CPM Customer Success: Tips for Office of Finance Executives on their Corporate Performance Management journey Andy Smetana

The 3 Kryptonite Weaknesses of Your Finance Systems (And How OneStream Can Be Your Superhero) Is your finance team battling inefficiency and outdated systems? They're not alone. Many departments face these financial kryptonite weaknesses:
1. The Point-Solution Hydra: Multiple, disconnected systems create a complex mess, wasting time and hindering collaboration. Imagine spreadsheets, legacy software, and siloed data sources – a true monster for any finance team!
2. The Technical Debt Monster: Reliance on outdated or poorly integrated systems creates a growing technical debt that weighs down your team's progress. Think of it as a financial gremlin constantly causing problems and slowing you down.
3. The Inflexibility Golem: Legacy systems often lack the flexibility to adapt to your ever-changing business needs. This inflexible golem prevents your finance team from keeping pace with growth and new opportunities.
Introducing OneStream: Your Financial Superhero!
OneStream is a unified financial platform that tackles these challenges head-on, empowering your finance team to be their best.
OneStream Slashes the Hydra: It consolidates all your financial tasks into a single platform, eliminating the need for multiple point solutions. Think of it as a powerful sword, cutting through the complexity and simplifying your financial processes. OneStream Crushes the Technical Debt Monster: With its modern architecture and built-in financial intelligence, OneStream eliminates technical debt, freeing your team to focus on strategic initiatives. It's like a financial kryptonite that destroys the monster, allowing your team to operate efficiently. OneStream Outmaneuvers the Inflexibility Golem: OneStream's "extensible dimensionality" provides the flexibility to adapt to your business needs. Imagine your finance team with the agility of a superhero, easily adapting to change and growth. Ready to Unleash Your Finance Team's Superpowers?
Listen to the latest episode of the CPM Customer Success Podcast from Nova Advisory to discover how OneStream can transform your finance department.

Discover how OneStream's CPM Express is transforming financial management for mid-sized companies with revenues between $200M and $1B. Join us as Peter Fugere, Chief Solutions Officer at OneStream and one of its earliest team members, explains how OneStream’s newest offering, CPM Express, accelerates the speed-to-value for OneStream customers, empowering finance teams with OneStream’s full platform in a fraction of time of a typical implementation.  Learn how a OneStream customer can get up-to-speed with OneStream, yet focus their core team on doing what they do best: delivering meaningful business insights to improve corporate performance. Tune in to learn how CPM Express can elevate your enterprise's financial management capabilities. 

In this episode of CPM Customer Success, we report on the transformative innovations unveiled at OneStream's Splash 2024. Our guests, Nate Coate, CEO of Nova Advisory, and Susan Maron, Chief of Staff of Nova Advisory, share their initial impressions of the event. We highlight the impactful insights from the Vision Keynote by Tom Shea, explore the most exciting OneStream innovations, including AI-driven finance transformation tools and enhanced narrative reporting capabilities. Tune in to hear about inspiring customer success stories and how these innovations are set to revolutionize the Office of the CFO. 

If you're trying to convince your team about the value of implementing OneStream, this episode provides the insights you need. In this episode, we delve into OneStream's cause to "Take Finance Further." We discuss how OneStream empowers finance leaders to manage their finances more effectively, allowing for faster close, better planning, and more informed decision-making. Discover how OneStream's innovative solutions reduce technical debt, provide robust audit trails, and enable seamless data integration. Learn how finance teams can move beyond traditional reporting to truly drive business forward with AI-powered forecasts and unified financial insights. Take Finance Further. 

In this episode, Andy welcomes Sherry from OSI Group to the CPM Customer Success Podcast. Sherry shares her insights and experiences in leading a successful finance transformation at OSI Group. She delves into her career background, her passion for bringing order to chaos, and the significant changes she has driven at the company. Tune in to hear about her challenges, the strategies implemented, and the lessons learned along the way. This episode is packed with practical advice and inspiration for anyone looking to drive meaningful organizational change.
Sherry DeMeulenaere is EVP, CFO, and Treasurer of OSI Group, LLC. OSI Group, LLC is a global food processor servicing quick service restaurants, retail and food service distributors. Sherry joined OSI Group, LLC in March 2008 as the VP Treasurer, responsible for global treasury and risk management as well as domestic AP, AR and payroll. In March 2014, Sherry was promoted to EVP and CFO adding accounting and tax to her Treasury responsibilities.
 
Key Highlights:
[00:01 - 10:06] Sherry's Background and Career Journey
Sherry’s passion for finance and her journey from uncertainty to structure.
Gained intimate knowledge of a global company and improved information management.
The importance of understanding global operations for effective leadership
Extensive global selection process and critical partnership with Nova for successful implementation.
[10:07 - 14:17] Managing Global Change in Financial Systems
Conducted podcasts to explain the need for global change and alignment.
Strong support from the COO and President ensured top-down commitment.
Held sessions with finance and management teams to gather accurate requirements.
Emphasized data integrity improvements and addressed key decisions upfront.
[14:18 - 22:33] Lessons Learned During Financial System Implementation
Ensure sufficient staffing with detail-oriented individuals for thorough data validation.
Clearly communicate the need for a shakeout period post-implementation.
Leveraged OneStream's workflow and tools for efficiency and tailored information analysis.
Improved data drill-down capabilities for better financial reporting and decision-making.
[22:34 - 33:52] Benefits of OneStream's Drill-Down Capability
Provides clear visibility into data sources, unlike HFM.
Allows users globally to access and resolve discrepancies quickly.
Facilitates detailed account-level analysis for accurate reporting.
Builds confidence in data accuracy for strategic decisions and presentations.
[33:53 - 37:23] Closing Segment
Prepare thoroughly and communicate consistently with your management team.
Select a knowledgeable implementation partner to train your team for independent management.
Establish a dedicated team for system ownership and maintenance from the start.
Begin with manageable projects and gradually expand, avoiding the urge to solve everything at once.
 
If you liked this episode of the show, CPM Customer Success, please LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW, like, share, and subscribe!
 
Get in touch with Andy:
Email: Andy.Smetana@NovaAdvisory.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-smetana/
 
Thank you for tuning in! 
Tweetable Quotes:
“You could buy a great system, if you don't have a good implementation partner, that's not going to work out.”  - Sherry DeMeulenaere
“Pick some people who are really, really detail-oriented and love to run validations, and are really sharp at that.” - Sherry DeMeulenaere
“What we liked about OneStream when we picked it was that it had modules. You could expand it. You could start small and build out.”  - Sherry DeMeulenaere

This episode of the CPM Customer Success Podcast dives into the upcoming OneStream Splash conference in Las Vegas. Randy Cramp, Senior Sales Director at OneStream, joins the show to discuss how attendees can get the most out of the event. 

Cramp emphasizes the importance of planning and suggests reviewing the conference app to curate a personalized agenda. He also highlights networking opportunities, recommending attendees connect with other customers, partners, and OneStream specialists. 

The episode explores valuable sessions, including those focused on OneStream's AI capabilities showcased in the AI Hub. Cramp stresses the importance of asking questions, particularly for potential customers seeking to understand how OneStream can address their specific needs. 

Selecting the right partner is also a key topic. Cramp advises attendees to explore the partner expo and inquire about a partner's experience and methodology. 

Randy concludes with a customer success story, illustrating how a OneStream user continuously identified opportunities to solve problems and deliver value across the organization.