Change and Transformation in the Private Sector
BAE Systems’ finance function was being held back by a legacy of underinvestment.
Systems, tools, processes and data were fragmented and lacked consistency, leading to inefficiencies. Team members were having to work harder to do their jobs, with little time for meaningful forecasting, business partnering or delivering business value.
The new CFO saw the potential to transform the function by:
- modernising its structure, operations, and data and analytics capabilities
- aligning senior stakeholders in a federated organisation around a common vision and purpose
He asked KPMG to help him achieve this. As lockdowns came and went, we worked with him, his senior team and BAE’ Systems’ top executives to change the function beyond recognition.
We spoke with 50 senior executives, to understand what was going well and gather suggestions for change. We delivered the roadmap for a new structure and operating model, underpinned by an open culture, standardised processes, centralised capabilities, and sophisticated data and analytics systems.
The result isn’t just better performance; the finance function is now a high-value, strategic partner to the business.
Reporting and accounting have been radically streamlined. Collaboration and innovation are enhanced, with the function operating as ‘One Finance’. Best practice is embedded, and job satisfaction has increased.
Meanwhile, the team can provide recommendations to other parts of the organisation, while optimising resource allocation and skills acquisition.
Our programme was the first enterprise-wide, functional transformation BAE had undertaken. Its success has made it a reference point throughout the organisation, inspiring other functions to follow suit.
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