Author: Kevin Gough, Customer Succes Manager at Board and Community Captain
Finance teams face increasing pressure to deliver faster closes, sharper forecasts, and deeper insights while managing complex systems like ERP, EPM, RPA tools, and BI platforms. Despite these challenges, many teams still rely on tribal knowledge and spreadsheets. Establishing a Centre of Excellence (CoE) can transform technology investments into long-term value by addressing these gaps.
A CoE addresses key issues by:
- Building institutional knowledge to reduce dependency on individuals.
- Creating ownership of customer application and use case roadmaps.
- Ensuring compliance and continuity as systems evolve.
- Speeding up the adoption of enterprise application.
- Lowering the cost of application ownership.
Transitioning to a well-structured CoE shifts finance from manual and reactive practices to digital and strategic approaches. If your toolset is expanding without a proportional increase in impact and cost-effectiveness, it may be time to reconsider your operational model.
Stay tuned for the next post, where we delve into the specific functions of a CoE and provide insights on designing one for optimal results.
Are you currently leading a Board CoE or a participating member? We encourage you to share your experience in the comments. Pros and cons; tips and tricks - all are welcome!
