Challenge

A national commercial trailer leasing and maintenance company was preparing for accelerated business growth and a potential ERP implementation. Their Finance operations team faced persistent workload spikes, backlogs, and time spent on manual tasks. Leadership recognized the current structure lacked the capacity and scalability needed to meet evolving business demands. CRG was engaged to assess operational effectiveness, identify capacity gaps, and chart a path toward a more scalable and efficient Finance function.

Approach

CRG applied a structured, three-phase methodology—Diagnose, Assess, and Recommend—to bring clarity and momentum to the client’s Finance transformation. The approach enabled the team to tollgate key findings, pressure test hypotheses with stakeholders, and maintain alignment with executive leadership.

Diagnose:

• Conducted interviews with 15+ stakeholders across Finance, Operations, and IT to understand workload drivers and process pain points.
• Mapped core Finance processes across Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, General Ledger, and Period-End Close to pinpoint inefficiencies.
• Analyzed task allocations to uncover effort distribution and highlight roles with unsustainable workloads.

Assess:

• Quantified current team capacity vs. actual effort to reveal a 3 FTE gap driven by manual tasks, reactive workload surges, and lack of process automation.
• Evaluated dependencies across departments and systems, identifying root causes for recurring backlog and processing delays.
• Benchmarked team activities to establish time spent on transactional vs. value-added activities.

Recommend:

• Delivered a capacity plan aligned with both current state workload and future growth expectations.
• Outlined 20+ recommendations spanning people, process, and technology, including role redefinition, workflow automation opportunities, and cross-functional accountability frameworks.
• Defined a transformation roadmap to optimize team structure, reduce manual intervention, and strengthen coordination with IT and operations.

Outcome

CRG’s engagement delivered a clear, actionable path to scale the client’s Finance operations in line with business growth and future ERP ambitions. The client is now equipped with the structure and insight to:

• Close a 3.0 FTE capacity gap through a combination of role refinement, cross-training, and targeted automation—without immediate headcount expansion.
• Shift up to 30% of Finance team effort away from transactional tasks toward analytical and value-added activities.
• Accelerate month-end close timelines by reducing rework and improving coordination across Finance and IT.
• Improve data quality and reduce backlog by addressing root causes upstream and reinforcing shared accountability across departments.
• De-risk future ERP implementation by clarifying Finance’s operational requirements and eliminating manual workarounds ahead of system changes.