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How to Make the General Ledger Global Process More Effective in the Global Business Services (GBS): Tips and Tricks

Krzysztof Herdzik

Krzysztof Herdzik

GBS/SSC/BPO Practicioner

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Making the General Ledger process global can seem like a daunting task. There are so many things to consider – process maturity, automation, quality control, and more. But don’t worry, we’re here to help!

In this blog post, we will discuss some tips and tricks that will make the process more effective and less stressful for everyone involved. Follow these guidelines and you’ll be on your way to a successful global process implementation!

General Ledger process maturity levels

Before you can make the process global, you need to assess your organization’s maturity level with respect to General Ledger. There are four levels of process maturity:

  • manual
  • semi-automated
  • automated
  • integrated.

The higher the maturity level, the more likely an organization is to be successful with a global process. That’s because a higher maturity level indicates that the organization has process automation, quality control measures, and other necessary components in place.

If your organization is not yet at the automated or integrated level, don’t worry – there is still hope! You can raise the maturity level by implementing process automation and/or quality control measures. The important thing is to start somewhere and make progress towards the goal of a global process.

Automation

Once you’ve assessed your maturity level, it’s time to think about automation. Automating the General Ledger process can save time and money for both the organization and its stakeholders. It also helps ensure consistency and quality across geographies.

There are two types of process automation that can be implemented:

– process automation (e.g., workflow management software)

– rule automation (e.g., rules engines).

The first step in automating the process is to identify which activities should be automated and what type of automation will work best for each activity. For example, if your process involves multiple approvals, it may make sense to use a workflow management system for process automation. On the other hand, if there are rules that need to be applied consistently across geographies but with some geographical variances in application (for example due to language differences), then rule automation would be more appropriate.

Once you’ve identified which activities should be automated and what type of automation they will use, it’s time to implement process/rule automation. To do this, you’ll need process experts from each country who can provide input on how the process works in their geography as well as technology experts who understand how process/rule automation systems work (e.g., programmers).

Once implementation is complete, process automation will help ensure consistency and quality across geographies. It also saves time for process experts by automating routine tasks that take up a lot of their time (e.g., approving invoices).

Quality control measures

The next step in making your process global is to put quality control measures in place. Quality control is important for two reasons: it ensures that the process is being followed correctly and that the data produced by the process is accurate. Without quality control measures, an organization runs the risk of producing inaccurate data – which can lead to wrong decisions and financial losses.

There are a number of quality control measures that can be implemented, such as:

– process audits

– process reviews

– quality gates.

Process audits are a way to ensure that the process is being followed correctly. They can be done on a regular basis (e.g., monthly, quarterly) or after major changes to the process have been made. Process reviews are a way to assess how well the process is working and identify areas for improvement. Quality gates are checkpoints throughout the process where the data is checked to ensure that it meets certain quality standards.

Quality control measures help ensure that the process is being followed correctly and that the data produced by the process is accurate. Without quality control measures, an organization runs the risk of producing inaccurate data – which can lead to wrong decisions and financial losses.

When implementing process/rule automation, it’s important to implement quality control measures as well. This will ensure that process automation doesn’t lead to inaccurate data being produced by the process (e.g., if invoices are approved without being reviewed by an accountant).

By implementing process and rule automation along with quality control measures, an organization can make the process global and ensure that data is accurate. This will help improve the efficiency of the process and reduce the risk of financial losses due to inaccurate data.

General ledger process data collection

General ledger process KPIs can be measured by leveraging automated tools that collect data from various systems used in the General Ledger process. The collected data is then monitored to determine process improvement opportunities.

Use tools to improve General Ledger process

To improve process maturity, automation and quality in the General Ledger process, consider the following tips:

– Use process mining tools to identify process improvement opportunities

– Automate data collection from key systems used in the process

– Leverage dashboard reporting to get at a high-level view of process performance

If you follow these tips, you can make your general ledger process more effective and efficient. I believe the article will inspire you to revise your General Ledger process in your organization to achieve more speed, efficiency and quality.

 

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