Corporate M&A
Professional Legal Services
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Following the acquisition of Shire Pharmaceuticals in 2019, Takeda, a leading pharmaceutical company, faced the challenge of transforming its finance processes to become a best-in-class finance organization. The global CFO, Costa Saroukos, recognized that achieving this vision required a significant evolution within the finance organization. To address this, Takeda initiated "Project Quantum," a comprehensive three-year engagement with EY aimed at accelerating the financial close process and enhancing user experience. The project involved a complete end-to-end transformation of Takeda’s financial close process, with a focus on establishing performance targets and key metrics endorsed by senior leadership. The project team, led by the record-to-disclose (R2D) global process owner, was structured into four workstreams: Base-to-close, Calendar and governance, Finance systems, and External reporting. This collaborative approach fostered cross-functional teamwork and established a global, harmonized month-end close calendar, which significantly improved the closing process. One of the key innovations was the development of a digital accrual solution that automated monthly accrual postings, saving over 100,000 hours per year. Additionally, the project optimized the manual journal entry (MJE) process, resulting in a 75% reduction in global MJEs, equating to 45,000 productivity hours saved annually. The implementation of a "right-first-time" metric improved the accuracy of financial submissions, reducing rework and enhancing overall efficiency. As a result of these initiatives, Takeda successfully accelerated its financial close process by nine workdays, a significant milestone that demonstrated the effectiveness of the collaborative efforts between Takeda’s finance community and EY. The project not only streamlined operations but also laid the groundwork for continuous improvement, ensuring that Takeda's finance organization remains best-in-class in the future.
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