MFMatthias Frey

Case Study

Accounting Transformation & Shared Services Program

Centralization of key accounting and F&A functions from 18 entities into a newly established Financial Shared Service Center in the UK — including Global Chart of Accounts, ledger structure, closing governance, intercompany, banking, reconciliations and a scalable accounting operating model.

Project Scope

  • Scope: 12 countries / regions: DE, AT, CH, FR, IT, UK, TR, DK, SE, FI, NO and ZA
  • Structure: 18 legal entities
  • Volume: approx. USD 500 million revenue volume
  • Initial structure: approx. 60 local finance FTE in decentralized accounting and F&A structures
  • Target structure: Financial Shared Service Center in the UK with a significantly leaner, centralized accounting operating model
  • Focus: Accounting Operations, AP, AR, P2P, O2C, Banking, Intercompany, Balance Sheet Reconciliations, Closing Calendar, Fast Close, Cash Flow Planning, Balance Sheet Forecasting, Internal Controls and Governance

Initial Situation

The European finance organization had grown historically in a decentralized way. Individual country entities had their own accounting teams, local posting logic, different closing processes and varying responsibilities for recurring F&A activities.

In addition to classic accounting processes such as AP, AR, P2P and O2C, banking, intercompany reconciliations, balance sheet reconciliations, closing support, cash flow planning and local closing requirements were largely handled within the countries.

At the same time, the requirements of the US group headquarters had to be aligned with local accounting, tax and compliance requirements. This required a consistent global account and ledger structure: a Global Chart of Accounts as the group-wide foundation, a General Ledger for US GAAP requirements and Secondary Ledgers for local GAAP requirements.

Complexity

The core challenge was to realign organization, processes, account logic and responsibilities at the same time — without jeopardizing closing capability, operational stability or local compliance.

Particularly complex were:

  • transfer of key local accounting and F&A functions into a central FSSC model
  • establishment of central process areas for AP, AR, P2P, O2C, Banking, Intercompany and Reconciliations
  • implementation of a Global Chart of Accounts as the foundation for consistent posting and reporting logic
  • country-specific mapping of local requirements to global account and ledger structures
  • mapping of US GAAP and local GAAP requirements through General Ledger and Secondary Ledgers
  • ensuring local closing, tax and compliance requirements despite centralization
  • definition of closing calendar, ledger cutoffs, fast-close routines and handover points
  • integration of balance sheet forecasting, cash flow planning, reporting and consolidation
  • stabilization of the new structure during transition, parallel operations and build-up phase

In selected specialist areas, local interfaces remained in place where local expertise or specific market requirements were essential. However, the majority of recurring accounting and F&A activities was transferred into the central target structure.

Implementation

The program was implemented as a redesign of the European accounting operating model. The objective was not only to relocate operational tasks, but to establish a standardized, scalable and controllable F&A structure.

Implementation was structured across several workstreams:

Target Operating Model
Definition of the future structure between local entities, Financial Shared Service Center and US group headquarters. This included roles, responsibilities, escalation paths and handover points.

Process Transition
Transfer of recurring accounting processes into central FSSC process areas, particularly AP, AR, P2P, O2C, Banking, Intercompany and Balance Sheet Reconciliations.

Global Chart of Accounts & Ledger Structure
Implementation and operational use of a Global Chart of Accounts including country-specific mappings, US GAAP requirements in the General Ledger and local GAAP requirements through Secondary Ledgers.

Closing & Control Governance
Establishment of standardized closing structures including closing calendar, ledger cutoffs, fast-close logic, balance sheet reconciliations, control points and clear responsibilities.

Planning & Reporting Interfaces
Connection of the new accounting structure to cash flow planning, balance sheet forecasting, management reporting and consolidation.

Role & Contribution

My focus was on the commercial and organizational steering of the European accounting transformation.

This included:

  • steering the transition of key F&A functions from 18 entities into the UK Shared Service Center
  • contributing to the design of the future accounting operating model
  • aligning local entities, FSSC, business functions and US group headquarters
  • ensuring that local accounting, tax and compliance requirements were reflected in the centralized model
  • supporting the implementation of the Global Chart of Accounts and new ledger structure
  • structuring responsibilities, handover models, governance and control points
  • integrating banking, intercompany, reconciliations, closing, cash flow planning and balance sheet forecasting into the target model
  • stabilizing the new structures during transition, parallel operations and build-up phase

Result & Impact

The program created the foundation for a significantly leaner, more standardized and more controllable European accounting operating model.

Key effects included:

  • centralization of key accounting and F&A processes across 18 legal entities
  • significant reduction of local finance complexity and local duplicate structures
  • establishment of central process ownership for AP, AR, P2P, O2C, Banking, Intercompany and Reconciliations
  • more consistent posting logic through the Global Chart of Accounts and aligned ledger structures
  • more stable closing structures through closing calendar, ledger cutoffs and fast-close governance
  • improved balance sheet transparency through standardized reconciliation and forecasting processes
  • improved governance between local entities, FSSC and US group headquarters
  • stronger foundation for cash flow planning, consolidation, reporting and further automation
  • significantly leaner local finance footprint in the medium term through centralization of recurring accounting activities

The impact was therefore not limited to more efficient processing of recurring activities, but primarily reflected a structural improvement of the European finance organization: clearer responsibilities, better comparability, higher scalability and a more reliable foundation for international steering.

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