Case Studies

Overcoming Operational Gaps to Drive Finance Efficiency

2 minute read

The Client

Regional dairy organization

The Challenge

The company’s finance department was struggling to align its organizational structure, processes, and technology with its strategic goals. They needed clarity on responsibilities, better process discipline, and a vision for optimizing their finance operations during leadership transitions. Specific pain points included:

• Perceptions of the finance team as purely transactional, which did not reflect their actual workload, contributing to low morale and resistance to change.
• Lack of clarity and ownership over key processes, with roles and responsibilities fragmented across team members.
• Inability to consistently meet deadlines, such as month-end close, due to process inefficiencies and unclear expectations.
• Outdated or disjointed technology solutions that did not support credit card integration or end-to-end workflows.
• No clear roadmap for improvements, with team members struggling to visualize the desired future state.
• Limited leadership bandwidth, compounded by the absence of a permanent finance leader at the outset of the project.

The Solution

Catena Solutions was engaged to perform a thorough assessment, identify immediate opportunities, and provide actionable recommendations. Leveraging our finance transformation expertise, we:

• Conducted interviews with staff and leadership to understand pain points, workloads, and suggestions for improvement.
• Facilitated a SWOT analysis with the executive group and individual interviews to surface team dynamics and future-state aspirations.
• Mapped current responsibilities and developed RACI matrices to clarify ownership and identify areas of overlap or confusion.
• Investigated and recommended potential technology solutions to consolidate expense and invoice processing (e.g., Ramp, Bill) and improve integration.
• Delivered clear, actionable observations and a report that leadership described as “critical” to advancing their planning.

Our consultant’s ability to build trust with both staff and leadership, elicit honest feedback, and translate it into actionable insights was key. They managed sensitive conversations about organizational roles and team members’ aspirations while keeping the focus on the company’s needs and future improvements. Their finance expertise and familiarity with industry best practices enabled them to recommend realistic solutions tailored to the client’s constraints.

Despite initial resistance and skepticism about repeated assessments, our consultant maintained staff engagement, clarified process ownership, and provided a clear vision of practical next steps.

The Benefit

The project delivered significant value, including:

• A clear and detailed current-state assessment that identified gaps and immediate improvement opportunities.
• Actionable recommendations and quick wins ready for immediate implementation, targeting improved process discipline and reduced workload.
• Custom tools, templates, and a structured roadmap delivered ahead of schedule and within budget, supporting immediate needs and future leadership transitions.
• Improved staff morale and engagement through clearly articulated roles, responsibilities, and addressing personal aspirations and frustrations.

Although quantitative outcomes are pending implementation, the leadership team acknowledged that our support was critical to their strategic progress. The consultant’s adaptability, resilience, and expertise facilitated crucial progress during organizational instability, including external disruptions, completing the project on time and within budget despite evolving priorities and client constraints.

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