PSP Assignment

MPP Assignment Two – Stream HB46
Managing Processes, Systems, and

Projects Stage 1
Month End Process

Improvement
Amanda Goddard Student ID: 18905119
September 2011
5,952 words including tables and graphs

but excluding references & appendices
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PSP Assignment
Amanda Goddard 18905119
“Talent and Attitude to deliver the right business solutions whatever it takes.”
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................... 2
1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................. 3
2 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 4
2.1 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................. 4
3 PART 1: ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................ 6
3.1 STRATEGIC CONTEXT ................................................................................................... 6
3.2 OPERATIONAL CONTEXT..................................................................................................10
3.3 SIPOC – FROM TIMESHEETS TO INVOICE............................................................................12
3.4 PROCESS MAPPING – MONTH END PROCESS ........................................................................13
3.5 PROCESS PROFILING – FOUR VS .......................................................................................15
3.6 PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................17
4 PART 2: RECOMMENDATION ...................................................................................... 18
4.1 ACTIONS REQUIRED AND JUSTIFICATION WITH ANALYSIS ........................................................18
4.2 OUTLINE PLAN TO IMPROVE ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE ..................................................20
5 PART 3: IMPLEMENTATION ........................................................................................ 22
5.1 GANTT CHART – PROJECT IMPROVEMENT PLAN .....................................................................22
5.2 FINANCIAL COST ...........................................................................................................23
5.3 JUSTIFICATION AND IMPACT OF RECOMMENDATIONS ..............................................................24
5.4 BUSINESS BENEFITS – CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ...............................................................26
5.5 MEASUREMENT OF PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT...................................................................28
5.6 IMPLICATIONS OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT .....................................................................29
6 REFLECTION ............................................................................................................... 30
6.1 ELECTIVE PATHWAY – MANAGING THE PROJECT BASED ENVIRONMENT .......................................30
6.2 VALUE ADD ..................................................................................................................30
6.3 LEARNING EXPERIENCE ...................................................................................................31
7 REFERENCES............................................................................................................... 32
8 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 34
8.1 APPENDIX A – PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MATURITY MODEL .....................................................34
8.2 APPENDIX B –FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION INTERNAL CUSTOMER SURVEY RESULTS 2010 ...........36
8.3 APPENDIX C – FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION TEAM BALANCED SCORECARD 2011 .......................38
8.4 APPENDIX D – SOLTIUS ORGANISATION CHART ....................................................................38
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PSP Assignment
1 Executive Summary
The report aims to critically evaluate process improvement concepts specific to the
organisational context of Soltius. It describes the process problem and identifies
opportunities to improve service delivery and strategic alignment. Specifically, the
report analyses the process-related problem that the current financial month end
close within Soltius is taking 2 days too long. In resolving this issue, the report
analyses both the strategic and organisational context to show how the issue has
arisen. Based on the analysis, the recommendation is to move from a monthly
process of timesheet report reviews and posting of timesheets to a weekly process.
This report also employs project management techniques using a comprehensive
Gantt chart to manage the steps of the process improvement plan. Due to the nature
of the process problem, the recommendation and implementation is largely based on
continuous process improvement methodologies which relates to achieving
improvements by using small-step improvements, rather than implementing one large
quantum improvement.
Finally this report ends with a reflective statement that includes insights into the
elective pathway ‘Managing the Project- based Environment’ and how this learning
has influenced the outcome of the findings in this report. The reflective statement
also includes the value gained from undertaking the ‘Managing Processes, Systems
and Projects’ course and the appreciation and contribution of systems and processes
that result in better performance within Soltius.
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PSP Assignment
2 Introduction
2.1 Background
Soltius was established in 1996 and today is one of New Zealand’s leading IT
consulting firms with annual turnover exceeding $22 million, and 85+ full time
employees offering an extensive range of IT services to New Zealand and Australian
businesses. The core operations is SAP (ERP) based solutions to New Zealand
based private and public sector organisations. Soltius is New Zealand’s second-
largest provider of ERP consultancy services behind only SAP. The Company is
100% New Zealand owned and the shareholders are the directors and part of
executive management.
My role at Soltius is the Finance and Administration Manager, part of the executive
management team and I have 4 direct reports who look after the Finance,
Administration, HR and IT operations of the business. Whilst my responsibilities are
predominantly finance based and commercial in nature, I am also across any HR and
IT issues both from a process and risk perspective. Please refer to Appendix D
which outlines the Soltius organisation chart.
Following on, as the Manager of the Soltius Finance and Administration team; I have
several financial accountabilities including the month end turnaround, debtors ageing,
credit notes, and more importantly cash flow. The process problem for the purpose
of this report is in relation to inadequate turnaround of month end due to delays in the
timesheet report review process. Currently we are achieving on average a 7 day
close against a target of 5. Based on further analysis and improvement of the
timesheet report review process, (that is, posting time weekly instead of monthly) it is
expected to reduce the month end close by 2 days.
In addition, I have chosen the elective ‘Managing the Project-based Environment’.

Based on contingency theory and contributions from Burn & Stalker (1961), there are
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PSP Assignment
two forms of organisations, the mechanistic form, and the organic form. Soltius is
based on the characteristics of the organic form with a basic flexibility to re-shape the
company to address new competitive problems and uncertainty as they arise.
Furthermore, Archibald (1992) classifies organisations as either:
 Project-driven – core business is providing external customer driven project

based services
 Project dependent - core business is routine, with ‘back-office’ projects
servicing internal customers
Soltius is project-driven within a project-based environment; however the Finance

and Administration team is project-dependent. In reality, Soltius structure is more
complex and takes the form of a matrix-based project environment (Midler, 1995),
that is Soltius is characterised by two-dimensional team lead structure for projects
and functional based activities.
The first sections of this report 3.1 and 3.2 discuss both the strategic and operational
context relating to the process problem and the analysis. This is followed by a
recommendation and implementation plan to improve the process problem and
achieve business benefits as a result.
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PSP Assignment
3 Part 1: Analysis
The process-related problem: The month end close takes on average 7 business
days. By speeding up and improving the timesheet report review process could
reduce the month end close to 5 business days.
Process improvement is important as Rummler & Brache's research (1995) showed

