Moments of reflection: How did we get here? #2020

Add bookmark

“Remember when we used to talk and write about things that weren't COVID related?” SSON’s Digital Editor Beth Hampton asks in this week's newsletter. Early this year, Beth painstakingly researched a comprehensive timeline of the past 20 years of Shared Services.

“It’s baffling,” she told me, “just how different things have moved on, and how different things are a mere few months on.”

Her report is a brilliant reminder of how far the model has come – and how much further it will go! Enjoy it here: 20 Years of Shared Services Trends - Key Milestones & Future Predictions.

One question many SSO/GBS practitioners are asking themselves is, “Will our model survive?” While for many of us (who are believers) there is no doubt that the model has propped up enterprises that might otherwise have fared far worse, there are nonetheless warning 'markers' to look out for, which might indicate you’ll need to go on the defensive. Deborah Kops reads the tea leaves on GBS survival… 

The key right now is to highlight “value add”. For Shared Services that can be in the form of agility. Join this webinar, which will share four key tips on operational agility to help you ensure your SSO is recognized for its value as #1. And to drive agility’s message home, we have been collecting data on the implications of the current crisis on workforce and delivery models. Download the report here.

Finally, for Finance leaders trying to get their arms around a post-Covid survival strategy, look no further than “COVID-19 - Exploring the Priorities Emerging Among Companies' Financial Leaders” as part of our digital Finance Transformation event. Please join us.

 


Latest Webinars

Powering the Future of Indirect Tax: Connected Compliance, Driven by Intelligence

2026-10-20

10:00 AM - 10:45 AM BST

VAT compliance is entering a new era, and it's a preview of what's coming across indirect tax more b...

Your Contracts Said One Thing. Your Invoices Say Another. Let's Fix That.

2026-10-20

11:00 AM - 11:30 AM EDT

How much of your AP process depends on information you can't easily access – buried in contracts, sc...

Data-Driven Finance. AI-Powered Order-to-Cash

2026-10-14

10:00 AM - 10:45 AM EDT

Shared services organizations are under pressure to improve cash flow, reduce costs, and deliver bet...

Recommended