Technology Transformation
PwC partnered with Beazley, a FTSE 100-listed global specialty insurer, to support the next stage of its finance modernisation journey. The programme created a more connected, automated and data-led finance function, improving planning, reporting, controls and operational efficiency while supporting Beazley’s continued international growth.
Building on Beazley’s significant growth and global market prominence, the programme set out to strengthen the scalability of its finance operations and enable faster, more confident decision-making. The objective was to modernise core finance processes while improving the reliability, granularity and accessibility of financial insight.
PwC worked with Beazley across financial planning and analysis, Procure-to-Pay, Record-to-Report, analytics and controls, as well as the business logic supporting premium, reinsurance and claims processes. The ambition was to create a proactive and future-proof finance framework that could evolve with the business and deliver benefits iteratively.
Recognising the long-term nature of the programme, PwC adopted an unconventional FP&A-first approach. Workday Adaptive was deployed before the broader Workday ERP transformation, allowing Beazley to realise early benefits, build confidence in the programme and use practical learning from planning to inform later ERP design. This approach helped sustain momentum and has since become an important blueprint for other complex finance transformations.
The programme then modernised transactional finance processes around Workday ERP. Procure-to-Pay and Record-to-Report processes were redesigned with stronger controls, clearer exception handling and more consistent data flows. OCR and email ingestion were introduced to improve invoice processing, while PwC also helped codify and automate the business logic for premium, reinsurance and claims activities. This created greater consistency across upstream and downstream processes and improved confidence in financial reporting.
PwC and Beazley delivered the transformation through a collaborative “one team” model across the UK, US and India. Fortnightly show-and-tell sessions and quarterly delivery milestones helped maintain pace, transparency and engagement. PwC’s BXT workshops brought together business, experience and technology perspectives to co-create plans, clarify ownership and support adoption across different roles and locations. “Winning Teams” sessions helped Beazley colleagues shape the future vision, while interactive change activities, including quizzes, polls, escape rooms and game-show formats, made the transformation engaging and memorable.
More than one million upstream transactions are now processed in a more automated way each month, along with a reduction in rebooked or reclassified journal entries. ProcuretoPay processes have been strengthened, with continued increase in accuracy of invoices captured via OCR. Reporting capabilities have expanded significantly, with a threefold increase in data dimensions to support analysis and decisionmaking.
Beyond the quantified benefits, the transformation has changed how Beazley’s finance teams work. Automation, embedded controls and improved analytics have created 144 days of annual capacity, removed 68 spreadsheets and end-user solutions, and enabled finance colleagues to focus more time on analysis, strategic insight and business partnering. Connected planning and finance processes now give the business more timely, credible and granular information, helping teams model initiatives, assess market changes and make decisions with greater confidence.
The programme has strengthened Beazley’s foundations for future growth and created a scalable, insight-led finance platform. For PwC, it has demonstrated the value of delivering FP&A first, then using that momentum to support ERP transformation, business logic automation and embedded analytics across a complex global organisation.
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