that process account for approximately 80% of all problems while people account for
the remaining 20%.
3.1 Strategic Context
As part of the 2011 Business Plan process Soltius underwent a detailed exercise to
benchmark company performance against a global Professional Services Maturity
Model (refer appendix A for an outline of this model). This model was introduced by
SPI Research in 2008 and provides in-depth information on the best practices,
trends, and technology in the professional services industry. This provided Soltius
comparative analysis into all facets of business performance against best practices
and highlighted the strength and weaknesses to measure the maturity of Soltius as a
professional services organisation. In particular, it provided insight into current
process weaknesses and focus for process improvement in areas such as strategy,
finance and operations, human capital management (HCM), customers, and service
execution.
Figure 3.0 shows both Soltius current state and targeted future position in 5 key
areas of the business. Given the level of improvement and detailed analysis required
in all 5 areas of the business, the scope of this report is limited to the finance and
operations component of the model. In particular, a core process within finance.
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PSP Assignment
Figure 3.0 Soltius Current and Future Strategic Position
Vision, Strategy &

Culture
5
4
3
Client 2 Finance &

Relationships 1 Operations
Human Capital
Service Execution
Management
Current Future
Table 3.0 below sets out what the Soltius business strategy requires the finance
operations process to be able to do.
Table 3.0 Soltius Finance business strategy requirements
Current Target
Finance and 2 3
Operations
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PSP Assignment
Current Target
What does this 5 to 20% margin. PS becoming 20 to 30% margin. PS operates

a profit centre but still immature as a tightly managed P&L.
mean?
finance and operating Standard methods for resource
processes. Investment in ERP mgmt., time & expense mgmt.,
and PSA to provide financial cost control & billing. In depth
visibility. May not have real- knowledge of all costs at the
time visibility or BI. Standard employee, sub-contractor &
Library of Contracts and project level. Processes in place
Statements of Work. for contract management, legal
and pricing decisions.
Objective Optimise processes and systems
Initiative ERP system evaluations
The overriding strategic initiative is to evaluate enterprise resource planning (ERP)

systems with the goal to implementing a suitable cloud based information system.
These systems offer huge potential to improve all core business operations and
processes, but it is dangerous to assume technology is the best solution. Whilst an
ERP system can provide a comprehensive set of cross functional business benefits,
including financial management, in order to avoid an ineffective technology
implementation, the best way to start is taking a complete view of all finance
processes. By understanding the core processes in place will help build a platform
for identifying areas of improvement and improve application of technology.
Notwithstanding the fact that Soltius core business is SAP consultancy which is one
of the market leading ERP products. Soltius is therefore familiar with the challenges
corporates face when investing in technology and it is important to understand the
businesses core process requirements.
As Microsoft founder Bill Gates once said, “The first rule of any technology used in a
business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the
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PSP Assignment
efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will

magnify the inefficiency”.
Below is a cartoon (author unknown) which clearly depicts the expectation gap
between what organisations system requirements are and how an organisation
operates. It is an appropriate analogy of the challenge Soltius faces in order to make
a quantum investment in technology.
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PSP Assignment
3.2 Operational Context

Following on from the strategic drivers highlighting the need for process improvement
within finance and operations, the Finance and Administration team serves as a
‘project office’ for the consultants.
“A project office serves the organisation‟s project management needs. A project

office can range from simple support functions for the project manager to being
responsible for linking corporate strategy to project execution”. (APM, 2006)
The team largely provides administrative support and assistance to the project
managers as well as collection, and reporting of the project data and financial
reconciliations.
The annual Finance and Administration internal survey is a useful feedback tool to
help isolate the weak processes and define a more feasible scope for the purpose of
this report. The most recent results from a survey conducted in late 2010 highlighted
three particular areas of weakness as per the following table:
Table 3.1 Extract of Soltius Finance and Administration Internal Customer

Survey Results 2010
Level of Reports timely Queries to

Communications reports
2009 86.6% 83.9% 86.5%
2010 82.0% 78.1% 83.9%
Difference -4.6% -5.8% -2.6%
A detailed table of the results is provided in Appendix B.
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PSP Assignment
The results indicate that the level of communication has weakened as has the
timeliness and quality of reports. The reports relate to timesheets that are currently
reviewed monthly before the billing process starts.
The next section 3.3 provides a high level view of the timesheet review and billing
process. This high level process map is better known as SIPOC which is a six sigma
tool (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIPOC). SIPOC is an acronym for suppliers, input,
process, output, and customers, and it is used during the define phase of this
process improvement problem to help understand the purpose and the scope of a
process.
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PSP Assignment
3.3 SIPOC – From Timesheets to Invoice

Customers that are
Suppliers that are internal or Transformed resource internal or external
external of any inputs to the inputs to the process Description of the process and the key process The outputs of the of the process
process such as materials steps process outputs
Suppliers Inputs Process Outputs Customers

Customer request consulting
Employees Timesheets services/support Debtor’s Customers
Contractors Creditor’s  invoices
invoices Work completed and signed off by
Recruitment Agencies Expense Claims project manager
Customers 
Time spent entered into timesheet Currently happens
Project Managers system monthly and causes
Account Managers  bottlenecks at month
Expenses entered into timesheet end
system
Transforming Resources 
Administrator extracts monthly

APS System (timesheet & expense system - timesheet reports to Project/Account
debtors and work in progress) Managers for review

Any changes sent back to
Finance and Administration team Administrator

PIQ - web based timesheet and expense

reporting tool Administrator makes changes

Administrator informs Accountant

that the time and expense is ready for
posting and billing in the system

Accountant prepares draft invoice for

Project Manager sign off

Duplication?
Project Manager advises Accountant
any further changes required

Accountant updates invoice with
changes and sends to Project Manager
for final review

Accountant finalizes invoice
for sending to the customer
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PSP Assignment
This is the timesheet and expense

review and posting process described
in more detail in the SIPOC diagram
in section 3.3. This is the most
3.4 Process Mapping – Month End Process crucial part in the month end process
that often causes delays in billing and
negatively impacts cash flow.
Day one business day
of the month
Last
Complete Compete
Update cash Payroll Enter Support Check 59990
Fixed Asset Prepayments
flow Journal Base Fees code in GL
Schedule Schedule
Complete Review & Enter all Post all Prepare Prepare

