Volodymyr, please describe what the FRO (Financial Resources Outsourcing) team focuses on. What do you offer to clients?

The FRO team focuses on providing comprehensive financial operation services tailored to the specific needs of our clients. Basically, our offer comprises a wide range of financial tasks, including bookkeeping, controlling and financial operation support. We are proud to have a diverse team with individuals at various expert levels, from juniors to experienced CFO experts and controllers. Our primary aim is to provide efficient support in the field of financial operations, so that our clients may focus on their main business activities.

What kind of services do your clients outsource most often?

The types of services our clients most frequently outsource vary according to their specific needs and organisational structure. Global Business Services (GBS), i.e. organisations focused on shared services management, usually seek support for managing their agenda, which includes services provided to other entities within the group. In these cases, we help with bookkeeping, reporting and coordination activities. Sometimes we also provide controlling support.

Another group of our clients, comprising local manufacturing or FMCG companies, often demand comprehensive support with the entire financial department agenda management. This includes a broad spectrum of activities, ranging from the support of a junior accountant to the main account position and various tasks related to the controlling agenda. However, we tailor our services to the specific needs of each client.

Financial Resources Outsourcing: Who are we and how can we help you?

We are a team of more than 100 accountants, payroll and tax specialists with experience in project management and various ERP business systems, such as SAP, BDH, Helios, Oracle and 35+ others. Are you in need of qualified employees providing bookkeeping, payroll, financial services, project management or HR? Do not hesitate to contact us! Together, we will find an efficient solution tailored to the needs of your company.

Please visit our website for all the necessary information, including contact details.

In which cases do your services pay off to companies?

When companies begin to struggle with issues related to the lack of employees arising from maternity or parental leave or due to the lack of qualified experts on the labour market, outsourcing certain services may be a strategic step leveraging the workload put on current employees and ensuring continuity. In such situations, it is crucial for managers to assess the gravity of the problem and to determine whether temporary support in seasonal peaks will suffice, or more comprehensive support is needed. External support can provide not only expert knowledge and practical help to overstretched companies or those undergoing transformation, but also valuable relief and emotional support for employees.

How should companies proceed when they start experiencing problems with the lack of employees and decide on possible outsourcing of some services? What would you recommend to them?

We recommend talking to their employees and teams. Basically, our key recommendation to companies is to proactively deal with companies like ours before the problem escalates. If we start discussions early, we have enough time to tailor the solution to the client’s needs, plan workload distribution and ensure optimal conditions for cooperation.

What do your clients ask more often before opting for outsourcing of certain services? What are their concerns and how do you respond?

Before they decide to outsource certain services, clients usually ask several key questions to ensure a smooth transition and efficient cooperation. First, they often ask for our relevant experience in the specific field comprising respective systems and our knowledge of required languages. In this regard, we always emphasise our broad expert knowledge, present examples of similar projects we have performed, and assure our clients of our ability to provide high-quality results tailored to their specific needs. Second, clients often express concerns about the process of knowledge transfer, mainly in cases when this process is necessary to ensure continuity and a problem-free operation of their financial department. To dispel those fears, we present our robust processes and time-proven knowledge transfer procedures and explain our methods and approach to solving the unique requests of each client in detail.

What key trends in the field of financial services outsourcing do you see? What is your vision for the near future?

In outsourcing financial services, we see a growing demand for more sophisticated financial skills, mainly in report preparation, system integration or using cutting-edge technologies. Apart from this, we see trends towards a more profound understanding of business dynamics above a mere numerical analysis with a focus on the importance of a strategic view and holistic decision-making. Moreover, clients are often looking for alternative solutions how to make their financial processes more efficient and optimise the allocation of resources. That means they are using outsourcing services not only for cost efficiency but also to gain a strategic advantage, allowing them to focus on key competencies and outsource specialised expertise and resources as needed.

In the field of payroll, tax or HR agenda, Deloitte offers some automated tools. Do you use them when working for your clients?

Deloitte indeed offers a set of automated tools designed to make accounting, tax and payroll processes more efficient. However, when working on projects within the outsourcing of financial resources, we usually use the client’s current software. In practice, we encounter cases when members of our team have deeper knowledge of a client’s software, which enables us to optimise the client’s processes and increase efficiency. When we have the opportunity for our tools to further increase the client’s efficiency, however, we proactively offer our solutions as part of our services.

Have you worked on an interesting project you would like to mention?

Every project we work on brings unique challenges and opportunities so that it is difficult to pick one specific example. But working in various multicultural environments, for example, is particularly fascinating, as it requires us to adjust our approach to suit all participants. One of the unforgettable experiences was a contract where we acted as mediators between our client, the financial department, and the IT part of the ERP implementation team from the same company. Despite the IT team assuring that the IT system runs well, the opposite was true. Thus, our team consisting of technically skilled professionals, negotiated necessary adjustments with the IT team, proved the feasibility of these adjustments and ensured that the problem in question, which was very demanding for the client’s employees, was successfully resolved.

Finally, tell us what you like the most about working in the FRO team.

At work in the FRO team, I like the vigorous team spirit, which pervades all our efforts the most. It is really stimulating to work with enthusiastic people who not only like their work but also actively seek growth opportunities within their profession. Witnessing how my colleagues manage to grow professionally and personally brings a feeling of satisfaction which can hardly be compared to anything else. Moreover, I am extremely pleased to see our clients satisfied with the results of our common effort. Knowing that our conscientious work has brought a substantial shift in their operations and seeing their appreciation – all that motivates us to keep surpassing their expectations.

Besides, the level of cooperation within Deloitte is exceptional. The close cooperation with various departments enables us to use miscellaneous expertise and perspectives, enhance our solutions and support innovations. This exceptional cooperation strengthens the sense of unity within the company, which makes each success a collective triumph.