Central financial understanding thanks to innovative cloud technology

11/10/22

New IT system for BME

After splitting off its distribution activities, Building Materials Europe (BME) needed to find an IT system to match the new business situation. Jan Bos (former BME's CFO) and Wouter Nieuwendijk (Group Director Accounting & Reporting) take a look back at the project with PwC's Jeffrey van den Haak.

What was the problem?

After the split-off, certain IT systems were in need of an upgrade. ‘BME was struggling with ‘legacy software’, i.e. applications and systems that are crucial for financial management but which now run on outdated functionalities, and are also not cloud-based,’ says Jan Bos. That led to a number of problems, such as a poor understanding of performance and an inflexible consolidation system. The huge amount of data that the organisation processed in recent years also posed a challenge for a possible transition. BME not only needed to find a reliable approach to the clean-up and data migration, it also had to take account of the fact that its employees were used to a certain way of working.

What was the solution?

The solution to the outdated functionalities was in package selection. Jeffrey van den Haak explains: ‘Given BME's requirements based on cost, desired cloud solutions, and user-friendliness, CCH Tagetik was selected in early 2021. In our advice to BME, we looked at the most appropriate tech solution to the consolidation problem. We also looked at the required flexibility of the systems and the level of maturity so as to prepare BME for the new way of working, both for now and the future.’

How did the process go?

Jan Bos: ‘During the implementation phase, we invested extra time in training the employees, who had sometimes been working for years with a different system. In addition, the required data conversion and account mapping was thoroughly planned and tested in advance, so as to ensure that data migration went smoothly. We kept all staff fully informed throughout the process with regular updates.’

And the result?

Tagetik is a future-proof platform which allows BME to grow further and enables employees to become increasingly accustomed to the new way of working. Wouter Nieuwendijk: ‘Now that the modules for consolidations and IFRS 16 have been implemented, we’re looking at implementing a tax module in Tagetik. The best way to view setting up a Tagetik platform is as a journey. It’s not fully implemented all at once but it grows in line with the developments and the maturity of a company.’

Podcast about BME and CCH Tagetik

Jeffrey van den Haak, PwC’s director of Risk Assurance, took part in a podcast in which he talks about the implementation of CCH Tagetik at Building Materials Europe (BME).