Complete all Update Post all Post Prepare
Intercompany Orbit post Orbit invoices Employee Reconcile posted matter
bank cash disbursements Run IJ all revenue Billing
reconciliation invoice in invoice in in GL & reimbursements to PIQ time expense
reconciliations flow in APS time report
APS APS & GL APS in AP reports reports
Day two
Enter all Annual Leave Post AMEX

Update cash AMEX entry R&D Petty Cash
invoices in GL & Alterative Billing entries in
flow in APS Schedule Reconciliation
& APS Leave Accrual APS & GL
Day three
Enter all Prepare

Update cash
invoices in GL Billing PAYE ready
flow
& APS for payment
Day four
Enter all Pay PAYE Run off Horizon

Update cash
invoices in GL Billing and submit Pacific invoices
flow
& APS forms online online
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PSP Assignment
Day five
Z-
Davids Enter all WIP Password
Update Contractors Finish Revenue WIP Review Bonus Post Back write-
Expense invoices in Accruals Reconciliation Protect
cash flow Schedule Billing IJ Provisions Financials Accrual Tax Up GL off
Schedule GL & APS Sheet Month
check
Day six
Complete Roll over Prepare

Update cash Cashfocus Board Update credit Update IT Finalise
Management APS into new Monthly GL
flow Files Reports schedule Expense report monthly folder
Pack month reconciliations
By improving the timesheet review process and

20th of the
Contractor increasing the speed of billing will improve debtor’s

month
Mid Month Payments

Update cash
flow
Bank
Supplier
Payments
approval & collection on the 20th of the month and improve
Reconciliation ready for
payment working capital to pay employees, contractors and
suppliers.
21st – 29th of
the month
Run draft Delete

Run checks for
Southern invoices for Make changes Post first 3 Timesheet
Telecom unposted time Run
Cross Support to unposted weeks of time Adjustments
Journal & update APS Housekeeping
Journal Manager to time in live APS from APS fee
test file
check batch
Process Mapping as per above visually depicts the sequence of events to complete the month end financial results for Soltius. The
highlighted red circles of the process indicate the timesheet review and billing process, and the areas most affected by this process.
The section below outlines the way in which the timesheet review and billing process needs to be managed based on the four
characteristics of demand.
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PSP Assignment
3.5 Process Profiling – Four Vs

Løwendahl (2005) identifies three main characteristics of professional services firms
(PSFs) being:
1. Highly specialised people with unique skills

2. Subjective quality assessment
3. Client services that requires specialised knowledge.
As in most PSFs the key transforming resources is the people with highly specialised
skills and how they are utilised is the key challenge in a PSF.
“The scheduling of work assignments is the single most important managerial activity
in a professional services firm. Whoever makes the work assignment decisions is the
person really managing the practice”. (Maister, 1997)
In the next figure 3.1 Soltius has been positioned on the Four Vs framework. In
addition, the way in which the timesheet reports and billing needs to be managed is
influenced by volume, variety, variation and visibility and is also positioned in the
framework. As Slack et al (2009) suggests it is typical to expect to see most points in
PSFs over to the left of the framework as in the Soltius profile highlighted in orange.
However, the internal profile of the actual process itself is quite different to how
Soltius operates externally as per figure 3.1 shows.
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PSP Assignment
Figure 3.1 Soltius and Timesheet and Billing Process Profiling (Adapted from
Slack et al (2009:23)
Soltius as a
Timesheet Review
Professional Services
Firm and Billing Process
Tasks spread
amongst staff Low High Specialisation
Low repetition Soltius Volume PROCESS High repetition, standardised
High unit cost Low unit costs
Wide range of inputs High Low

Complex Variety Routine
Flexible Soltius Standardised
Capacity changes High Low Routine

Flexibility Predictable
High unit cost Soltius Variation in demand High utilisation
Low unit costs
High Low
High variety Centralisation
Customer contact Soltius PROCESS Low contact skills with

needed Visibility customer required
Customer has low waiting Time lag between customer

tolerance request and response
The aim is to have a straight line. With regard to the timesheet review and billing
process the profiling above indicates that there is high variety of services that are
complex in nature. Examples include complex support timesheet recording by call
number, detailed time and materials, and milestone billing. This requires a wide
range of inputs to the process from both customer and internal systems. A
specialised system was developed to handle support billing and meet customer
requirements, and this has created complexity in the month end billing process.
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PSP Assignment
3.6 Performance Objectives

The Finance and Administration balanced scorecard (included in Appendix C) has a
target that month end must be completed within 5 days. Unfortunately this target is
currently the only red traffic light on the balanced scorecard. Therefore it is important
to define a clear link between Soltius’s overall strategy and the performance
objectives of the process itself. Table 3.2 below clearly outlines the two most
important performance objectives are „Doing things right and fast‟, that is, quality and
speed.
Table 3.2 Describing and Rating Perfomance Objectives - (Adapted from Henley PSP module)
Internal
Competitive importance (1 =
importance (1 = High, 9 High, 9 low) -
low) - External Overall Soltius
Performance Objective Definition Aspects of this objective include customer perspective strategy
Correct timesheet/ information on
Quality Doing things right time and on budget 1 1
Timesheet review quick invoice
Speed Doing things fast sent > 3 days 2 2
Timesheet complete and reviewed
Dependability Doing things on time on time 5 3
Preparation of invoice and
Flexibility Changing what you do timesheet adjustments 8 4
Cost of resource time and systems
Cost Doing things cheaply cost 9 5
Quality Accuracy of information and error-free processing

