Interim CFO Installs Controlling Structures and Ensures Cost Transparency at a Leading European Software and IT Services Company

The Client 

This Boyden client is part of a global group providing tax advisory services. The company's business is the development and operation of IT solutions for these professional services.

The Challenge 

Poor information for a realistic assessment of the feasibility of two major projects

For several years, the software development team had been working on two projects to redevelop two important software modules. Both had been set up to enable customers to use AI and digitization in the future.

However, both projects were significantly behind schedule and over budget. It was unclear when and at what cost the software could be delivered.

Providing transparency by developing structures and implementation of control measures

As a means of creating clarity regarding the actual situation and the solutions required, an interim manager was brought in as interim CFO to establish the transparency needed for the costs incurred and forecast, and to develop a roadmap of milestones with the corresponding software development budgets.

To date, the company has had neither a controlling department nor ongoing cost control at the project level. Therefore, the fundamentals of controlling first had to be established and the service providers previously involved and the costs incurred had to be identified.

Lack in project responsibility and insufficient communication between project team members in the group and subsidiary

The biggest obstacle was the unclear project ownership:

• The project managers were not based at the subsidiary where the projects were set up and carried out, but were located in the parent company. Decisions were made without the management of the IT subsidiary being involved.
• Another difficulty arose from the fact that hierarchy-oriented tax accountants without the requisite IT knowledge from the parent company's management board were the ones commissioning the project, while the IT subsidiary was staffed with software specialists whose mindsets were rooted in agile software development. This situation presented obstacles in terms of content and communication that significantly impeded the project's success.
• Traditionally established communication pathways prevented a direct exchange between software developers and the future users, the in-house users of the product. Rather, internal account managers were sandwiched in between, who had little insight into the current market in terms of technological development and with regard to current requirements and the further development of procedures.

The Solution

Successful development of controlling structures and creation of transparency regarding the status quo of projects

The experienced interim CFO successfully set up a controlling team of three employees within just under three months. 

He was able to achieve the following milestones in gaining transparency:

• Comprehensive manual research of the project-relevant accumulated invoices and the corresponding service providers
• Development of a monthly project reporting system with actual and forecast figures for the board and project steering committee
• Comparison of the data obtained with the product cost accounting
• Introduction of a performance and invoice verification system for development services

The Results 

Reliable, insightful and flexible contact persons for the board of directors

Within a few months, the interim CFO had established a well-functioning controlling team to provide the management board with key parameters for cost control and planning:

• monthly reporting
• ad hoc analyses
• coordination of the budgeting process within the group

Definition of the steps required to sustainably secure and further develop the controlling function

The interim CFO implemented the following measures to develop and further professionalize the controlling department:

• Governance for cost management and service procurement
• Selection and introduction of COGNOS and LucaNet as IT systems for controlling, networking with JIRA and AIRFOCUS for expense tracking and roadmap planning

The data collected for cost transparency now forms the basis for the board's decisions on the pursuit and priorities of software development projects and the optimization of the service provider portfolio.

In addition, the data is incorporated into the product business case of the entire group and provides valuable basic information for the pricing of software products. The cost transparency that was gained made it possible to prioritize development in relation to the upcoming sales conference for the entire group. The newly established system of project controlling was immediately applied to projects that had recently been started, such as AI/LLP models, functional extensions for the international market, and OCR/data capture.

The Client Voice

In a very short time, the external perspective and hands-on mentality of an experienced interim expert in his field not only provided reliable data on ongoing projects, but also brought about long-term changes for the future development of products and market development at the group level.

After six months, the interim CFO was ready to hand over the established controlling structures.

Looking for experienced interim leaders to drive transformation and ensure business success? Contact Dirk Niederberghaus, Managing Partner at Boyden Interim Management, to explore tailored solutions for your organization.