Case Study: NetSuite in Football
Elite football deserves an elite finance function. Financials First
C&J project-managed a NetSuite Financials First implementation for a major sporting institution, automating previously manual financial processes and delivering faster, more accurate month-end reporting with real-time visibility.
Client: NDA
Industry: Football
NetSuite in Sport
Project
Overview.
Transforming Month-End Finance with NetSuite Financials First
Client
A major sporting institution looking to modernise its finance operation and move away from processes that had become increasingly manual, time-consuming and difficult to manage.
The organisation needed more than a new finance system. It needed to simplify the way financial information was processed, reported and accessed, while giving the finance team greater confidence in the numbers and reducing the administrative effort involved in getting to them.
NetSuite Financials First provided the opportunity to create a more efficient finance environment, with greater automation, better visibility and fewer disconnected systems.
Where they were
Before NetSuite, month-end was placing a significant burden on the finance team. The routine involved substantial manual data entry and reconciliation, making the close both time-consuming and more susceptible to human error. Rather than finance information flowing efficiently through a joined-up system, the team was spending valuable time bringing information together, checking it and reconciling differences.
The organisation was also relying on multiple software systems across its financial operation. That created additional complexity, with information sitting in different places and an increased risk of duplication or inconsistencies between systems.
For the finance team, this meant too much effort was being spent producing and validating financial information rather than using it.
The challenge was therefore not simply to replace existing software. It was to create a finance environment that could reduce manual intervention, improve the quality and availability of financial information and make month-end considerably easier to manage.
How we helped
Acting as the NetSuite Project Manager, we led the implementation of NetSuite Financials First and worked closely with the organisation throughout the programme. Project management was about more than keeping a plan up to date. A successful ERP implementation depends on bringing the business and implementation teams together, maintaining clear ownership of decisions and ensuring that the system being delivered genuinely addresses the problems that led to the project in the first place.
Close collaboration between both parties was central to the implementation. The focus remained firmly on the finance team's practical requirements: reducing unnecessary manual activity, improving financial reporting, simplifying the systems landscape and making financial information easier to access.
NetSuite Financials First provided the foundation for that change. Financial processes that had previously required greater levels of manual intervention could be automated, while financial reporting could be handled within the new environment rather than relying on the same level of manual preparation.
Just as importantly, the implementation achieved excellent user adoption. The system was not simply technically implemented; the people responsible for using it were able to adopt the new ways of working effectively.
How things changed
The impact was particularly noticeable at month-end. With more of the finance process handled within NetSuite, the organisation was able to reduce the manual effort involved in preparing and reconciling financial information. This helped the finance team close the books faster while also improving the accuracy of the information being produced.
Financial reporting also became more efficient. Instead of relying on the same level of manual processing to bring information together, the team could use NetSuite's financial reporting capabilities and access financial information within the system.
Real-time visibility was another important improvement. Decision-makers were able to access more current financial information rather than waiting for information to be manually assembled and reconciled before it could be used.
The organisation was also able to simplify its financial systems landscape. Reducing its reliance on multiple software systems helped remove unnecessary duplication and lowered the risk of errors being introduced as information moved between different environments.
Taken together, these improvements changed the role technology played within the finance function. The system became an enabler of the month-end process rather than another layer of administration around it.
Key Achievements & Results
The implementation of NetSuite Financials First gave the organisation a more efficient and joined-up finance environment. Month-end became faster and more accurate, financial reporting benefited from greater automation, and real-time visibility gave the organisation better access to the financial information needed to support decision-making. At the same time, reducing reliance on multiple systems helped simplify financial operations and reduce the risks associated with duplicate data and manual processing. Strong collaboration throughout the project also helped deliver excellent user adoption, ensuring that the benefits of NetSuite were not limited to the technology itself but were reflected in the way the finance team actually worked.
Manual month-end → NetSuite Financials First → greater automation → faster, more accurate reporting → real-time financial visibility.
Modules Used
Advanced Financials
Advanced Order Management
Multi Sub CRM