en
da
In many companies with complex structures, there are hidden pitfalls in Finance. In such cases, resources can disappear unnoticed and be wasted – funds that could otherwise be used more effectively to drive growth, promote innovation, or improve your company's bottom line. So how do you ensure that this doesn't happen in your company? A cost recovery project can help you with that. Learn how here.
Your company's finances are a complex entity where all the cogwheels must fit together.
Unfortunately, everything rarely runs smoothly, and you may have experienced errors such as double payments, incorrect invoicing, wrong prices, tax or currency errors.
These may easily be dismissed as small, insignificant problems, but in the long run, such errors can develop into significant financial losses. Even worse is when they hide beneath the surface and are difficult to detect.
This is where a cost recovery project can help you focus and identify the process challenges and errors that continually cost money.
A cost recovery project is a check-up of your financial processes
A cost recovery project functions as a thorough review of your company's financial processes. Below, you can see the phases the project would be divided into if we were to carry it out with you.
- Planning
We begin with a thorough review of your financial processes and systems to establish a solid foundation. Here, we collect data on your financial history, which includes a detailed overview of past transactions, accounts, contracts, and other relevant documents.
Next, we conduct a comprehensive analysis of data extracts from your ERP and financial systems. This gives us an accurate picture of the functioning of your processes and of potential error areas, and from this analysis, we identify primary risk areas.
In this way, we can plan and focus on the analysis in the subsequent project phases and ensure a smooth review.
- Recovery & compliance
Here, we identify and correct errors such as double payments, incorrect invoicing, etc. This not only ensures that such errors are rectified but also that your company complies with current contracts, agreed prices, and discounts. Another important part of this phase is ensuring compliance – meaning that all processes are in accordance with both internal policies and external regulations.
This reduces the risk of future errors and helps maintain trust and transparency both internally and with external partners. In this way, we can restore financial accuracy and ensure that all processes comply with both internal and external guidelines. - Improvements
This phase is about creating lasting improvements so that your company can avoid similar problems in the future while optimising existing financial processes. Therefore, we define potential process improvements and system adjustments that can streamline workflows and minimise the risk of future errors.
Often, small system adjustments – such as automating certain workflows or improving integration between your ERP systems and payment solutions – can make a significant difference in minimising errors and reducing the manual workload.
The most important thing for us is to ensure that the proposed improvements are implemented in a way that is easy to maintain and scalable in line with your company's needs.
A good example of how we conducted a cost recovery project took place at a large Danish company. During our analysis, we discovered an error in the handling of VAT and travel expenses. It turned out that the travel expense system had its own table for managing VAT codes instead of retrieving and updating this business logic directly from the company's ERP system, as was expected. As a result, the latest VAT changes were not correctly implemented. Fortunately, the company was actually owed VAT, and thanks to our efforts, the error was discovered so that it could be corrected and so that the company could receive a refund for the incorrectly settled amounts.
Which outcome should you expect from a cost recovery project?
Your time and resources are valuable. We know that.
That's why we are committed to ensuring that as much business value as possible is released when you embark on a cost recovery project. Through the project, you open the door to a range of optimisation opportunities and activities, which, depending on the scope of the project and your focus, will improve the quality of Finance.
Below, you can read about some of the key benefits you can achieve in the wake of a cost recovery project.
Future-proofing
Our primary goal is not just to conduct a one-off review, but to help you avoid losses in the future. By focusing on long-term solutions and improvements, we ensure that your company does not need to undergo a recovery process year after year. We work with you to create a more robust financial structure that is ready to handle future challenges and opportunities.
Valuable insight
In addition to the financial savings you achieve, you also gain in-depth insight into your company's processes and any missing controls. This insight is invaluable as it allows you to strengthen your finance function and improve your internal controls and processes. This means that you not only save money in the short term but also build a stronger and more efficient organisation in the long term.
Give your Finance function a check-up
We have many years' experience conducting cost recovery projects for large Danish companies across various industries. Therefore, we know where the pitfalls lie and how to find hidden errors that are difficult to detect.
So, would you like to find valuable savings? Feel free to contact Senior Partner Morten Bille or Senior Partner Casper Oxlund-Mariegaard for a non-binding talk.
