Client & Context

The client is a mid-sized automotive enterprise with operations across multiple regions and business units. Over time, the organization had developed a complex financial systems landscape, primarily relying on HFM for consolidation along with additional tools and manual processes for planning and reporting. This led to inconsistencies in reporting practices and increased dependency on manual interventions.

The finance leadership team aimed to standardize consolidation and planning processes, improve efficiency in the financial close cycle, and gain better visibility into financial performance across entities. The existing setup required significant manual effort for data preparation, validation, and reporting, limiting agility and increasing operational risk.

OneStream was selected as the strategic platform to unify consolidation, planning, andreporting within a single solution. The client engaged our team as the implementationpartner based on our expertise in financial transformation and experience in handling multi-entity implementations.

Challenges

Before OneStream, the financial consolidation and planning processes were inefficient, complex, and highly dependent on manual interventions.

Key challenges included:

• Fragmented processes: Consolidation was performed in HFM while planning andreporting relied on separate tools and manual processes, leading to disconnected workflows.
• Manual effort: Significant manual intervention was required for data extraction, validation, and reconciliation, consuming a large portion of the finance team’s time.
• Data integration complexity: Data from multiple source systems required repeated mapping and transformation, increasing the risk of inconsistencies and errors.
• Data integration complexity: Data from multiple source systems required repeated mapping and transformation, increasing the risk of inconsistencies and errors.
• Limited visibility: Finance leadership lacked timely and unified insights across entities,with reporting often dependent on offline analysis.
• Key-person dependency: Critical processes relied on a few experienced users, creating operational risk and limiting scalability.
• The client required a solution that could streamline processes, reduce manual effort, and establish a unified, scalable platform for consolidation and planning, while ensuring continuity of existing financial operations

Our Approach

The implementation was delivered using a phased approach designed to minimize risk and ensure a smooth transition from HFM to OneStream, while building confidence among finance and business users.
Phase 1 – Design and Foundation (8 weeks):

• Conducted workshops with finance stakeholders to define the target consolidation and planning model, chart of accounts, and reporting dimensions.
•  Analysed the existing HFM application, data structures, and source systems to design standardized data integration and mapping rules.
• Defined a phased scope focusing on core consolidation and reporting, with planning enhancements and advanced capabilities planned for subsequent phases.

Phase 2 – Build and Integration (10 weeks):

• Configured OneStream cubes to support multi-entity consolidation, multi-currency requirements, and future scalability.
• Implemented data integration from source systems using standardized mappings and automated validation controls.
• Recreated key financial reports and dashboards in OneStream, aligning them with existing outputs to ensure user adoption and confidence.

Phase 3 – Parallel Run and Go‐Live (6 weeks):

• Executed parallel runs with OneStream alongside the existing HFM system to validate results and ensure accuracy.
• Used insights from parallel testing to refine data mappings, validation rules, and workflow configurations.
• Conducted user training sessions focused on data submission, validation, and standardized reporting processes.

Throughout the project, a collaborative working group comprising finance, IT, and our implementation team met regularly to address challenges and make timely decisions, ensuring successful delivery despite the complexity of the transformation

Results

After go-live, the client achieved significant improvements in both efficiency and control across consolidation and planning processes.

Quantitative outcomes:

• Close cycle: The financial close process became more streamlined and efficient,enabling faster turnaround and more time for analysis and decision-making.
• Manual effort: There was a noticeable reduction in manual effort due to automateddata integration, mapping, and validation processes.
• Error rate: Data quality improved significantly, with fewer post-submissionadjustments and reduced reconciliation issues
• Scalability: The solution now supports multiple entities in a consistent manner andprovides a scalable foundation for future business expansion

Quantitative outcomes:

• Finance leadership now receives standardized and reliable reports directly from OneStream, improving confidence in financial data.
• Local finance teams benefit from clearly defined workflows and a structured submission process, reducing dependency on manual coordination.
• Key-person dependency has reduced, as critical processes are now embedded within the system rather than relying on individual expertise.

A senior finance stakeholder summarized the impact by noting that the focus has shifted “from reconciling data to analyzing insights and driving better business decisions.”

What’s Next?

With the consolidation and planning foundation in place, the client has defined a roadmap to further extend OneStream capabilities across additional areas:

• Rolling forecast and budgeting processes to be fully integrated within the same platform.
• Enhanced financial analysis with deeper insights across business units and performance dimensions.
• Further automation of data integration and workflows as upstream systems continue to evolve.

Our team continues to support the client through ongoing enhancements, periodic health checks, and performance optimization, ensuring the solution evolves in line with business needs and future growth.