Helping raise DX awareness throughout all client companies by improving the efficiency of bookkeeping and accounting operations
Bookkeeping and accounting DX is drawing attention as a response to the invoice system and the revision of the Law Concerning Preservation of National Tax Records in Electronic Form (Electronic Bookkeeping Law). Here we introduce a senior manager who applies her extensive expertise in system implementation and organizational climate reform in this area to improve the DX awareness of the client company as a whole, while also pursuing the happiness of the individuals who work for it.
Helping raise DX awareness throughout all client companies by improving the efficiency of bookkeeping and accounting operations
Experiences in ABeam ~ Impressive Project~
Comprehensive new system implementation at a giant organization with 54 group companies and more than 20,000 employees
The changes in working practices brought about by the pandemic have had a profound impact on corporate accounting and finance departments as well. In response to the invoice system that takes effect on October 1 this year, and the revision of the Electronic Bookkeeping Law which takes effect on January 1, 2024, many companies are facing the challenge of promoting DX in operations such as expense reimbursement, invoice payment, and invoicing.
At ABeam, I support business reforms, business system implementation, and DX promotion in the areas of accounting and finance. Most recently, I have been leading a DX promotion project related to expense reimbursement and invoicing for a large manufacturer with 54 group companies and over 20,000 employees.
The purpose of this project is to standardize business and travel expense reimbursement processes, which were previously carried out piecemeal by each group company and department, for better operational efficiency and productivity. We will go with a paperless system for compliance with the invoicing system and the amended Electronic Bookkeeping Law, while at the same time, we will enhance the checking function to improve the compliance level. As a way of achieving these objectives, the company decided to implement Concur Travel, a cloud-based business travel management platform, as well as Concur Expense for cloud-based expense reimbursement.
When we began the project, the client requested that we implement the system company-wide all at once instead of phasing it in. Originally, their systems were not integrated, and only some departments were working on DX, so they wanted to use the project to raise the digital awareness of their employees. ABeam had never before undertaken a project to implement a whole new system for an organization as large as this company. So this was a big challenge.
The system is at the core of the project, but you don't get business reform merely by setting up a system according to plan. This is because no matter how eager for change the client's management team may be, there will be a certain number of people in the field of a large organization who do not want to change the status quo. So we decided to actively dive into the field to gain a deep understanding of the client's business and workflow, and to promote familiarization with and education on the new system through close discussions with the people involved.
We initially carried these efforts out in person, but then the pandemic struck midway through the project, forcing us to suspend our efforts at real-life awareness and education. So we switched to online conferencing tools for communication with the field, and implemented an operational navigation system on the SAP Concur system screen using the WalkMe digital adoption solution to provide easy-to-understand explanations.
As a result, the project has come to be recognized within the client company as a pioneering DX initiative for all employees. In addition to improving operational efficiency and standardization, the company is achieving its goal of raising employee awareness of DX. The project also functions across multiple departments, including human resources, accounting, and IT, and the client has commented that this horizontal collaboration is expanding in an organization that had a tendency to be vertically divided.
Why ABeam ?
I wanted to transcend the limitations of operating companies and propose optimal solutions head-on
I have specialized in accounting since I majored in it in my school days, and I obtained my 1st Grade bookkeeping certification when I was a college student. After I graduated, I joined a major chemical manufacturer, with hopes for a career in the accounting and finance field. At that time, few companies were hiring college graduates for career-track positions, and many companies put restrictions on career formation for women by hiring them mainly for general office work (with limited job positions, geographical regions, etc.). This company, however, was hiring women for career track positions in double-digit numbers and more every year.
However, what awaited me after joining the company was an unexpected assignment to a sales position. After training and getting involved in sales, I worked hard to achieve results in an industry that even today has a strongly male-dominated culture. Looking back, I think the experiences I went through at the time have steadily led me to where I am today as a consultant.
And yet, I also harbored a certain amount of shame at being unable to apply all that I had taken the trouble to learn in the accounting field. And then there was the reality that in an operational company, we can't help getting tied to our own commercial products. Even if we think that a competitor's products have more advantages from the client's perspective, we couldn't be straightforward and make that proposal. I had been looking for an industry where I could present the client with the best possible proposals in a disinterested way while making the most of my area of expertise, and that's what drew me to consulting as the next stage in my career.
Among a great many options, I decided on ABeam because of its excellent training system for members joining mid-career, and also because the interviewer looked me straight in the eye when speaking, rather than down at the paperwork. We don't judge people solely by their career histories, instead treating and evaluating them on an equal footing as individuals. This is the culture that remains unchanged at ABeam today.
After joining the company, I was assigned to a project in the accounting field, which is what I had been hoping for, and this enabled me to steadily accumulate successful experience as a consultant. I took maternity leave in 2008 and 2011. Since returning to work, I have taken advantage of the system for shortened work hours, and taken on the challenge of a new career in which I balance childcare and work, with the help of the deep understanding of my supervisors, colleagues, and clients.
Future ~Growth Story~
Leading a project that can generate value specifically because its members work shortened hours
I gathered female members who, like me, have shortened working hours and are balancing work with childcare, wrote a proposal myself, and won the project. I am now leading this project by a team made up entirely of members with shortened working hours. When we first decided to support a client with this structure, ABeam's management understood this action and pushed us to give it a try. The client was also willing to accept it because of the relationship we had built up with them.
It's not exactly risk-free for a company to try this. But ABeam values the ideas of its individual members and supports their careers seamlessly. More than 20 years have passed since I moved to ABeam, and I still feel that choosing this place was no mistake.
As parents, we have to maximize our work efficiency and somehow find time to handle childcare and household chores. Our efforts to achieve this included the adoption of telecommuting even before the world was plunged into the COVID-19 pandemic. So when remote work was promoted throughout society, we had no resistance to it. We were able to move projects forward smoothly while working with clients remotely and demonstrating our team's advantage to the fullest.
Even now, it is not uncommon for a team member to have a new child and enter a period of parental leave. These are happy changes that are celebrated both internally and by our clients. And we follow up with each other to ensure that the value of the project is never compromised, whatever the circumstances.
I am now working with the hope that we can get a similar culture to take root at more companies. If every working person has a better life, then a better society will result. Isn't that the whole reason we need DX?
It will remain necessary for companies to undergo major changes in response to legal systems and social trends. Through DX support, we continue to enrich the lives of employees at every workplace, and to create added value for the company. I intend to continue to be at the forefront of fulfilling this mission.