CIMA E1 Syllabus D. Shape And Structure Of The Finance Function - Shared Service Centres - Notes ^{9 / 9}

SSC

Shared service centres have become a well established model for organisations to drive efficiencies, improve compliance and controls and enable insight into the business. A company's main headquarters managing the core functions of finance, IT, customer service, and HR for the entire organization is an example of a shared service centre.

Shared service centres might prefer consistency of processing policy, but it is not essential.

The segregated structure of the finance function has been caused by shared service centres.

Benefits of a SSC

• Economics of scale

• Reduction in cost

• Better quality service

• Allows for standardisation

• Encourages consistency of treatment

• Headcount reductions will result in cost savings

• Opportunity to consolidate systems

Risks of a SSC

• A SSC is more likely to have a negative impact on staff morale and will cause issues for system integration

• No tailored responses

• Does not address the complexities that exist in multinational organisations

• The migration of diverse systems takes time and is complicated

• The basic accounting work may become more boring due to the higher volume of work