The Finance & Control (FC) pillar has been tasked with achieving total savings of €6.6 million by 2029. Together with consultancy firm EY, we have investigated where potential savings can be made.
Of the €6.6 million, €6 million must come from the Procurement and Contract Management department. A separate process is underway here to realise savings by applying stricter procurement and better contract management to the university's procurement volume. The savings that can be realised in this way are an important element of the university's overall savings target.
Focus
For the remaining savings in the FC column, the hypotheses focus on the following:
- The bundling of administrative and repetitive tasks within the Administration function;
- The simplification, standardisation and (subsequently) automation and robotisation of administrative tasks;
- Standardising processes and (subsequently) applying more self-service and automation within the Control function;
- Robotising accounts receivable and accounts payable tasks;
- An optimised or new ERP system.
Testing hypotheses
The testing of the hypotheses (the so-called deep dive) is currently in full swing. The testing of the hypotheses will result in a final report. This report will indicate which hypotheses are realistic and which are not. The realistic hypotheses have been developed into cost-saving initiatives. In addition, the team will share its general findings on the implementation and realisation of the savings.
The next phase is to draw up an implementation plan and determine how to implement the initiatives.