Speed Ready for posting timesheets on business day one (BD1)
Dependability Reliability of posting BD1 every month, dependable resources
Flexibility Ability to cope with timesheet changes and volume of entries
Cost Low processing and resource cost, eliminate process waste
The next section proposes a future course of action likely to deliver business
performance improvements, specifically, to ensure month end is completed within 5
business days.
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PSP Assignment
4 Part 2: Recommendation
4.1 Actions Required and Justification with Analysis
The following table outlines approaches to process redesign and the actions that are
required to help implement change.
Table 4.0 Process Re (Design) Approaches – Adapted from Harman (2003)
Tactic Driver Approach
Simplification Eliminate duplications and Focus on similar activities in the

redundant effort in processes process – can they be combined?
Variability reduction Reduce variable tasks throughout Identify causes of variability in the
the process process and identify if variability
can be reduced
Bottleneck management Manage any constraints Identify bottlenecks
Gaps and disconnects Issues arise when information is Identify points in handover and
passed between function business confirm what needs to happen with
groups what actually happens
Value-added analysis Eliminate activities within the Identify if any steps do not add
process that don’t add any value value and if the steps can be
eliminated
Based on the analysis in section 3.3, the SIPOC diagram identified possible
duplication in the timesheet and billing process with both the Administrator and
Accountant sending the same information to Project Managers but with different
output. That is, the Administrator sends the timesheet detail and the Accountant
sends the draft invoice. Furthermore, section 3.6 clearly identified quality and speed
as the most important performance objectives for the design process. Therefore, the
Project Managers need to see the timesheet detail in order to confirm the information
is correct and on budget. In order to improve the long term quality of the timesheet
data, employees need to be advised of errors and this adds further time to the
process. If the time is posted in a test environment first, and all the corrections are
made in the production system then this will improve the quality of the information
and reduce timesheet adjustments required at month end (currently approximately 1-
2 days each month is spent completing timesheet adjustments).
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PSP Assignment
However, in order to speed up the process at month end, it would be beneficial to

complete the timesheet review process on a weekly basis to help eliminate any likely
bottlenecks at month end. The trade-off completing this process weekly instead of
monthly is that the cost of the process from a resource perspective will increase as
the Administrator and Project Manager will need to complete the review multiple
times within the month. The performance objectives identified cost as the least
important objective so this is a trade-off that fits within current constraints.
In addition, Section 3.5 provided for process profiling and identified variety as high
and a deviation from the straight line. By enabling more routine behaviours and
increasing the standardisation of the timesheet review process should result in lower
variety therefore moving variety to fit with low variation in demand and visibility, and
higher volume. (Slack et al, 2009)
Therefore in order to develop a new process, all stakeholders who own the process
(Accountant, Administrator, and Project Manager) identified all activities performed in
the process, the order of the tasks, and agreed on realistic timeframes for completing
each task. The new process created is provided in the next section.
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PSP Assignment
4.2 Outline Plan to Improve Organisational Performance

The following process map outlines the proposed weekly timesheet review process.
This takes into account the complexity and variety of support billing which is the most
time consuming part of billing, (but it only accounts for 20% of revenue). As
mentioned previously, this increases the weekly routines and throughput of the
Accountant, Project Manager, and Administrator, but will help reduce the workload
required at month end. If these resources all share a common balanced scorecard
measure to ensure a 5 day financial close, then this will ensure everyone is working
towards a common goal. The balanced scorecard metric developed by Eccles
(1991) and Kaplan and Norton (1996) was introduced to help shift focus from purely
financial measures to include customer relationships and intellectual capital. This
supports Torrington’s et al, (2005) view that a ‘firm’s value is no longer explained by
its financial performance but includes the quality of its people and their performance.
Whilst, performance measurement of resources is outside the scope of this report, a

shared target links the process into the company’s overall strategy to optimise
systems and processes. Another recommendation is to include a credit note
measure so that all stakeholders are committed to ensuring the quality of the
information produced is not compromised by the increased throughput.
Measurement of the process improvement is discussed in section 5.5 later in this
report.
Likewise, although the strategic initiative to evaluate ERP systems is also outside the
scope of this report, this process improvement will ensure greater efficiency of the
month end process and provide requirements for any system improvement.
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PSP Assignment
Soltius weekly timesheet review process
Review Timesheet completion by Staff.

Chase up and ensure all Timesheets Review unposted time report, advise
Notify Accountant
Monday
completed by 2pm. user of errors for immediate adjustment.

when complete
Akld Administrator Accountant
HR Administrator
Notify IT when
complete
Post the previous week of time

in the aps_test System.
Tuesday
Print out draft invoices from Review Invoices.

9am aps_test System by 3pm Notify HR Administrator of all
Restore aps-live to Notify Accountant Accountant Draft Invoices adjustments to be made
aps_test when complete to Support Support Manager
IT Network Administrator Manager
Wednesday
Make uposted timesheet changes –

advise all users of their errors. Sign off Post the previous week of time
Notify Accountant
previous week time to be posted in live in the aps_live System.
when complete
by midday. Accountant
HR Administrator
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PSP Assignment
5 Part 3: Implementation
5.1 Gantt Chart – Project Improvement Plan
Project Kaizen - Timesheet review process
Soltius New Zealand Today's Date: 26/09/2011 Monday
(vertical red line)
Project Lead: Amanda Goddard
Start Date: 27/06/2011 Monday
[42] First Day of Week (Mon=2): 2
Days Remaining
Duration (Days)
Days Complete
27 - Jun - 11
05 - Sep - 11
12 - Sep - 11
19 - Sep - 11
26 - Sep - 11
Working Days
01 - Aug - 11
08 - Aug - 11
15 - Aug - 11
22 - Aug - 11
29 - Aug - 11
04 - Jul - 11
11 - Jul - 11
18 - Jul - 11
25 - Jul - 11
% Complete
Task
WBS Tasks Lead Start End
1 Define the scope of the process problem CFO 6/27/11 6/27/11 1 100% 1 1 0
1.1 Select Team CFO 6/28/11 6/28/11 1 100% 1 1 0

