Workday typically follows a semi-annual release schedule, with updates rolling out approximately twice a year. The spring update was released on the first weekend of March. The release introduced new features, enhancements, and fixes to the Workday platform to improve user experience, functionality, and overall performance.

These updates are important for Workday customers as they ensure that their systems remain up to date with the latest features and improvements, helping them to stay competitive and efficient in their operations. In this article, we specifically review the new Payroll and Compensation updates introduced by the Workday 2024 R1.

Payroll

Prior Period Tax Adjustments

Prior Period Tax Adjustment Calculator to reduce manual effort. PPTA is accessible through the related action icon of an original completed pay result.

• Select Prior Period Tax Adjustment > Run

PPTA Calculator streamlines the process for retro tax authority adjustments. If multiple pay results need to be adjusted, always start with the earliest completed period first.

PPTA can be used anytime users are retroactively adding, changing, or deleting the following for an employee:

• Primary home or work state
• Tax elections for work or home city
• Local other authority
• County local taxes
• Home school district
• Domicile state

The new Prior Period Tax Adjustment (PPTA) calculator will help to calculate tax and wage differences effortlessly due to retro tax authority changes in completed periods. This provides greater efficiency when adjustment for wages or taxes is needed due to retroactive tax authority changes.

Payroll Insights

Real-time smart tool for reviewing payroll results. It has multi-faceted filtering capabilities:

• Once a pay calculation has been run, the Payroll Insights report will pull predictive pay data.
• Allows easier review of historical payroll results to identify what are true abnormalities and what is not.
• Feedback can then be provided on predicted results to improve accuracy over time.

New Tasks:

• Maintain Payroll Insights Configurations
• Maintain Payroll Insights Custom Tags

New Reports:

• Payroll Insights Results Report
• Historical Payroll Insights Results Report

Payroll Insights provides a real-time prediction and evaluation tool to analyze payroll results based on historical payroll result patterns. This feature helps to reduce the amount of time and effort spent manually reviewing and identifying payroll exceptions.

Payroll Third-Party Payments

Generate and Settle Payments for Deduction Recipients of IWO and Court Orders. Workday can now process payments for IWO and Court Orders:

• When a pay calc is run, Workday generates a payable item for the deduction recipient’s line result.
• A new tab is produced on the pay result “Payroll Third-Party Payments.”
• After payroll is completed, the payable will be available to pull into Settlement Run using the new filter “Payroll Third-Party Payments.”
• Payments can be processed electronically via integration or through the print check feature.

Utilizing the normal payroll processing and settlement methods, Workday can now identify, process, and produce payments to deduction recipients. Previously, customers were required to handle these payments manually outside of the payroll process or rely on third-party vendors to complete them. Customers can now produce these payments internally with Check Printing or utilize their existing bank integrations. This feature is a time and cost-saver for clients currently managing the maintenance of their IWOs.  

Compensation

Workday Docs for Compensation Statement Layouts. With Workday Docs, users can now create a custom Compensation Review Statement layout within Workday:

• Workday Docs for Layouts is a visual editing tool for designing, creating, and previewing document layouts for use with custom advanced reports in Workday.
• Users can insert data fields and even apply condition rules to any piece of the layout.

As one of the more highly anticipated updates, users can now completely customize the compensation review statements without the need for any outside reporting tools.  Once created, users will be able to make updates to the compensation review statements more easily year over year.

Total Rewards Statement Redesign

Design for Increased Customization. Redesigned Layout:

• Users can now configure section groups that will display on the statement as cards. 
• Each section group can include lists, tables, and calculated values.
• Users can arrange the cards on the statement in any order they like.

The updated design of Total Rewards Statements will allow users to customize how they show employees their compensation. This will allow employees to understand their compensation more easily and how it is broken into different components.

Percent-Based Calculated Plans

Manage Complex Percent-Based Compensation Plans. Target Percentage or Ceiling Amount:

• Manage complex percent-based compensation plans to configure and report on a target percentage and a ceiling amount for amount-based calculated plans and process them in Payroll.

Calculated plans can now be included in salary-dependent Primary Compensation basis calculations for workers managed by Basis Total. New display text for Calculated Plans with ceiling calculations or percentage calculations.

Dynamic Plan Type Display

Dynamic Compensation Transactions. Propose Compensation Change:

• Workday 2024R1 makes it easier to assign employees compensation during the Propose Compensation Change process by displaying only the relevant plan types for the employee.

By only seeing what is relevant to a specific employee when processing a Change Job or staffing transaction, the processor can decrease manual error while condensing what it sees and maximizing efficiency.

Grid Profiles for Compensation Review

Grid Configuration Profiles. Grid Profiles & Conditional Calculations:

• There is increased flexibility of grid configurations in compensation reviews. Users can now configure multiple grid configurations for the same compensation review process.

Flexibility within the Compensation Review Grid Configuration allows Planners to view fields that are more relevant to the participants in the process.

Conclusion 

The Workday release will have a major impact on your current Workday environment, and new features will enable better user adoption for your team. It is critical that your team thoroughly researches and tests the new updates in your Preview environment.

