At a glance
CivOrg*, a firm of civil engineering consultants, informed ROCK that the task of managing their business's financial expenditure was becoming increasingly difficult. They requested that we review their practices and product portfolios in order to determine where more efficient processes could be put in place.
The situation
Having found that their business expenses and various other costs were beginning to have a substantial impact on their profit margins, CivOrg* contacted ROCK, requesting that we review their practices and posit means of improving them in order to reduce their expenditure.
Having audited the company and gleaned a nuanced and holistic understanding of their behaviours and models, ROCK noted that processes concerning expense analysis and remuneration were inefficient and could be significantly improved.
The company’s means of remunerating staff was reliant upon physical receipts. These were submitted once per week and the resultant admin was laborious leaving those responsible for bookkeeping with too little time to effectively analyse each user’s expenditure.
Finally, the company needed to maintain a substantial fleet of company vehicles for its team of consultants, but their use was not effectively monitored.
Recommendations
- Install expense tracker apps across the company’s fleet of mobile devices
- Implement procedures that required users to submit all relevant receipts digitally and within three working days
- Utilise IoT tech as a means of collecting data on vehicle fleet usage
How we helped
- Members of the company’s finance team spent 27 fewer hours on admin each month
- Business expenses cost reduced by 18%
- Cost of maintaining mobile fleet reduced by 13%
Outcome
Expenses trackers and associated policies resulted in fiscal administrators receiving receipts far more rapidly. These were all also stored in a single central location making the process of reviewing and approving/disapproving them significantly easier.
This single source of truth approach also provided data that, when mined, informed changes to common practices such as purchasing fuel from more expensive service stations rather than more cost-effective alternatives.
By easing the administrative burden placed on their finance team and implementing technology that allowed them to reduce their business costs, ROCK helped CivOrg* reduce their outlay on expenses by 18%.
With CivOrg’s* fleet of vehicles connected to a digital infrastructure via IoT, the company were also better placed to identify when maintenance was required and advise staff on how to use vehicles more economically. As a result, the cost of maintaining their fleet fell by 13%.
*We value our clients and their right to a confidential consultation. While the name has been altered, the results are real.
