Regaining control of complex multi-million projects via proactive mid-year review and sharp forecasting

The federal Group Controlling department of this healthcare organization emerged from a central reform of the financial structure. Its goal is to increase the impact and added value of the finance function across the entire organization.
To realize this ambition, the client chose to bolster their internal team with the external expertise of TriFinance. By placing a team of three experts, a Project Manager and two Business Controllers, at the heart of daily controlling activities, we are co-building a central, future-proof planning and reporting cycle.

In this complex environment involving various stakeholders at both group and entity levels, a hands-on approach is essential. The team focuses on:

• streamlining monthly management reporting
• performing in-depth variance analyses
• proactively supporting the budgeting and forecasting processes 

For our consultants, this required rapid adaptation to an environment where the transition to new methodologies was still in the phase of cultural anchoring.

Beyond monitoring operational budgets, the Business Controlling consultants oversee the financial follow-up of extensive, multi-year investment projects. TriFinance consultant Anne-Sofie Asnong manages budgets for various projects ranging from 4 to 11 million euros. Where monitoring was previously fragmented, her approach has created a centralized and transparent overview. By revisiting the original business cases and translating them into monthly reports, there is now a clear picture of spend, remaining budgets, and potential execution delays.

This sharpened insight forms the basis for a proactive mid-year review. Rather than a mere look back at the past, this moment now serves as a strategic benchmark for the future. In addition to the existing rolling forecast for operating costs, Anne-Sofie Asnong, together with fellow consultant and Business Controller Michael Knaepen, introduced a similar methodology for capital projects. With this expansion, actual figures are now directly linked to a revised forecast for the remainder of the year across all budget categories.
This shift to a rolling forecast with 3 months of actuals and 9 months of forecast following the first quarter, later in the year followed by a 6+6 forecast and a 9+3 forecast, enables the organization to make timely adjustments. As a result, budgetary shifts are no longer identified after the fact, but are facilitated in advance in close coordination with the business and management.

The effectiveness of the updated forecasting process depends entirely on the quality of collaboration between finance and the business. In an environment where personnel costs account for approximately 80% of the total daily operating budget, close dialogue with department heads is crucial. Through the optimized use of Anaplan as a central tool, TriFinance’s consultants are able to translate the accounting figures into visual, easy-to-understand dashboards on a monthly basis, providing a clear picture of the budget’s status. This enables management not only to monitor the current state of affairs but also to perform proactive simulations, such as assessing the impact of indexations on the total payroll.

This approach transforms the controller’s role into that of a strategic advisor. Instead of merely collecting data, the consultants focus on challenging the business: are the projected savings being realized, and are the projects still aligned with the multi-year strategic plan? This interaction enhances data reliability and fosters a broad sense of accountability for the budgets.

Achieving structural change within an organization of this size requires more than just technical expertise; it demands a keen understanding of change management. Interim Project Manager Oussama El Guiti plays a key role in this by setting the strategic direction and bridging the gap between the objectives of the Group Controlling team and the team’s day-to-day activities.

This multi-layered approach is essential, as the transition to a centralized model is still very much in the phase of cultural embedding. This also makes the collection of budgetary information an intensive exercise in stakeholder management. The consultants at TriFinance act as the connecting link between different entities and domains. By communicating proactively and building a strong relationship of trust with budget holders, they succeed in capturing the necessary data in a timely and accurate manner. 

To ensure these new working methods are sustained in the long term, the team is strongly committed to knowledge transfer and documentation. The creation of detailed manuals for daily processes and reporting ensures that the implemented improvements remain firmly embedded within the organization. Thanks to close collaboration within the TriFinance team and on-the-job mentoring, the “stretch” in this project is being translated into tangible growth for both the consultants and the client. The result is a robust finance function that looks to the future and the multi-year plan with confidence.

Does your organization need temporary expertise to optimize complex budgeting or forecasting processes? TriFinance provides experienced teams who understand both financial practices and organizational culture to take your finance department to the next level.