Getting the most out of these features will require a thorough understanding of what you are trying to get out of Workday and how Workday will work within your organization. With FinServ, you have a trusted advisor with experience in both Workday and the industry to help you make informed decisions about what functionality to leverage, ensuring that you make the most out of your Workday investment. FinServ has advised both Workday HCM and Financial clients through Major Semiannual releases. In addition to release consultations, FinServ Consulting offers operational assessments and Workday implementations. FinServ has experienced HR and Finance consultants who have worked with clients on vendor selections and implementations of various HR and Finance platforms. 

In the dynamic world of finance, where data is fundamental for informed decision-making, seamless and accurate data migration is essential for organizations like hedge funds, private equity firms, asset managers, and fund administrators aiming to transition their systems and workflows. With technology progressing rapidly and industry dynamics constantly evolving, the importance of robust systems and workflows cannot be overstated. Data migration emerges as a complex challenge in such a landscape, especially for entities handling intricate financial instruments, detailed investor allocations, and diverse portfolios. Successfully navigating this challenge demands strategic planning and meticulous execution to achieve desired outcomes.

This comprehensive blog post explores the intricacies of data migration tailored for financial firms, specifically hedge funds and fund administrators. Focusing on these firms’ unique landscape, we delve into their challenges, explore best practices for successful migrations, and propose potential solutions to navigate the complexities of transferring financial data seamlessly.

FinServ Consulting draws upon its extensive experience and cultivated expertise forged through partnerships with similar funds and entities. This strategic approach allows the company to successfully support its clients in the dynamic realm of data migration projects.

Challenges in the Data Migration Process:

Data migration is riddled with numerous challenges, especially when grappling with substantial data volumes or transitioning to a new system. This segment will delve into the complex hurdles faced by financial firms during data migration, addressing issues ranging from maintaining data integrity and managing compatibility disparities between source and target systems to mitigating the risks of downtime and disruption.

Data Quality Issues:

The importance of data quality cannot be emphasized enough, considering the significant consequences of incomplete or inaccurate data, duplicate entries, and improperly formatted information.

Accomplishing precise Net Asset Value (NAV) and investor allocations, the primary goals in every data migration project, depends significantly on the completeness and accuracy of the source data. This involves meticulously examining various data components, including trade and open lot files, non-trading and cash activity reports, and financial statements. FinServ Consulting highlights the crucial need to validate data samples for accuracy before migration, emphasizing a proactive approach to identify and rectify any inconsistencies. This ensures the preservation of data integrity throughout the entire migration process.

Disparity between Source and Target Systems:

A critical challenge during data migration arises from compatibility issues between the source and target systems. These systems may operate on distinct platforms or employ diverse data formats, creating obstacles to seamless data transfer.

For example, in the source system, certain asset classes like Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs), Loans, and Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (CMOs) might be uniformly treated as Notes or Bonds due to system limitations. However, the target system may support these distinct asset classes, requiring a thoughtful transition that accommodates these variations. In another scenario, the source system might lack an automated method for handling complex investor allocations, resorting to manual management through Excel spreadsheets. Conversely, the target system may feature a sophisticated calculation engine designed for these intricate allocations.

FinServ Consulting excels in crafting migration plans, which include testing and validation of these variations, ensuring a smooth transition that not only addresses system limitations but also effectively leverages the capabilities of the new environment. This tailored approach is essential for mitigating issues arising from differences in asset treatment, automation capabilities, and overall system functionality.

Downtime and Disruption:

Data migration often introduces downtime and disruptions to regular business operations. Throughout the process, systems may experience offline periods, and access to real-time and live data could be restricted, potentially impacting business operations and customer service. Mismanagement of the migration process can exacerbate downtime, leading to errors and potential data loss.

To counter the challenges of potential downtime and disruptions during data migration, FinServ Consulting adopts strategic measures. This includes scheduling migrations during less busy periods, conducting migrations in Quality Assurance (QA) environments, or implementing controlled setups with dummy entities in live production environments. FinServ emphasizes the importance of maintaining regular communication and updates for stakeholders throughout the entire process. This commitment to transparency and collaboration contributes to a smoother and less disruptive data migration experience for financial firms.

FinServ Consulting Recommended Best Practices for Successful Data Migration

FinServ Consulting’s recommended best practices serve as a comprehensive guide for financial firms undertaking data migration. By incorporating these practices into their migration strategy, businesses can navigate the complexities of the process with confidence and achieve successful outcomes.

Creating a Comprehensive Data Migration Strategy:

Formulating a well-defined data migration strategy is crucial for ensuring success in financial firms. This strategy encompasses various elements such as a detailed project timeline, a comprehensive list of deliverables, key milestones, roles and responsibilities, effective communication channels, and contingency measures to address unexpected challenges during the migration.