Project kickoff to establish process improv ement
1.2 objectiv e CFO 6/28/11 6/30/11 3 100% 3 3 0
1.3 Flow chart the current timesheet rev iew process Administrator 7/01/11 7/05/11 5 100% 3 5 0
1.4 Dev elop data collection plan for baseline data Accountant 7/06/11 7/06/11 10 100% 1 10 0
1.5 Define performance objectiv es 7/06/11 7/15/11 10 100% 8 10 0
2 Analysis of Problem Accountant 6/28/11 6/28/11 1 100% 1 1 0
2.1 Identify issues w ith current timesheet report rev iew Accountant 7/16/11 8/04/11 20 100% 14 20 0
3 Design Accountant 8/04/11 9/01/11 29 100% 21 29 0
3.1 Simplify process and make changes Accountant 8/05/11 8/14/11 10 100% 6 10 0
3.2 Flow chart the rev ised timesheet rev iew process Administrator 8/15/11 8/19/11 5 100% 5 5 0
3.3 Identify if further improv ement feasible CFO 8/20/11 8/21/11 2 100% 0 2 0
3.4 Seek feedback from team CFO 8/22/11 8/26/11 5 100% 5 5 0
3.5 Refine process - approv al from team Accountant 8/20/11 8/26/11 7 100% 5 7 0
Checkpoint against performance objectiv es and
3.6 baseline targets CFO 8/26/11 9/01/11 7 100% 5 7 0
4 Implementation Accountant 9/01/11 9/12/11 12 100% 8 12 0
4.1 Plan to implement the process change Accountant 8/26/11 8/30/11 5 100% 3 5 0
4.2 Dev elop test platform Accountant 8/26/11 8/30/11 5 100% 3 5 0
4.3 Notify key roles such as Project Managers Accountant 8/30/11 8/30/11 1 100% 1 1 0
4.4 Implement the process change Accountant 8/31/11 9/01/11 2 100% 2 2 0
4.5 Seek feedback from team CFO 9/06/11 9/06/11 1 100% 1 1 0
5 Test Accountant 9/06/11 9/12/11 7 100% 5 7 0
Test process change against performance
5.1 objectiv es - quality and speed Accountant 9/08/11 9/10/11 3 100% 2 3 0
Test process change against baseline
5.2 measurement - 5 day close, credit notes <1% Accountant 9/08/11 9/10/11 3 100% 2 3 0
5.3 Report results to CFO Accountant 9/10/11 9/10/11 1 100% 0 1 0
5.4 Refine process if required Accountant 9/08/11 9/12/11 5 100% 3 5 0
6 Recommend CFO 9/12/11 9/25/11 14 31% 10 4 10
6.1 Complete recommendation Accountant 9/12/11 9/16/11 5 100% 5 5 0
6.2 Rev iew and approv e recommendation CFO 9/16/11 9/25/11 10 0% 6 0 10
6.3 Communicate recommendation to w ider group CFO 9/25/11 9/25/11 1 0% 0 0 1
A Gantt chart (Harry Gantt) is a common project planning tool for planning and
keeping track of individual tasks within a project, or in this case a process
improvement plan. The Gantt Chart above details the actions that will need to be
taken to implement the proposed process improvement. Section 5.2 outlines the
financial investment or opportunity cost of undergoing the process improvement.
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PSP Assignment
5.2 Financial Cost
Actual and Projected Time
To date Forecast 27-Jun 4-Jul 11-Jul 18-Jul 25-Jul 1-Aug 8-Aug 15-Aug 22-Aug 29-Aug 5-Sep 12-Sep 19-Sep
Resource Budget Hours ETC Hours Budget $ rate Hours $ Hours Scope Analysis Analysis Analysis Analysis Design Design Design Design Implementation Test Test Recommend
Accountant 25 24.00 $4,580 $183.20 24 $4,396.80 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Administrator 10 8.50 $1,432 $143.20 9 $1,217.20 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1.5 1 0 0
Project Manager/CFO 10 9.50 $7,094 $709.36 10 $6,738.92 0 1 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 1 1 1 1 1
IT Administrator 2 3.00 $566 $283.20 3 $849.60 0 0 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25
Contingency 6 6.00 $1,099 $183.20 6 $1,099.20 0 0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
53.00 51.00 $14,771 51.00 $14,301.72 0.00 $142.37 $110.44 $110.44 $110.44 $110.44 $110.44 $110.44 $164.14 $154.77 $181.62 $172.67 $154.77 $154.77
Budget Reconciliation
Actual Costs to Date 14,302

Remaining Projected Costs 0
Actuals + Projected 14,302
Budget 14,771
Dif ference 469
3%
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5.3 Justification and Impact of Recommendations

Performance improvement is about closing the gap between current and desired
performance (Slack et al, 2009). The process outline in the Gantt chart of measuring
existing performance, and collecting data for evidential decision making is derived
from the Six Sigma methodology to process improvement.
“Six Sigma is a comprehensive and flexible system for achieving, sustaining and
maximising business success. Six Sigma is uniquely driven by close understanding
of customer needs, disciplined use of facts, data, and statistical analysis, and diligent
attention to managing, improving, and reinventing business processes” Pande et al
(2000)
Six Sigma principles were adopted as it helps remove errors and waste out of
processes. It also engages leadership by establishing linkage to strategic objectives.
It is a tried and tested process improvement methodology and it is flexible enough to
customise to fit the size of Solitus and the scale of the problem. The downside of the
Six Sigma approach is that it is resource heavy as is evident in the amount of hours
taken to implement the process (51 actual hours as per the financial reconciliation in
section 5.2 above).
Another management theory by Dr Eli Goldratt developed the theory of constraints

(TOC) that every process or system has at least one constraint limiting it from
achieving more otherwise the system would be able to produce an infinite amount of
output. Goldratt developed the chart below that shows the relationship between three
system-level measurements being throughput, inventory, and operating expense.
Dettmer (1996)
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PSP Assignment
Figure 5.0: Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints Dettmer (1996)
This theory proposes Soltius has three options, that is:
1. Increase throughput
2. Reduce inventory
3. Reduce operating expense
Reducing inventory, in this case, timesheet data or consultants would reduce

revenue and the bottom line profit. Reducing operating expenses by reducing
headcount would increase the month end close. Therefore, increasing throughput
was the best method for improving the process.
The recommendation engaged all affected staff to contribute to improvement and the
resulting impact of the recommendations is that August month end closed on day 6.
By spreading the tasks over the calendar weeks and utilising technology to test pilot
the data has had a positive impact on month end. Specifically, billing was completed
within 3 business days. The recommendations made were simple and were utilising
team based problem solving and very basic statistical data. The simple changes
ensured the performance objectives of the process improvement were achieved.
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PSP Assignment
5.4 Business Benefits – Continuous Improvement
What are the benefits? This is best answered with the question what are the benefits
of NOT having a continuous improvement plan? Why would a company not want to
pursue continuous improvement and not have a learning organisation?
By engaging in process improvement, Soltius and its employees will seek to learn
what causes events to happen and aim to:
 Remove tasks that add no value to the company

