Controllers | Finance Leaders | ERPs series

Let’s Discuss the Hurdle of ERPs on our Upcoming Finance Leaders

Don’t you hate it when you face a challenge with uncertainty? You want to be the confident leader you know you can be, yet you are unsure. Controllers and Finance Leaders often experience this when it’s time to look at ERPs.

Here are some common challenges we’ve seen.

1. Side of Desk

We understand how it feels to have so much work already. There’s yet another thing to add to the ‘to dos’ pile. It is natural to resist extra work when time is already in demand and challenging to manage.

2. Risk of Failure

Like you, we are troubled by failure. Controllers and Finance Leaders know business, including statistics and trends. That means they know that being assigned or signing up to lead a project could be a failure.

– 49% of ERP implementations are completed on time.

– 50% of ERP implementations fail during the first attempt.

– 65% of ERP implementation budgets are exceeded due to the need for system customization to enhance usability.

With so many failures, it makes sense to fear leading one. Successful projects require commitment, leadership, and the right partners. It isn’t about the software selection, but it can come down to picking the right implementor.

3. Costs

Many of our Finance Leader employees and clients struggle to spend the organization’s money. It is very challenging for the Finance and Accounting team to ask for money. As the steward of the cash, leading a significant expenditure is extra tricky.

Expectations for a return on investment can seem even higher when we’re spending. And let’s be honest: the costs of an ERP can seem high and overwhelming, too. When negotiating high-priced contracts, it’s easy to forget scale, growth, and benefits.

4. Too Collaborative

We know how hard it is to work across the business when you already have so much on your plate.

Finance Leaders understand that to get the return on investment of an ERP, they’ll need to manage the change and deal with resisters, get the needs of all the teams, use excellent project management to achieve results and work very hard to build a system that meets the needs of the whole business.

It is an opportunity to learn and walk in the shoes of other departments and see things from the executive and strategic angle, but that can be scary.

5. Silo Thinking

The job of a Controller is hard. As a result, many struggle to lift their head and see what’s happening around them in the business. Chasing the information to meet compliance deadlines can be exhausting.

Responding to ad hoc asks from the company can be confusing and overwhelming. It all takes an incredible amount of time. We double-check our accuracy, and we are responsive and timely.

There’s not always an opportunity to pause and ask how we could avoid manual efforts. How could we be proactive instead of behind by all the asks? What’s driving the needs and delays?

Sometimes, we need to realize we need an ERP because we need to understand what the business needs and what is missing. We fail to see that with the right technology, we could be a business partner and strategic partner.

6. Multiple Sources of Truth

Many of our clients struggle with multiple sources of truth. The numbers reported by Accounting and Finance do not align with operations. Decisions are made based on the numbers and information the business and operations have access to—the numbers and metrics that they understand and believe. Meanwhile, the banks, investors, and executives see a different story.

Every once in a while, there’s a reconciliation. It’s often manual, led by accounting, and creates enormous divides. Sadly, Finance Leaders don’t step back to realize this is more than a work project—it’s a symptom of risk and a ceiling to the business’s growth.

It’s hard to accept that finance and accounting could perform better and start adequately supporting the business.

How can we escape these mindsets and experiences and get excited about exploring ERPs? What’s the secret to an ERP journey that is a Client Experience and a Career Milestone?

Let’s chat about that next time!