Finance transformation has become a top priority on the CFO agenda. In today’s volatile business environment, organizations expect Finance not only to safeguard liquidity and compliance but also to deliver forward-looking insights and enable fast, confident decision-making. Yet many global finance functions are hindered by fragmented system landscapes, lengthy close cycles, and excessive manual work.
The advantages of SAP S/4HANA for Finance are clear: harmonized processes, real-time transparency, and automation that frees Finance to focus on strategic partnerships instead of transactional tasks. However, the journey from legacy systems to global finance excellence requires more than technology.
Three questions define every successful transformation: How can Finance assess its current maturity? How should the target vision be designed? And how can value be created quickly while keeping a global transformation on track?
Understanding the Current State
A transformation journey starts with a realistic view of today’s status quo. Many finance teams operate across multiple ERP systems, spend weeks on manual reconciliations, and lack consistent global standards.
Benchmarking provides direction by offering a reference point for performance evaluation. Research by The Hackett Group shows that world-class finance functions measure themselves across two dimensions: efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency covers the degree of standardization, automation, and speed of activities such as closing, reporting, and cash management. Effectiveness measures the impact of Finance as a business partner, from scenario planning and forecasting to decision support at the executive level.
This perspective helps CFOs position their Finance function against peers, quantify performance gaps, and build a fact-based case for change.
Defining the Target Vision
Once the current state is clear, the next step is to define the target vision. A high-performing Finance function must be both efficient and effective. This means reducing manual reconciliations through automation while increasing Finance’s ability to support business decisions with insight and foresight.
The target vision must also be aligned with corporate priorities. Finance is moving beyond number-crunching into a strategic role at the center of decision-making.
Advancing Finance Through Maturity Assessment and Defined Plateaus
Transformation rarely happens in a straight line. It progresses steadily through plateaus of milestones and honest assessments of the organization’s maturity level. Understanding where the organization stands in terms of standardization, automation, strategic partnerships, and business transformation is essential to defining the right next step. A clear view of maturity enables targeted investments, realistic roadmaps, and aligned expectations across the business. Each plateau represents a distinct level of maturity with specific capabilities and measurable business impact. As Finance progresses through these stages, it evolves from a transactional function into a strategic driver of performance and transformation.
The cbs Finance Plateau Model provides a framework for long-term global finance transformation
Finance transformation is not a single leap but a staged process. The most successful programs move forward in plateau elements:
- Plateau 1: Standardization – Harmonize processes, master data, and reporting structures. Many organizations use S/4HANA as the foundation for “One Finance,” consolidating charts of accounts and globalizing processes across dozens or even hundreds of company codes.
- Plateau 2: Automation and Excellence – Maximize automation of daily operations, shorten period-end closing with workflows, and provide real-time access to data. This stage reduces manual effort and increases productivity.
- Plateau 3: Strategic Partnership – Elevate Finance into the role of advisor, delivering predictive analytics, scenario planning, and actionable recommendations for leadership.
- Plateau 4: Business Transformation Driver – Enable Finance to actively steer business transformation with data-driven insights, helping the enterprise respond to shifting supply chains, new business models, and geopolitical uncertainty.
This staged approach ensures tangible progress at every step and prevents transformation fatigue.
SCHOTT’s Path to S/4HANA
SCHOTT AG modernized its finance operations by moving from SAP R/3 (ECC) to S/4HANA, creating a leaner and more transparent finance landscape.
A central milestone was the consolidation into one global controlling area covering around 75 company codes, streamlining processes and improving group-wide visibility. The shift from the classic general ledger to the new ledger-based approach strengthened financial accuracy and overall transparency of the company and global value chain..
By replacing cost-based CO-PA with accounting-based CO-PA, SCHOTT achieved sharper profitability insights. The material ledger enabled parallel valuation, separating statutory reporting from operational steering. In addition, the introduction of SAP Business Partner simplified vendor and customer management, reducing duplication and complexity.
Together, these measures delivered leaner processes, improved transparency, and a stronger foundation for data-driven decisions, by building the baseline for acting as strategic business partner to future growth with IPO, lean consolidation and decision-making processes.
RWE’s Journey Through Finance Transformation
RWE’s “TranS4mer” program is standardizing accounting on S/4HANA to support its global energy transition and diverse portfolio across renewables, flexible generation, trading, and conventional power generator technologies.
Following mergers and acquisitions, RWE’s finance setup spanned more than 500 company codes in 15 countries, with 3,000 users in Phase 1. Harmonization was essential. By 2026, the S/4 system will support over 13,000 users in 22 countries across 4 continents unified.
The program focuses on scalability, efficiency, and global business services. Support functions are being centralized, end-to-end processes streamlined, and a principle of minimum customizing ensures standardization. Standard solution extensions and integration with SAP Business Technology Platform secure efficiency and RISE readiness.
For RWE, TranS4mer is more than IT modernization. By embedding a standardized S/4 system, the company is building a scalable and transparent accounting function that underpins both operational excellence and strategic decision-making.
Concluding Remarks
Finance transformation is not a one-off project but an ongoing journey. It begins with a clear assessment, evolves into a target vision, and advances in stages that deliver sustainable value. Along the way, quick wins are essential to build momentum, while the long-term goal is to establish Finance as both an efficient operator and a strategic innovator.
The project’s insights of SCHOTT and RWE illustrate what this looks like in practice. SCHOTT achieved leaner processes, greater transparency, and deeper insights by harmonizing its structures and adopting new ledger functionality. RWE tackled global complexity by standardizing its finance landscape, reducing company codes, and scaling Finance to support its energy transition.
Transformation is not just about migrating to S/4HANA. It is about creating a Finance function that drives insight, efficiency, and resilience across the enterprise.
