Map your finance transformation baseline in 10 days.

AskWise runs a guided pilot across finance, IT, risk, operations, and programme stakeholders to build a scoped reference view of process bottlenecks, system dependencies, control load, capacity pressure, automation maturity, and evidence-backed opportunity ranges where inputs support them.

  • Manual reconciliations, fragmented close processes, and duplicated approvals consume 30-40% of finance capacity

    = hidden inefficiency stays invisible.

  • Traditional discovery takes 4-8 weeks and costs £30k-£120k

    = findings land after momentum has moved.

  • ERP, EPM, and automation commitments are made before process complexity is fully mapped

    = overspend risk rises.

Book a guided pilot

Stakeholder coverage

Suggested participant mix

Participant mix

Finance sponsors

22%

Process owners + operators

48%

IT / risk / programme partners

30%
CFO transformation leads, COOs, and programme directors responsible for close, reporting, treasury, shared services, or controllership change
Finance operations, treasury, controllership, shared-services, risk, and PMO leaders who need a credible view of how work really runs
Consulting, architecture, technology, and change teams that need evidence before blueprinting, vendor decisions, or workstream sequencing

Baseline window

10 days

Interview format

Short, role-aware conversations designed to avoid workshop load.

Operating reality check

What finance transformation teams need to see before commitments are made

Finance programmes do not usually stall because the target state is unclear. They stall because the real process, system dependencies, control load, and exception ownership become visible only after spend is already committed. AskWise makes that reference view visible first.

Highest-severity process areas (example)

Financial close

88%

Treasury reporting

85%

Management reporting

76%

Scoring dimensions

Process
Data/systems
Controls/risk
Headcount
Automation

Priority finance transformation blockers

4 signals

Financial close and consolidation depend on reconciliations, approvals, and manual adjustments that are rarely visible end to end.

FP&A and budgeting cycles inherit data, ownership, and workflow issues from upstream teams.

Treasury and cash management rely on fragmented bank, FX, and liquidity inputs across systems.

AP/AR, management reporting, controls, and compliance accumulate duplicated reviews and exception work.

How it works

Four steps from programme question to baseline

Sponsor time: 45-minute kickoff + 60-minute executive debrief.

Stakeholder time: 5-10 minutes per stakeholder interview.

1

Define

45 min

Scope the finance process landscape: close, reporting, FP&A, treasury, controls, AP/AR, and the next programme decision.

2

Collect

5-10 min / person

Adaptive interviews run in parallel across finance, IT, risk, operations, and programme stakeholders.

3

Synthesize

3-4 days

AskWise identifies patterns, dependencies, contradictions, hidden bottlenecks, and opportunity ranges where evidence supports them.

4

Act

60 min debrief

Leaders receive a pilot debrief roadmap with evidence, risk ratings, and implementation sequencing.

What you get

The baseline is the product

Guided finance bottleneck map for the scoped process areas.
Evidence-backed review of process efficiency, data and systems, controls and risk, capacity load, and automation maturity.
Opportunity range worksheet where source inputs support quantified estimates.
Prioritised pilot debrief roadmap with quick wins, process reform, and strategic value phases.
Process and dependency map showing handoffs, data gaps, and exception paths.
Financial close and treasury reporting examples with recommended actions.
Executive debrief pack with evidence, confidence, and blind-spot callouts.
Traceability from each recommendation back to anonymized source responses.

Sample signals

Programme-specific findings, not generic advice

Example outputs

Example

Financial close shows 12 manual reconciliations across 4 systems, 3 approval chains with unclear ownership, and rekeying between SAP and HFM.

Signal strength

90%

Example

Treasury reporting relies on fragmented cash position data across 6 banks and manual FX exposure calculations in Excel.

Signal strength

84%

Example

The highest combined severity appears in financial close, treasury, and management reporting, making them priority focus areas.

Signal strength

78%

Example

Illustrative annual value opportunity ranges from £1.7M to £3.3M across close acceleration, reconciliation reduction, reporting efficiency, duplicate process elimination, platform rationalisation, and redeployment.

Signal strength

72%

Trust and safety

Built for evidence, anonymity, and candid transformation input

Protection flow

EvidenceRedactionThresholdsReporting

Evidence-linked findings (example)

93%

PII redaction coverage (example)

89%

Anonymity safety checks (example)

86%

Time-box completion (example)

91%
Evidence-linked findings let sponsors defend scope and sequencing decisions.
Anonymous mode is available for sensitive operational feedback.
PII is redacted before quotes appear in reports.
Short interviews reduce disruption across regulated finance teams.

Percentages and value ranges above are illustrative examples from the guided finance pilot format; your report uses your actual response counts, evidence links, available source inputs, and programme-specific recommendations.

Engagement model

Finance engagement model

Start with a fixed-fee guided Finance Process Diagnostic, then expand into deeper transformation intelligence or continuous monitoring when the programme needs it.

Engagement model

From £25k

45-minute kickoff + 60-minute executive debrief.

Finance Process Diagnostic

£25k

10 days

Fixed-fee baseline for mid-size finance functions that need a fast reference view before committing transformation spend.

Ideal: Mid-size finance functions (50-200 FTE)

Transformation Intelligence

£40k

4 weeks

Deeper programme intelligence for large finance functions that need business-case and sequencing evidence.

Ideal: Large finance functions (200-500 FTE)

Continuous Intelligence

£80k-£120k/year

Ongoing

Persistent reference layer for group finance or multi-entity transformation programmes.

Ideal: Group finance / multi-entity programmes

FAQ

Answers before the baseline starts

Does this replace a consulting or internal discovery phase?

No. It gives the programme a faster reference view of how finance work really runs so design, vendor, and delivery decisions start from the right evidence.

Can this fit inside an active transformation programme?

Yes. It is strongest when a programme is mobilised but still debating where the real bottleneck sits or which workstream should move first.

Which finance areas can be covered?

The baseline covers financial close and consolidation, FP&A and budgeting, treasury and cash management, AP/AR, management reporting, and financial controls and compliance.

What does the guided map cover?

The pilot can review process efficiency, data and systems, controls and risk, capacity load, and automation maturity for the scoped finance areas; quantified ranges are included only where inputs support them.

Will this work in regulated environments?

Yes. Interviews are short, structured, and can run in anonymous mode. We do not need live customer data to show where process, system, control, and exception friction sits.

What do you need from us?

A sponsor, a shortlist of people who run or own the process, and the next execution decision the programme needs to make with confidence.

See where Finance is losing value before the programme commits.

Start with a Finance Process Diagnostic, or scope the broader Transformation Intelligence model when the programme needs deeper evidence for sequencing, benefits, and board-level decisions.

Book a guided pilot