Transformation Assurance

Companies that do not transform will eventually exit the market. This is because, in a rapidly changing market, they are not meeting the ever-evolving expectations of customers, employees and other stakeholders such as regulators. Transformation drivers are technological changes such as new system implementations like SAP S/4HANA, but also the introduction of new technologies like robotic process automation or artificial intelligence in business processes. Another transformation driver are changes in business models such as business process outsourcing or the outsourcing of processes to shared service centers. Regulatory changes can also lead to transformation, such as the leasing standard IFRS 16 or ESEF reporting.

Although the benefits of a complex transformation can be substantial, they are not without significant risks, and not all companies achieve the expected results. Failure to successfully manage the inherent risks can have many negative consequences, including production and financial impacts and potential damage to reputation.

Despite the high use of corporate resources, transformation projects still have to contend with a high failure rate, a problem that is increasingly attracting the attention of management boards, supervisory boards and internal audit. All of these groups are beginning to recognize the risks that major transformation initiatives entail. They want answers to questions like:

• Are we on time and on budget?
• Are we delivering the planned scope?
• Are we maintaining the integrity of our control environment?
• Will we achieve a positive return on our investments?
• Do we meet regulatory requirements?

The BDO Difference

BDO's Transformation Assurance Team helps companies to answer these questions and to focus on achieving the goals of their transformation by using forward-looking indicators to highlight potential problems and risks throughout the entire project lifecycle.

We complement our team of certified PRINCE2® experts with IT, process and accounting experts. As an auditing company, we provide an independent audit of your projects, based on the relevant auditing and review standards.

Our Transformation Assurance services include

• Pre-Implementation Reviews: Project-related reviews according to IDW PS 850, for example SAP S/4HANA implementation projects
• Post-Implementation Reviews: Post Implementation Migration Review according to IDW PS 850/330
• Project Management Reviews: Project (accompanying) review of the effectiveness of the project management with focus on the identification of project risks
• Project Quality Assurance: Support in setting up an efficient and effective project management office using best practices in project methodology, monitoring and quality assurance of project progress.
• Outsourcing Project Assurance: Auditing support for outsourcing projects, e.g. to shared service centers or other external service provider organizations (cloud computing).