Deakin University wanted to uplift its finance function technology from an ageing and highly customized on premise system to a best practice cloud solution that offered more agility and was fit for the future.

Deakin’s leadership saw the upgrade as an opportunity to not just transform the technology, but to drive consistency and uniformity across its finance processes.

KPMG, in partnership with Workday, worked with Deakin to tackle the challenge. They worked through five phases; Plan, Architect, Configure and Prototype, Test, and Deploy. Using KPMG’s Powered Enterprise approach, the team first helped to identify future business requirements, and then helped Deakin to transform its processes, supported by the right new technology.

A strong focus throughout were the change implications and training requirements for employees. A change impact assessment was developed, which informed a stakeholder communication strategy and training, resulting in high employee support.

The key outcomes of the transformation program included greater transparency and consistency of data for the finance department, with clearer information for reporting and decision making.

A strong cultural alignment with the University landscape, as well as the ability to bring together diverse capabilities, allowed KPMG Australia to deliver great outcomes for Deakin. Through the process the team developed a deep understanding of the needs of each stakeholder group, and built relationships based on trust.

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