 Improve customer satisfaction both internally and externally
 Reduce variation
The business benefits is supported by continuous process improvement theory which

is about accomplishing improvements by using small-step improvements, rather than
implementing one large quantum improvement. The Japanese have a term for this
called ‘Kaizen’ which involves everyone in the organisation with the aim for
continuous improvement philosophy to become embedded in the culture. (Slack
et al, 2009)
The benefit of continuous improvement is that it does not cause any quantum scale
organisational change. In terms of operational strategy, if used correctly, it can
become part of the Finance and Administration team’s culture where as individuals
will feel they are making a meaningful contribution to the company. This is important
in an existing cultural climate where the ‘back office’ is viewed as pure overhead with
no billable opportunities. The disadvantage of this theory is that it does not provide
for innovation and the quantum investment in an ERP system which is the overriding
strategic initiative. However, any investment in technology will still require continuous
improvement methodology for ensuring a long term return on investment.
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PSP Assignment
Furthermore, a continuous improvement culture will be needed to ensure that on-

going business benefits are realised. That is, in order for long term business benefits
to be realised, the Finance and Administration team objectives of the continuous
improvement strategy need to:
1. Embed the principles of continuous improvement into the culture of the team
and make it an integral part of the way things are done
2. Improve systems and processes in the context of best practice and the
professional services maturity model
3. Ensure processes and services are shaped around both the internal and
external customer priorities
4. Monitor the impact of all process improvements from an organisational

perspective such as the balanced scorecard approach
So, the team needs to continually search for more efficient ways of delivering
services, involve all stakeholders, and target individual’s strengths at the right tasks
in order to fully realise the benefits that can be gained.
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PSP Assignment
5.5 Measurement of Performance Improvement

In order to evaluate the process improvement, measurements need to be taken
before, during, and after implementation of the process improvement. As discussed
in section 3 of this report, the Finance and Administration Survey, and the Balanced
Scorecard results confirm that a process problem existed. Working off the theory of
continuous improvement, the baseline for the survey results is to improve on
previous results. The target to close month end within 5 business days is a target
benchmarked against other companies who participate in the Professional Services
Maturity Model. To understand the degree of success of the process improvement
the following graph outlines the measurement of performance improvement based
on:
1. Month end close < 5 days
2. Credit notes < 1% of revenue
3. Debtors Ageing < 35 days
More importantly, this approach focused on improvement targets directly associated
with strategic objectives.
Figure 5.1 Initial Results from Process Improvement Implementation
Note: Credit notes reduced from 1.47% to 1.42%.
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PSP Assignment
5.6 Implications of Continuous Improvement

Given the simple course of action by increasing the throughput of the process and
utilising a test environment to highlight errors quickly, there is minimal risk that can
jeopardise the process either now or in the future. However, there is a significant
reliance placed on people completing timesheets on-time. Currently, this is not a
company-wide issue as timesheets is embedded in the organisational culture and
Soltius already has a successful ‘do your timesheet’ campaign in place. The real risk
to this process and month end in its entirety is the reliance on the Accountant to be
available every month end to complete billing. This risk has initiated a new process
improvement initiative to mitigate this resource problem. The process change has
minimal impact on the on-going operations, but it is worth highlighting the impact of
adopting continuous improvement as a forward thinking process improvement plan.
Like many medium sized companies, Soltius struggles with cost and the day to day
operational pressures. In order to gain competitive advantage, Soltius needs to
invest in capital and developing people in order to improve systems and processes
as there is a current lack of capability in the back office team. Therefore one of the
implications of continuous improvement methodology is that staff will need training to
up-skill and become equipped with the process improvement toolkits as well as keep
on top of operational demands. Training budgets are often the first to be cut during
the normal budgeting process so the challenge will be to show the Strategy team
how this training investment will lead to bottom line results. However, it is not enough
to just focus on continuous improvement as the implications of this will inevitably lead
to being undermined by more innovative competitors. In today’s business
environment, competitive advantage lies in the company’s ability to innovate its way
out of market pressures facing them (Goshal, 1999). Therefore, it is important the
continuous improvement strategy is not viewed in isolation to the overall strategic
plan as provided in section 3.
“If you think of „„standardisation‟‟ as the best that you know today, but which is to be
improved tomorrow—you get somewhere. But if you think of standards as confining,
then progress stops” Henry Ford, (1926).
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PSP Assignment
6 Reflection
6.1 Elective Pathway – Managing the Project Based
Environment
The new challenge within a matrix project based company is to develop a ‘project
office’ team who can deliver on the challenge of continuous improvement. This will
incorporate training, active performance management, and targeted recruitment with
the goal to developing a performance led culture of continuous improvement and
innovation.
Shortly we will be embarking on our strategy offsite where I will develop a 2012
business plan for my team aligned to the overall 2012 strategic objectives. With my
new knowledge gained from the course module my goal will be to share the
continuous philosophy with my team and build the pathway to a more effective and
efficient working group to support the project managers and company.
The strengths of my process approach improve standardisation of tasks and

eliminate redundant activities, and the weakness hinders innovation in terms of a
quantum change in technology. Therefore, my focus from now will be a process of
continuous improvement with a medium-term focus to invest in new technology that
facilitates innovation and creativity.
6.2 Value add
Given a valuable part of my role within Soltius is to manage costs and improve
efficiencies, I found this module very rewarding in terms of gaining appreciation for
systems and processes and how this new knowledge can enable me to move
forward and focus on the strategic initiative to evaluate cloud based ERP technology.
My undergraduate study was focused on improving shareholder value, as did my
Chartered Accountancy training, and my experience to date has largely been looking
Page 30 of 38
PSP Assignment
at processes as ‘red tape’ and a ‘time waster’. It has changed my view of why having
the right processes in place will improve the systems and the management of the
organisation. The module has largely influenced my thinking that constantly looking
for new and better ways of doing things, will foster growth, raise performance
profiles, and provide a rewarding structure for even the more simple tasks. My
challenge now will be to empower my team to embrace methodologies of managing
systems and processes as I have.
6.3 Learning Experience

My learning while undertaking this module has not been without challenges. I know
now that I must try to capture and consolidate my thoughts of each reading. I found
the practice questions on the CD valuable in providing direction for my assignment.
However, I did struggle with the more technical detail of the module and I have not
yet fully grasped the more complex theories. My goal will be to continue to work
through the case studies and practice applications to be better prepared for the
exam. I have learnt a significant amount about developing systems and processes
and strengthened my own core competencies. Through the process of developing
this assignment I have engaged with the wider operations team. Being a coach and
mentor is hugely rewarding and I am excited about developing my competencies in
this area to improve my skills as a leader in operations management and share this
learning experience with my team.
Page 31 of 38
PSP Assignment
7 References
APM (2006) APM Body of Knowledge, 5th ed. Princes Risborough: Association for
Project Management.
Archibald, R D (1992) Managing High-Technology Programs and Projects, 2nd ed.

