Redesigning the operating model The CFO has several clear roles in operating model redesign: • They can measure and balance the risk and return of any changes, to help Shared services and outsourcing: CFOs in the vanguard inform the right approach. of global operational transformation • They are well-placed to identify any areas of the operating model — For the past two decades, companies have used shared services technology, process or otherwise — that are out of sync with the CEO’s and outsourcing to transform their operating model and deliver strategic ambition. increased efficiencies. • The CFO’s vantage point across the entire enterprise means that they can Many organizations, however, have reached a level of maturity in their identify the implications of change in one aspect of the operating model on shared services models that is enabling them to move toward a more another, and help ensure there is harmony across the entire organization. sophisticated and ambitious model. In the past, companies tended to set up shared service centers with a focus on a few specific functional “ CFOs play a critical role in operational transformation areas, with finance often in the vanguard. But, by bringing previously separate shared services together under one ”global business services” projects, joining the steering committee and taking roof, know-how in each functional area can be leveraged and shared ownership of the overall business case, including and the repetition of tasks and processes can be eliminated. the financial and business case for change. CEOs With the right structure in place, this kind of global service model can deliver much greater economies of scale and cost savings than can be often sit on the steering committee as well, taking achieved by having three or four separate functions doing their own a lead role on the overall design principles and the thing. By leading the way in this evolution, finance can deliver a model structural choices of the initial phases. But it is the that is genuinely transformational for the business. CFO who plays the pivotal role of bringing all the Many CFOs have experience in overseeing a shared service for their particular finance domain. But, as leading companies embrace work streams together and confirming that the multifunctional shared services, the trend is often for the head of global design actually ‘works.’” services to report either to the CFO or the COO. The CFO is increasingly at the helm of this major transformation in the way organizations Joost Vreeswijk, EY Operating Model Effectiveness Leader, Europe, structure their businesses. Middle East, India and Africa Partnering for performance Part 5: the CFO and the chief executive officer 23