Thinklytics

Regional Healthcare System (representative) · Healthcare · United States · 12 weeks

Finance and supply chain data made audit-ready for S/4HANA in 12 weeks

A representative engagement. The organization could not afford a migration that compromised financial accuracy or reporting. We made the data audit-ready and protected the close.

Challenge

A roughly 3,500-person healthcare system on SAP ECC for finance and supply chain had strict compliance requirements and low tolerance for disruption. Vendor and material master carried years of duplication and gaps, the chart of accounts needed careful mapping, and a web of BW and downstream reports depended on data about to change. Every change had to be traceable, and an internal attempt had badly under-estimated the data work.

Approach

We led with a Blueprint and Readiness Assessment, then deployed a Data Rescue Pod. We profiled finance and supply chain master data, mapped the chart of accounts and cost-center structures to the target, and inventoried every BW model and downstream report. We deduplicated and cleansed against agreed, audited rules, reconciled open items before conversion, and built a reporting continuity plan. Every change carried a compliance-grade audit trail.

Outcome

The finance team closed the first post-migration period on schedule and could trust the numbers. Reporting continued through the move with no dark period, and every data change stood up to compliance scrutiny.

Audit-ready by design

In healthcare the data has to be defensible. We treated finance and supply chain master data with the accuracy those domains demand, and captured a compliance-grade audit trail on every change.

Protect the close

We mapped reporting dependencies and built a continuity plan, so the finance team kept its numbers through the move and closed the first period on schedule.

Map the chart of accounts properly

We mapped the chart of accounts and cost-center structures to the target and reconciled open items before conversion, so the numbers reconciled after go-live, not just the tables.

Results

  • 12 wks Assessment to remediated, audit-ready data
  • 61 to 93 Finance and supply chain data quality score
  • Full Changes captured with a compliance-grade audit trail
  • On time Finance reconciled the first close after go-live

In healthcare we cannot lose financial integrity or our reporting, not even for a week. Thinklytics treated our data and our numbers as the priority they are, and we came through able to close the books and defend every figure.

Director of Finance Systems, Regional healthcare system (representative)

In the client's terms

The question

What stops reconciling the day we cut over?

The situation

A healthcare system of around 3,500 people running finance and supply chain on SAP ECC, with strict compliance obligations and no tolerance for disruption. Vendor and material master carried years of duplication, the chart of accounts needed mapping, and a web of BW and downstream reports depended on data about to change. An internal attempt had badly under-estimated the work.

What we found

Traceability was the binding constraint, not data quality. In this environment a correct change that cannot be evidenced is a finding, so the cleansing had to be designed around the audit trail from the start rather than documented afterwards.

What it produced

Finance closed the first post-migration period on schedule and could stand behind the numbers. Reporting ran through the migration with no dark period. Data quality moved from 61 to 93, and every change carried a compliance-grade audit trail.

The roadmap

A Blueprint and Readiness Assessment first, then a Data Rescue Pod. Finance and supply chain master data were profiled, the chart of accounts and cost-centre structures were mapped to the target, and every BW model and downstream report was inventoried. Deduplication ran against agreed, audited rules, open items were reconciled before conversion rather than after, and a reporting continuity plan carried the estate through the move.

The work behind this result

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Frequently asked questions

How do you keep an S/4HANA migration audit-ready?

Design the audit trail in from the start. In this healthcare system every change carried compliance-grade traceability, because a correct change that cannot be evidenced is still a finding.

Can finance close on time after an S/4HANA cutover?

It did here. The chart of accounts and cost-centre structures were mapped to the target and open items were reconciled before conversion rather than after, and finance closed the first post-migration period on schedule.

How do you avoid a reporting blackout during migration?

Inventory every BW model and downstream report first, then build a continuity plan around them. Reporting ran through the move here with no dark period, and data quality moved from 61 to 93.