useful when you are looking at other projects because the process of project management, the human interactions and the main headings are all the same whatever you are doing. So when something else comes along you have a go-to guide. It is also important to remember that nance transformation today isn’t a once in 20-years thing. The best organisations have a continuous improvement process and for an experienced project manager like yourself, it is now time to start thinking about your next improvement.15

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation project16Integrating your systems and reporting with AqillaAqilla is a Postmodern ERP solution, which means it has been created to be one part of your organisation’s operations. The philosophical heart of this approach is to enable organisations to select the systems that best t their needs so that you are able to choose the best-t CRM, HR, Supply-Chain and Finance systems that all work together. How do the systems work together? Systems like Aqilla use APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to communicate with each other. APIs work as a translator between the systems, ensuring that the data being sent and received is correctly automated. For example, one organisation used their Microsoft CRM to manage their contracts and renewals. Aqilla were able to create a communication link between the two systems, ensuring that whenever a renewal was due, an invoice would be automatically created in Aqilla. The automation of the process saved time for the client, whilst ensuring that the process was less subject to human error. Aqilla will work alongside any application that utilises an API, included but not limited to: • CRM, such as Salesforce • HR Systems • Specialist Product and Supply Systems • Specialist Warehousing and Inventory Systems Plus any other industry-specic systems with API integration. Excel integration We understand that Excel spreadsheets are an essential tool for many accounting departments across the world. When you elect to ‘export’ data to a CSV or native Excel spreadsheet, the data is historic. Out-of-date data can become a liability whilst decisions are being made; wouldn’t it be better to ensure you are always working with live data? Aqilla’s own Excel Add-in feature means that you won’t need to fundamentally change the way your department works. With the Excel Add-in installed – an authorised user can: • Log on to Aqilla via MS Excel• Edit existing reference data • Create new reference data • Delete existing reference data • Upload new documents • Manage budget data • Make account and ledger enquiries • Troubleshoot Add-in issues • Analyse live data • Import transactional data “Aqilla’s Excel integraon is much beer than that of FinancialForce or NetSuite.We use Microso Excel for everything across the business; posng journals, the balance sheet, reporng and everything which supports month end. It makes it so much easier when the process with Excel is straighorward.” CFO, Argonaut Capital

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation projectWhat to do with your people afterYour transformation is complete and suddenly you have a team that is underemployed. What do you do now? One possible answer is to run a redundancy programme but in practice, we nd that this rarely happens. The simple reason is that in so many cases, nance is simply keeping the wheels turning and hasn’t been able to think about the wider business and have the opportunity to add value. So when you have people who aren’t manually adding invoices or using spreadsheets to produce consolidated sales reports there are some real value-add activities that they can be doing. As Daniel Clark, head of technology professional development at BPP noted in a recent ICAEW article.“There’s more of a premium on human skills. It’s great if you know the tools and how they work, but to be a really accomplished nance professional it’s about exercising judgement, professional scepcism, and having communicaon skills. Those are the things that the machines can’t do,” Business partnering has been around for quite a while now and we nd that whilst many nance departments say they’d love to do it and that it would be a massive help to the wider business, they simply haven’t the time. By the same token, data analysis can be a goldmine (of information) for the business, whether it is analysing sales performance, production capability or website hits the information you can provide your fellow heads of department will be invaluable. Reporting using your new system is going to be a doddle as is planning and forecasting. Your new nance department will become the hub for future planning and your business partners will be the delivery mechanism. You’ll be able to deliver initial forecasts, get input from managers, take outline forecasts to the board and build strategy around secure, robust data giving your company a game-changing capability. It is also worth noting that you are likely to have developed project management expertise in your department during the transformation project and that can be used across the business as a kind of ‘PMO for hire’. Of course, this all comes back to your planning process. You can now shape your nance department in the way you dreamed it would be at the start of your transformation project.17

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation projectConclusion; It’s not rocket scienceWhen you look at the topic of nance transformation it may seem complicated and for many nance leaders it can be very daunting but it doesn’t have to be. The good news is that today's systems are designed from a UX perspective and good providers are very much incentivised to deliver successful projects rather than simply sell subscriptions. Although taking a ‘big bang’ approach and doing everything all at once is a major undertaking, chunking it up and tacking bite-sized mini-projects one at a time makes it manageable. Involving your whole team (and organisation) can help ease the burden meaning that you don't have to carry the load on just your shoulders. Bringing in extra resources from outside can be a big help and leaning on the experience and skills of your software provider will prove invaluable. So whilst you may be a new FD or a CFO who has never managed a transformation programme before, you shouldn’t be discouraged, there’s lots of help out there. Keep your eyes on the prize and always focus on the endpoint where you and your team are adding even more value to your organisation.18

Brought to you by: In collaboration with:How to lead an awesome nance transformation projectAbout usThe benets Aqilla provides:• Software that’s designed for Cloud,meaning access to your accounting anytime,anywhere, on any device• Efcient and easy to use - perfect foradapting to hybrid or even fully-remoteworking• Powerful platform with real-time dataintegration• Set up 5 users in just 5 days• Subscription-based meaning no moreunnecessary maintenance fees, giving youvalue-for-money whilst offering tailoredsolutions for your needsAccess your business accounting any time, any place, from any device with our smart and affordable Cloud-based ERP solution with Aqilla. For the latest business, accounting and technology news, updates and tips follow us on social media: @aqillauk Aqilla is a Cloud-based ERP solution for mid-market organisations. Simple, efcient and easy to use, our software brings together the nancial elements of your organisation under one umbrella, helping you streamline your business accounting operations and make better business decisions. A single, powerful platform, our fully scalable and adaptable software means that you can set up your entire business accounting system in as little as ve days – reducing costs and increasing productivity, so you can invest more time on the important stuff.• Friendly and helpful customer service anda dedicated account manager to help youat every stage of your Cloud journey• Multi-lingual, multi-company and multi-currency, means you can effortlesslymanage your nances wherever yourbusiness operates• Innovation is at the heart of what we do, soour software is always up-to-date with thelatest tech: AI, automation and even openbanking facilities19Please visit our website: www.aqilla.com

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