New York: Wiley
Burns, T & Stalker, G (1961) The Management of Innovation. London: Tavistock

Institute
Chapman, C & Ward, S (1997) Project Risk Management. Chichester: John Wiley &
Sons
Christensen, C M (1997) The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause
Great Firms to Fail. Boston: Harvard Business School Press
Davenport, T H (1993) Process Innovation: Reengineering Work Through Information
Technology. Boston: Harvard Business School Press
Dettmer, H (1996) Goldratt‟s Theory of Constraints: A Systems Approach to
Continous Improvement. Asq Pr
Eccles, R (1991) The performance measurement manifesto. Harvard Business

Review, 69 (1), 131–7
Harmon, P (2007) Business Process Change, 2nd ed. San Francisco: Morgan
Kaufmann
Goshal, S, Hahn, M, and Moran, P (1999) "Management Competence, Firm Growth

and Economic Progress", Contributions to Political Economy, Vol. 18, pp. 121–150,
1999
Kaplan, R S & Norton, D P (1996) Using the balanced scorecard as a strategic

management system. Harvard Business Review, 74 (1), 75–85
Kaplan, R S & Norton, D P (1992) The balanced scorecard: measures that drive
performance. Harvard Business Review, 70 (1), 71–9 Maister, D H (1997) Managing
the Professional Service Firm. New York: Free Press
Kotter, J P (1995) Leading change: why transformation efforts fail. Harvard Business
Review, 73 (2), 59–67
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PSP Assignment
Løwendahl, B R (2005) Strategic Management of Professional Service Firms, 3rd ed.

Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School Press
Maister, D H (1997) Managing the Professional Service Firm. New York: Free Press
for the design of organizational control mechanisms. Management Science, 25 (9),
833–48
Midler, C (1995) ‘Projectification‟ of the firm, the Renault case. Scandinavian Journal
of Management, 11 (4), 363-75
Pande, P.S., Neuman, R.P. and Cavanagh, R.R. (2000) The Six Sigma Way,
McGraw-Hill, New York
Rummler, G A & Brache, A P (1995) Improving Performance: How to Manage the
White Space on the Organization Chart. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass
Slack, N, Chambers, S, Johnston, R & Betts, A (2009) Operations and Process
Management: Principles and Practice for Strategic Impact, 2nd ed. Harlow: FT
Prentice Hall
Slack, N & Lewis, M (2008) Operations Strategy, 2nd ed. Harlow: Pearson Education
Swank, C K (2003) The lean service machine. Harvard Business Review, 81 (10),
123–9
Torrington, D, Hall, L and Taylor, S (2005) Human Resource Management, 5th ed.
Harlow: Prentice Hall Europe
Turner, R & Keegan, A (2000) The management of operations in the project-based

organisation. Journal of Change Management, 1 (2), 131–48
Womack, J P & Jones, D T (2003) Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth
in Your Corporation. London: Simon and Schuster UK
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8 Appendices
8.1 Appendix A – Professional Services Maturity Model
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5
Initiated Piloted Deployed Institutionalized Optimized
Initial strategy
PS has become
is to support Service leads PS is critical to
a profit centre PS is important
product sales products. PS is a the company.
but is revenue &
and provide vital part of the Service strategy
subordinate to margin source
reference company. is clear.
product sales. but channel
customers Solution selling is Complimentary
Leadership Strategy is to conflict still
while providing a way of life. PS goals %
drive customer exists. Services
workarounds to is included in all measurements in
adoption and differentiate
complete strategy place for all
references products.
immature decisions. functions.
profitably.
product.
> 40% margin.
PS generates > Continuous
5 to 20% 20 to 30% 20% of overall improvement &
The PSO has enhancement.
margin. PS margin. PS is a company revenue
been created High profit.
becoming a complete P&L. and contributes >
but is not yet Global with
Finance & profit centre but Standard 30% margin.
profitable. disciplined
Operations still immature method for Well-developed
Rudimentary processes,
finance & resource mgmt., finance &
time & expense controls &
operations time, expense & operations
capture. optimization.
processes. billing. processes &
controls.
Continually staff
Resource Business process & train to meet
Hire as needed. Begin future needs.
management, & vertical skills in
Generalist forecasting Highly skilled,
skill mgmt, addition to
skills. workload. Start motivated
Human career mgmt, technical &
Chameleons, developing job workforce.
Capital employee project skills.
Jack of All & skill Outsource
Alignment satisfaction Career ladder.
Trades. descriptions & commodity skills
surveys. Training Training
Individual compensation or peaks.
plans. Attrition investment. Low
heroics. plans.
>20% attrition.
Collaborative An integrated
portal, begin solution drives
Skeleton Integrated project
looking at performance.
No scheduling. methodology in & resource
Service Earned Value Continual checks
Reactive. Ad place. Initiating management.
Execution Analysis. Project & balances to
hoc. Heroic. project mgmt. & Using portfolio
dashboard & assure superior
technical skills. management.
quality utilization & bill
measurements. rates.
Opportunistic. Start to use Marketing, inside Business process Executive
Client
No defined marketing to sales, solutions & vertical relationships.
Relationships
solution sets. drive leads. sales with solutions in Thought
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PSP Assignment
Focus on new Multiples sales defined solutions addition to leadership. Brand

customers & models. Start sets. Deal, horizontal building &
references. measuring pricing and applications. awareness. High
customer sat. contact reviews. Centres of customer
excellence. Top satisfaction.
client & partner Integrated sales
programs. & marketing.
High quality
references.
Soltius Position adopting the Professional Services Maturity Model
Current Target
Vision, Strategy and Culture 3 4
Client Relationships 2 5
Finance and Operations 2 3
Service Execution 2 3
Human Capital Management 3 4
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PSP Assignment
8.2 Appendix B –Finance and Administration Internal Customer Survey Results 2010
Expense Expense Travel Travel Payroll/HR

