While there are obvious advantages to harmonising certain steps
in the statutory reporting process through SSCs, there are also
many questions that CFOs should ask, writes Pavlo Boyko.
"Do more with less" is a common demand of senior
business leaders these days, and finance leaders are no exception.
Establishing or expanding the finance shared service centre (SSC)
is a common solution for CFOs to examine.
A recent SSON (Shared Service & Outsourcing Network) study shows that vast the majority - 72% -
list control, standardisation and optimisation as key benefits
driving the SSC model. How applicable however, are these to
'last mile' statutory reporting?
To paraphrase a well-known adage: you cannot standardise what
you don't control. What is the level of control finance can
exercise over a company's choice of countries to expand to,
given industry pressure? Or over local governments introducing a
new format of reporting with short notice?
