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Streamlining T&E Accounting Processes Through Consulting and Talent Acquisition

  • katherineburnswrit
  • Nov 30, 2023
  • 3 min read

Aston Carter










Results at a Glance

  • Completed the travel and expense implementation of Concur in the U.S. and U.K. within a tight three-month timeline

  • On target to finish the expansion of Concur in Europe and South America by the end of September 2023

  • Saved our client countless hours by streamlining their payables and travel and expense report processing, ensuring travel and expense compliance

Focus Areas

  • Outlined goals and established a timeline to implement Concur for global automated travel and expense report processing

  • Hired a specialized project manager with technical knowledge of Concur and expertise in travel and expense accounting

Business Challenge

Plan and Implement New T&E Process Adoption Under Challenging Conditions

Our client is a leading global chemical product supplier that specializes in manufacturing environmentally friendly alternatives for raw materials — across a variety of products and a variety of industries, from the construction industry to the beauty industry.

The accounts payable team was using an outdated SAP system for their travel and expense process, which had proven inefficient for a corporation with around 1,500 employees. Recognizing the need for improvement, the company decided to implement Concur as their global travel and expense tool to work in conjunction with their SAP enterprise resourcing software (ERP).

However, due to the client’s limited IT resources and a lack of staff expertise with Concur, they recognized the importance of hiring a functional project manager with proficiency in both accounting and technical aspects to lead this project. This individual would need the skills to complete implementation within a three-month timeline, and as a global organization, they would ultimately need to train employees across four continents, which would add an extra layer of complexity given that employees were spread across different time zones and used a variety of currencies.

Drawing on our established relationship with the client as a trusted staffing partner, the client’s treasurer approached Aston Carter to help secure a project manager who could meet these challenges and ensure the successful implementation of Concur.


Our Solution

Consulted and Established a Project Roadmap and Placed Highly Qualified Talent

Through collaboration with our client, we determined the timelines and deliverables required to form a clear roadmap for the project, which enabled us to set expectations when onboarding the project manager.

During the planning stage, we consulted with the client to establish clear goals:

  1. Integrate both U.S. and U.K. team members by the end of 2022.

  2. Formalize standardized operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure users adapt to the new system.

  3. Expand use of the system to employees across Europe and South America by September 2023.

  4. Support training for new and existing users.

To ensure the implementation of Concur was completed on time, we leveraged our extensive talent networks to source a highly knowledgeable project manager with deep expertise in Concur and travel and expense accounting. The project manager would be responsible for effectively assessing the project plan, executing the tasks to complete the project and creating SOPs for the travel and expense process to ensure a streamlined and efficient project flow, enhancing productivity and overall integration success within the timeline provided.


Results

Streamlined T&E Processes to Support Overarching Business Efficiencies

Within a tight three-month timeline, the project manager successfully implemented the client’s new travel and expense process in the U.S. and U.K. Furthermore, the project manager complemented the integration of Concur by crafting detailed SOPs to get users up to speed.

By working across different time zones, navigating language barriers and managing foreign currencies, the project manager is on track to expand operations in Europe and South America by the end of September 2023.

The implementation of Concur has yielded substantial time savings for the organization by efficiently streamlining payables and reporting processes, allowing the Human Resources department to uphold strict compliance with travel and expense policies while driving operational efficiencies across the board.



*Written by Katherine Burns

 
 
 

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