Handles Level of claims claims Travel bookings booking Reports Queries to Ad hoc query Office Events are
Queries Comms paid? queries bookings correct? changes timely reports reports timely tidiness organised Total
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75%
75% 100% 100% 100% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 83%
100% 75% 25% 75% 100% 100% 50% 100% 75% 100% 80%
75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 25% 75% 50% 75% 75% 68%
75% 75% 0% 75% 50% 50% 50% 75% 50% 50% 75% 75% 50% 58%
100% 75% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 75% 100% 100% 50% 75% 90%
100% 75% 75% 75% 100% 75% 100% 75% 75% 50% 100% 82%
100% 75% 75% 100% 100% 100% 75% 89%
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
75% 75% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 85%
100% 75% 100% 100% 100% 75% 75% 75% 100% 75% 75% 86%
100% 75% 75% 75% 100% 100% 100% 89%
75% 50% 75% 75% 100% 100% 75% 75% 75% 25% 100% 75%
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 75% 100% 75% 100% 100% 100% 75% 100% 94%
100% 75% 100% 100% 75% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 75% 75% 92%
100% 75% 100% 100% 100% 100% 25% 50% 50% 25% 75% 73%
Page 36 of 38
PSP Assignment
Expense Expense Travel Travel Payroll/HR

Handles Level of claims claims Travel bookings booking Reports Queries to Ad hoc query Office Events are
Queries Comms paid? queries bookings correct? changes timely reports reports timely tidiness organised Total
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
100% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 75% 100% 50% 75% 77%
100% 75% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 97%
75% 75% 100% 100% 100% 100% 75% 100% 100% 75% 100% 91%
100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
100% 75% 100% 75% 88%
93.0% 82.0% 84.8% 90.6% 93.2% 90.9% 88.8% 78.1% 83.9% 89.1% 88.6% 76.0% 83.8% 86.9%
Finance and Administration Internal Customer Survey Results Comparisons between 2009 and 2010
Expense Travel Travel Payroll/HR

Handles Level of claims Expense Travel bookings booking Reports Queries to Ad hoc query Office Events are
Queries Comms paid? claims queries bookings correct? changes timely reports reports timely tidiness organisedTotal
2009 91.1% 86.6% 84.3% 87.5% 88.1% 79.8% 86.8% 83.9% 86.5% 83.3% 87.5% 73.2% 81.7% 84.7%
2010 93.0% 82.0% 84.8% 90.6% 93.2% 90.9% 88.8% 78.1% 83.9% 89.1% 88.6% 76.0% 83.8% 86.9%
Difference 1.9% -4.6% 0.5% 3.1% 5.1% 11.1% 1.9% -5.8% -2.6% 5.7% 1.1% 2.8% 2.2% 2.2%
Page 37 of 38
PSP Assignment
8.3 Appendix C – Finance and Administration Team

Balanced Scorecard 2011
Finance Team BSC 2011
Finance & Admin Team Monthly YTD

Quadrant Measures Comments
Objectives Measure Measure
GA cost =/< budgeted % of

Financial Cost
revenue
Perceived value of the Finance 70% or above for internal back Measurement to be taken in
Customer
& Admin Team office customer survey November each year
Operations Effective Systems & Processes 5 Day Close
Provide opportunity for career Skills increase of 15% in Skills

Measurement every quarter
advancement Matrices
100% induction of all new

People Onboarding
employees and contractors
4 Social activities per year (2 in

Staff engagement Asiana cooking class & dinner
each office)
8.4 Appendix D – Soltius Organisation Chart
Acrobat Document
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MPP Assignment Two – Stream HB46

Managing Processes, Systems, and

Month End Process

5,952 words including tables and graphs

In addition, I have chosen the elective ‘Managing the Project-based Environment’.

Furthermore, Archibald (1992) classifies organisations as either:

 Project-driven – core business is providing external customer driven project

Soltius is project-driven within a project-based environment; however the Finance

Process improvement is important as Rummler & Brache's research (1995) showed

3.1 Strategic Context

Figure 3.0 Soltius Current and Future Strategic Position

Vision, Strategy &

Client 2 Finance &

Table 3.0 Soltius Finance business strategy requirements

What does this 5 to 20% margin. PS becoming 20 to 30% margin. PS operates

Initiative ERP system evaluations

The overriding strategic initiative is to evaluate enterprise resource planning (ERP)

efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will

3.2 Operational Context

“A project office serves the organisation‟s project management needs. A project

Table 3.1 Extract of Soltius Finance and Administration Internal Customer

Level of Reports timely Queries to

A detailed table of the results is provided in Appendix B.

3.3 SIPOC – From Timesheets to Invoice

Suppliers Inputs Process Outputs Customers

Administrator extracts monthly

PIQ - web based timesheet and expense

Administrator informs Accountant

Accountant prepares draft invoice for

This is the timesheet and expense

Complete Review & Enter all Post all Prepare Prepare

Enter all Annual Leave Post AMEX

Enter all Prepare

Enter all Pay PAYE Run off Horizon

Complete Roll over Prepare

By improving the timesheet review process and

Contractor increasing the speed of billing will improve debtor’s

Mid Month Payments

Run draft Delete

3.5 Process Profiling – Four Vs

1. Highly specialised people with unique skills

Wide range of inputs High Low

Capacity changes High Low Routine

Customer contact Soltius PROCESS Low contact skills with

Customer has low waiting Time lag between customer

3.6 Performance Objectives

Quality Accuracy of information and error-free processing

Table 4.0 Process Re (Design) Approaches – Adapted from Harman (2003)

Tactic Driver Approach

Simplification Eliminate duplications and Focus on similar activities in the

However, in order to speed up the process at month end, it would be beneficial to

4.2 Outline Plan to Improve Organisational Performance

Whilst, performance measurement of resources is outside the scope of this report, a

Soltius weekly timesheet review process

Review Timesheet completion by Staff.

completed by 2pm. user of errors for immediate adjustment.

Post the previous week of time

Print out draft invoices from Review Invoices.

Make uposted timesheet changes –

1.1 Select Team CFO 6/28/11 6/28/11 1 100% 1 1 0

5.2 Financial Cost

Actual and Projected Time

Actual Costs to Date 14,302

5.3 Justification and Impact of Recommendations