Interim CFO & Finance Transformation Director, Systemic Organizational Consultant

After several S/4 go-lives, there was a lack of structure, role and decision clarity in finance and IT; governance mechanisms, prioritization logics and responsibilities were not sufficiently defined.

Unclear interfaces, high coordination efforts and inconsistent work practices led to organizational instability and limited leadership and control capabilities.

The existing operating model between finance, controlling and IT was not functional, impairing transparency, collaboration and decision-making processes.

• Design of the transformation and organizational architecture for finance, clarifying roles, decision paths and priorities.
• Diagnosis and structuring of the finance and IT organizations (DE/UK/PL), including collaboration, responsibilities and interfaces.
• Redesign of the finance–IT operating model with a focus on governance, control routines and cross-functional collaboration.
• Leadership & team enablement, particularly for global process owners, key users and finance leads (systemic organizational development / leadership).
• Steering of the transformation portfolio, including clarity on risks, dependencies and cross-functional decision processes.
• Restored structural control capability by clearly defining and embedding roles, decision paths and priorities across the organization.
• Systemically strengthened governance & cross-functional collaboration – finance, controlling and IT worked again in consistent, aligned structures; friction losses decreased measurably.
• Harmonized work and communication logics, making coordination faster, more transparent and less conflict-prone.
• Enabled the organization sustainably, among other things by building a robust key user/process owner community and clearly defined control routines.
• Made the transformation structurally controllable – prioritized initiatives, clear risk and progress logics and consistent decision formats increased execution speed.

There was a lack of clear control, role and evaluation mechanisms in project business; decision paths, evaluation logics and responsibilities were inconsistent.

Process, master data and reporting structures were not consistently defined, so risks, deviations and project progress could only be managed to a limited extent.

Pre-sales, bid and controlling processes were not aligned, leaving management without reliable decision-making bases.

• Realignment of the control and evaluation architecture in project business, including roles, evaluation and decision logics.
• Structural and organizational development of controlling and project management functions.
• Introduction of consistent work and leadership routines, including Kanban, SCRUM formats and standardized review cycles.
• Leadership and team enablement to strengthen professional responsibility and cross-functional collaboration.
• Sparring for the executive board and CFO in shaping clear priorities and decision mechanisms.
• Decision-making and evaluation capability in project business structurally strengthened, enabling earlier risk detection and stabilizing results.
• Increased transparency & controllability through consistent reporting, evaluation and review structures that were accepted and applied cross-functionally.
• Addressed organizational bottlenecks, including process and master data quality – systematically resolving the cause of operational dysfunctions.
• Unified leadership & work routines, significantly increasing clarity, commitment and prioritization in project business.
• Strengthened cross-functional collaboration; teams worked with clear roles and responsibilities, reducing conflicts and increasing execution speed.

Finance and controlling requirements in the global S/4 program were not sufficiently structured, leading to unclear responsibilities, scope ambiguities and missing decision paths.

Cross-functional collaboration was marked by silo structures and high coordination efforts, limiting integration capability and execution speed.

A consistent end-to-end process understanding and established work and decision routines were missing, making complex dependencies difficult to manage.

• Structuring and prioritizing finance & controlling requirements and deriving clear responsibility and decision logics.
• Consistent integration of controlling requirements into the S/4 program through aligned steering and communication mechanisms.
• Leadership and team enablement in agile working methods (AGILE/SCRUM) to improve collaboration, transparency and delivery capability.
• Facilitating cross-functional alignments to reduce silos and establish a consistent end-to-end process understanding.
• Supporting program management with structured decision bases, risk transparency and prioritized control.
• Clarified responsibility & decision logics, structurally stabilizing the finance/controlling stream of the S/4 program.
• Systemically strengthened end-to-end process understanding, significantly improving integration, data quality and cross-functional coherence.
• Anchored agile leadership & work logics, enabling teams to work more self-organized and respond faster to dependencies.
• Improved cross-functional collaboration, especially between finance, controlling, IT and project management; potential conflicts were reduced.
• Created structural decision foundations that sustainably increased prioritization, risk control and transparency in the program.

After a failed SAP implementation, there were no clear roles, responsibilities, or decision-making structures in controlling; control and evaluation mechanisms were not functional.

Process perspectives, collaboration, and prioritization logic were fragmented, which limited implementation speed and organizational stability.

The finance function lacked a consistent end-to-end process understanding and cross-functional control logic.

• Stabilized and structured the controlling workstream, including roles, responsibilities, and decision-making architecture.
• Reviewed and redefined project objectives, deriving a realistic scope of targets and measures.
• Analyzed structural causes of process and system deficiencies and prioritized critical action areas.
• Managed a cross-functional project team and established clear coordination and collaboration mechanisms.
• Provided organizational consulting focused on roles, collaboration, and decision-making paths within the controlling area.
• Structurally stabilized the controlling organization by clearly defining and anchoring roles, responsibilities, and decision-making paths.
• Introduced modern control and working logics, significantly improving problem understanding, prioritization, and decision quality.
• Systemically dismantled silos through end-to-end analyses and clear cross-functional collaboration mechanisms.
• Empowered teams, greatly increasing accountability, methodological competence, and decision-making ability.
• Laid the structural foundation for a robust, controllable finance function, including consistent communication, roles, and process architectures.

The finance and sales organization had limited control, role, and process stability, especially in liquidity, sales, and service.

In sales, there were no clear accountability, structure, or performance mechanisms, which impaired revenue and profitability development.

For the planned company sale, governance, reporting, and commercial structures needed to be professionalized to meet due diligence requirements.

• Ensured financial control capabilities by structuring liquidity and cash flow mechanisms.
• Performed organizational and leadership work in sales and service, including roles, responsibilities, and process logics.
• Stabilized the sales team and strengthened internal collaboration through clear leadership and organizational mechanisms.
• Provided commercial relief to the CEO, including taking over operational and strategic finance responsibilities.
• Prepared the organization for due diligence requirements, including commercial data preparation, structural modeling, and change governance.
• Strengthened organizational leadership and control capabilities with clear roles, responsibilities, and decision-making structures in finance, sales, and service.
• Professionalized governance and evaluation logics, increasing transparency, accountability, and decision-making capabilities across the organization.
• Created cultural and structural stability, with teams working more coherently, aligned, and with higher process reliability.
• Improved cross-functional collaboration, reduced conflicts, and clearly synchronized priorities.
• Ensured due diligence readiness by systematically enhancing commercial structures, reporting, and control mechanisms.

Budget: €350M OPEX · 1,500 FTEs · €100M CAPEX

• Developed governance, KPI and control structures for global IT operations
• Transformed leadership and organizational culture to improve control capabilities and performance
• SAP S/4 HANA project manager (finance digitization); Enterprise Architect for finance transformation
• Aligned financial planning with strategic priorities; achieved significant budget and efficiency gains
• Optimized cost structures, reduced organizational complexity; scaled lean leadership in finance

• Post-merger integration: harmonized systems, structures and cultures
• Reorganized the finance department and financial processes
• Introduced IFRS, SAP R/3 and HYPERION
• Stabilized the finance function as a basis for competitiveness and control

• Developed and implemented a digital sales control system
• Integrated with SAP & BI to improve pricing, forecasting and market management

• Sales operations / logistics management
• Price determination & raw material optimization
• Logistics management & procurement of transport services
• Participation in the project team for high-bay warehouse implementation