Finance teams fail to realize the full value of shared services: Gartner Survey

Fifty-one percent of shared-service users in finance departments either do not accept or are indifferent to the benefits of these services, according to a recent survey by Gartner.

This survey of 1,500 employees and 50 shared-service leaders shows that this lack of commitment to shared services correlates strongly with several costly outcomes for businesses, such as 29 percent more service disruptions, 19 percent more customer complaints, and implementation delays being five times more likely.

“CFOs and finance leaders must get better value from shared services and accept that their commitment is vital to delivering on cost optimization goals that often are part of a shared-service strategy,” said Sanjay Champaneri, director at Gartner. “Resistance or indifference to shared-service initiatives among finance end users or ‘customers’ is highly correlated with delays, service disruptions and complaints.”

At a time when 89 percent of shared-service organizations have more work to do and 57 percent have less money to do it with, finance organizations must show commitment to shared services to derive maximum value from them and fulfill cost optimization priorities. Notably, resistance to shared services is highest during the critical adoption phase.

“A smooth adoption phase is critical to delivering ‘quick wins’ with shared services, yet at this point we find that even generally committed customers can become resistant,” said Mr. Champaneri. “The most powerful objections to shared services, felt by 58 percent of customers, are those relating to harm from adoption: loss of jobs, loss of departmental control over key processes or loss of information. Finance leaders have a vital role to play in helping shared services address these concerns and build commitment among customers.”