What exactly is Shared Services and how best to ensure success?

Implications: This article aims to provide some useful guidance on some of the best practices in shared services.  It aims to cover some of the more significant areas that finance executives might want to consider when embarking on, or moving further down the path of, shared services.  

"Shared services" has often been misunderstood and sometimes poorly implemented.  The scope has also often been very limited, which has limited the value that can accrue to an organization from successful Shared Services and Technology implementations. 

This Article defines shared services and talks about the possibilities and some of the best practices to follow to ensure success.

Analysis:

The "cost" and "value" from back office and support services is often discussed within companies and other enterprises. This also regularly comes with a "them and us" argument between "the Business" and "Corporate" or "Overhead Cost Centres".

There can be a great deal of attention on lack of service one day and then the cost of these same service functions the next. Sometimes this is fair and sometimes this is used as a smoke screen to distract attention from accountability for poor business performance.

Example comments could include:

"I spend too much time on administration and not enough time meeting with customers"

"Why does Finance cost so much? If we could save money spend on Finance this would release more to spend on R&D and marketing."

"Why is it so difficult to get an invoice paid around here?

"Why can't I see some consolidated customer and profitability reports across the globe to identify who our key customers are?

This article aims to provide some useful guidance on some of the best practices in shared services. Shared services implementations are never easy and involve real leadership, effective program and change management, adequate investment and use of best practice implementation techniques. The Article also aims to define exactly what shared services is, and what it is not, and how best to go about rolling out shared services to achieve the triple benefit of reduced costs, improved service levels and a more efficient control environment - a win-win-win for today's CFO.