Cpmview: trusted advisor for CPM solutions

– This article was posted at Consultancy.nl

Trusted CPM Advisor

The Dutch cpmview, a specialist in realizing corporate performance management solutions, is increasingly shifting to the CPM Advisory side. A conversation with co-founder Damien Wiegman about the consultancy proposition and why the firm’s customers are increasingly requesting it.

Since its founding in 2008, cpmview has focused entirely on the world of corporate performance management (CPM). “We help companies improve and simplify their financial and reporting processes, such as financial consolidation, budgeting and planning and reporting. Technology is an important enabler in this,” Wiegman explains.

Within this niche, cpmview has managed to establish itself as an established name in recent years. The company works with well-known software players such as SAP, OneStream, Fluence Technologies and Vena Solutions, and has recently been awarded several partner awards for its track record with customers.

Wiegman himself has been active in the CPM field for more than twenty years. Before co-founding cpmview, he gained experience in the field at a Big Four firm. There, he got to know the other founders of cpmview, Edwin van den Broek and Bart van Onzen.

New opportunities and challenges

Over the years, the profession has changed considerably, Wiegman explains: “Digitalisation has provided completely new opportunities and customers also expect more. Due to the complexity of business environments and the possibilities of state-of-the-art solutions, the issue of CPM solutions today goes far beyond simply implementing a technology.”

“We see a strong need for CPM advise on the front end,” he explains. “What does my CPM strategy look like? And how does it contribute to the CFO’s goals?”

Clients also run into a plethora of offerings in the market when selecting a software package. Wiegman: “There are around 20 to 30 partners. As a result, translating the requirements into the most suitable solution is an issue that is now more prevalent.”

One of the main challenges companies currently face is that CPM is intertwined within the entire organization. Scalability is also an issue for many clients. “We advise organizations that operate globally and regularly acquire, for example. This requires flexibility in a systems landscape and CPM solutions.”

And then, of course, there is the dilemma of regulation. “Companies have all kinds of reporting requirements, from financial reporting around closing and BEPS 2.0 (base erosion and profit shifting) to the growing environmental, social and governance obligations.”

Especially for large SMEs operating internationally, compliance can be a crucial focus. “Compliance is a major cost for companies if it is not efficiently put in place. By sharply mapping out the requirements, automating and digitizing processes (including getting the data in order) and linking data-driven work to decision-making, enormous gains can be made,” Wiegman explains.

For example, cpmview assisted SHV Energy, a global distributor of (renewable) energy solutions, in selecting a suitable group consolidation solution. The implementation resulted in significant process optimization (improved user-friendliness, reduction of lead times) and performance improvement (higher data quality), through the use of modern technology.

Independent advice

As with any advisory project, independence is of great importance. Cpmview is vendor independent, so it can advise customers on the various packages in the market. “In the search for the right CPM solution, we put the needs of our customers first,” says Cpmview.

“A good CPM solution supports the strategic business case and reporting processes, provides usability, meets architecture requirements, fits within the system landscape, and does so at the right price. These needs differ from organization to organization. Our consulting proposition runs along these elements and provides customers with advice and solution approaches.”

And what if a customer chooses a vendor that cpmview has no implementation experience with? “That’s totally fine of course, we have ‘Chinese walls’ between our advisory and implementation services,” says Wiegman.

“And sometimes it invites us to form new partnerships,” Wiegman concludes with a smile. “The interests of our customers are paramount in all cases.”