- Case study
Command over controls
Successful growth led to better risk management
A global consumer packaged goods company with a presence in 80 countries
A series of mergers and acquisitions meant the company’s risk profile had changed. The company needed to update its internal controls — and it saw an opportunity for a broader initiative in finance that would deliver what it wanted.
We redesigned the global operating model for internal controls and set up a global controls hub (GCH) in just eight months. We created a comprehensive standardized and integrated control framework, including digital technology, to cover financial, operational, and compliance risks.
A best-in-class risk management and control function enabling its business teams to identify risks and resolve them in real time. Reduced auditing effort, greater visibility of internal controls, enhanced control automation, and reduced costs by up to 50%.
Challenge
Following a series of mergers and acquisitions, this consumer goods major needed to realign its global internal controls environment to its changed risk profile. It faced a number of challenges, including:
The firm saw a greater opportunity here. By taking a broader initiative in finance, it could resolve its fragmented internal controls environment. It could also get an integrated, standardized controls framework that improved risk coverage and reduced compliance costs. That called for a new operating model, with process automation for better governance and transparency.
Solution
Genpact worked with the company to develop a customized roadmap for the solution design and migration methodology. The aim was to gradually consolidate key F&A functions into a single shared service, and create a template for future consolidation. To make the center operational, we established it in a building where we were already running operations for several global clients, which ensured that we would develop an even closer partnership. Our knowledge of the local market and talent also helped us to quickly recruit the people we needed to run the center.
Genpact designed, transformed, and ran a GCH to strengthen compliance and reduce overall costs. A center of excellence (CoE) applied Genpact’s Lean DigitalSM methodology to get the most out of the solution. Lean DigitalSM focuses on end-users’ needs with design thinking, digital technologies, and Lean principles underpinned by domain expertise. This unique approach means clients can respond to changes in business requirements through incremental and iterative sprints and feedback loops.
Genpact and the client established the GCH in just eight months. The project involved:
The integrated controls framework, controls self-assessment, and continuous controls monitoring solutions were among over 150 unique design deliverables that Genpact’s 20-member design team and 50 end users co-developed. The solution helped the company exceed SOX compliance and provide better coverage of all financial, operational, and compliance risks (see Figure 1).
We applied digital tools and analytics to incorporate surveys and remediation tracking. With well-defined key performance indicators and service level agreements, the management team also had real-time visibility into the impact of its GCH activities.
We made sure stakeholders were fully engaged in the design of the CoE. It was critical have buy-in from relevant leadership and operational teams during this transformation because of the sensitive nature of risk management. Our change management initiatives introduced the concept and sought support from stakeholders. The goal was to make the GCH’s impact transparent and to ensure that it aligned with corporate objectives. We organized training sessions on new processes and technologies so that everyone, including the company’s outsourcing partners, understood management’s vision.
Impact
The GCH helped the client build robust internal controls so business teams could identify risks and act to resolve them in real time. Here’s what else the company got in this initial phase: