After operating for nearly a decade, the client was still using accounting software designed for small businesses in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, with Microsoft Excel™ and Microsoft Word™ used to analyze and present financial results. As the company grew, this limited its ability to share data easily and required extra manual work for its outsourced accounting and procurement teams.
As the focus of the client’s activities shifted to California, the need to move from International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the United States became essential. This change would also be needed to prepare for and execute an anticipated US IPO.
Finally, the need for better insight into supply chains and procurement would also be critical as the client starts construction of a multibillion-dollar facility for lithium mining, refinement, and (potentially) battery production—all powered by renewable geothermal energy.
A late-stage start-up with outmoded software and outsourced processes
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After
Future
Replace aging applications that differed across divisions and subsidiaries
Reduce manual, disparate processes freeing up more resources for advanced analytics
Enable enhanced reporting and make it more widely available across the enterprise
Act with greater speed and agility to capture value in acquisitions
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Company-wide
opportunities
Process hundreds of thousands of transactions per month with greater efficiency
Reduce 10,000+ manual journal entries per period
Decrease >3-week close
Shorten the >3-month annual budgeting cycle
Provide better support for a growing e-commerce business
Control rising finance function costs and derive greater value
Finance
opportunities
Reduce 10,000+ manual journal entries per period
Decrease >3-week close
Shorten the >3-month annual budgeting cycle
Provide better support for a growing e-commerce busines
Control rising finance function costs and derive greater value
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Improve technical capabilities to keep pace with increased hiring needs
Reduce dependence on IT and tech resources for supporting and enabling continuous compliance with more than 800 collective bargaining agreements
Unify and automate workforce administration processes across the enterprise
Eliminate the need for employees to learn new systems and interfaces as they move from recruitment to training to managing benefit
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HR
opportunities
Before
Next
After
With Dynamics 365, the client now has a single cloud-based platform to manage finance functions, including general ledger, accounts payable, fixed and capital asset accounting, project accounting, and reporting. The new platform also integrates with third-party software used for related processes such as payroll and employee travel and expenses.
Along with simplifying workflows, consolidating to a single system has made it easier to track and share data across multiple regions, currencies, and legal entities.
And with additional guidance from our accounting advisory team, the client has made a full transition from IFRS reporting to GAAP as it redomiciles in the US.
Finally, initial deployment of Dynamics 365 procurement applications is streamlining the processes and technology for requisitioning and purchase orders.
A single system for multiple processes, regions, and entities
Developed all the necessary processes to support a single, modernized digital platform serving the entire enterprise
Migrated 290,000 employees from legacy systems to Oracle Cloud
Increased insight-driven decision making across functions, driving performance and growth gains
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Company-wide
success
Decreased balance sheet reconciliations
by 85%
Achieved a consolidated retail and
corporate close within a shortened period
Reduced the types of P&L statements from 100+ to 4
Reduced operations costs across the board
Enhanced availability of data-driven insights that help to capture maximum value during acquisitions
Achieved a consolidated retail and corporate close within a shortened period
Reduced the types of P&L statements from 100+ to 4
Reduced operations costs
across the board
Enhanced availability of data-driven insights that help to capture maximum value during acquisitions
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Finance
successes
HR
successes
Deployed a custom application for union-rule processing enabling a single HCM platform to administer benefits to all employee populations under 800+ complex union agreements
Created a digital-first, digital anywhere experience resulting in higher employee engagement
Reduced new-hire onboarding time
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Reduced new hire onboarding time
Streamlined and improved the process integration of new employees post-acquisition
Integrate processes and technology across the employee lifecycle from recruiting through compensation and performance
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KPMG is continuing to work with the client to add new Dynamics 365 applications for the production of lithium and related products.
To prepare employees and other stakeholders, our team will provide specialized training on new processes enabled by new technology.
The Dynamics 365 transformation may also help the client to reduce its reliance on outside contractors for finance and supply chain duties.
Continue to enhance analytics-driven planning and forecasting
Optimize the supply chain
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Company-wide
vision
Achieve a continuous, virtual accounting close
Achieved a consolidated retail and corporate close within a shortened period
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Finance
vision
HR
vision
Establish a continual feedback-and-improvement loop based on quarterly HR reports from the field and deployment of new capabilities
Migrate payroll, benefits, and absence management to Oracle cloud for 2023
Insource benefits administration
From procurement to production
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After
After
Future
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