This involves conducting detailed sessions with the head of operations and accounting to understand how to achieve the end goal effectively. There are several approaches to data migration, each with its advantages and considerations:

1. Migrating historical open lots and journal entries true up for all other entities, including cash and non-trading items, up to an agreed-upon Cut-Off Date. This method is the quickest and most cost-efficient solution. However, it may result in the loss of historical Realized P&L or journal entries.
2. Migrating granular data, including all trades, cash activity, and journal entries. This approach provides a comprehensive solution with access to all historical P&L and ledger entries. However, it can be extremely time-consuming and expensive.
3. Migrating open lots while maintaining granularity on cash and non-trading data. This option strikes a balance between the first two approaches. It is less expensive than option 2 and provides more historical data than option 1. Additionally, it can be cost-efficient and significantly quicker than option 2.

By carefully considering these options and aligning them with the organization’s goals and resources, financial firms can devise an effective data migration strategy tailored to their specific needs and objectives.

Ensuring Data Integrity and Systems Compatibility:

Data integrity is a critical consideration in achieving a successful data migration. This involves identifying discrepancies like missing or inaccurate data and creating a comprehensive plan for resolution. Utilizing data profiling tools is advantageous in detecting inconsistencies and determining effective approaches for resolution.

Additionally, verifying compatibility between source and target systems is essential for a seamless migration process. Given potential differences in data structures, formats, and standards, this involves mapping source data to align with the target system, identifying necessary data transformations, and validating data format accuracy.

Leveraging Automated Tools:

Automated tools play a pivotal role in enhancing the efficiency of the data migration process while simultaneously reducing the likelihood of errors. These tools encompass a spectrum of solutions, ranging from quick VBA scripts for data transformation to more comprehensive system-supported tools. Their primary objective is to automate key tasks such as data extraction, transformation, and loading.

For instance, consider a hedge fund with a substantial trading volume leading to a vast history of open lots and transactions. Once the source data formats are established, creating quick Excel macros can significantly expedite the loading process. This automation minimizes the need for manual intervention, resulting in notable time and cost savings while concurrently reducing the risk of errors.

Risk Mitigation and Contingency Planning:

Identifying potential challenges is crucial in data migration, and employing strategies to mitigate risks is essential. Developing comprehensive contingency plans ensures a swift response to unforeseen issues, safeguarding smooth project execution. This involves proactive risk assessment, ongoing monitoring, and agile responses to emerging challenges, all aimed at preserving project success.

It is crucial to have rollback options and restore points established during the data migration process to ensure that the previous accurate version is restored in case of unforeseen issues.

Documentation and Knowledge Transfer:

Creating thorough documentation is pivotal for future reference and ensuring effective knowledge transfer within the organization. This practice guarantees that insights gained during the data migration process are well-documented, facilitating seamless continuity and providing a valuable resource for future efforts.

Post Migration Support:

Establishing feedback loops is crucial for ongoing improvements after data migration. Continuous monitoring for post-migration issues allows for the identification of potential challenges, enabling the organization to address them swiftly. This involves creating mechanisms for gathering feedback to inform iterative enhancements and maintaining vigilant oversight to ensure a successful post-migration phase.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, data migration remains a critical process for businesses aiming to stay competitive, enhance operational efficiency, and achieve their strategic objectives. While it presents inherent complexities and challenges, these hurdles can be overcome with the right strategies and considerations. By proactively addressing potential obstacles such as data quality issues and system incompatibility and adhering to best practices like meticulous planning, thorough testing, and vigilant monitoring, businesses can ensure a smooth and successful transition.

At FinServ, we understand the nuances of data migration, particularly within the realm of the asset management industry. Leveraging our deep expertise in diverse data types, workflows, and processes, we provide tailored solutions to meet each client’s unique data migration needs. Our methodologies and frameworks, supported by technical proficiency and a robust project management model, guarantee effective resolutions for data migration challenges. Whether you require a push-start, ongoing support, or leadership in complex migration projects, FinServ stands ready to assist your firm at every stage of the journey. With our assistance, you can confidently navigate the complexities of data migration, ensuring that your migration aligns seamlessly with your objectives and contributes to your overall success.

In today’s rapidly evolving financial landscape, data has become the lifeblood of decision-making for hedge and private equity funds. As the volume, velocity, and variety of data continue to increase, so does the need for a modern, scalable, and agile data management solution. Enter Snowflake – a cloud data platform revolutionizing how organizations manage and analyze their data. In this blog post, we’ll explore why hedge and private equity funds should consider leveraging Snowflake to stay ahead of the curve and drive better investment outcomes. In this post, we have focused on the front-office-related aspects of a fund’s data. Still, the same advantages apply to the investor relations/business development, HR, and middle and back-office operations of your fund.

Scalability and Performance:

Hedge and private equity funds deal with massive amounts of data, from market trends and economic indicators to company financials and portfolio performance. Traditional on-premises data warehouses struggle to handle the scale and complexity of this data, leading to performance bottlenecks and scalability challenges. Snowflake’s cloud-native architecture allows funds to scale their data infrastructure on-demand, ensuring fast and reliable access to critical insights, even as data volumes grow.

Agility and Flexibility:

In today’s fast-paced financial markets, agility is key to seizing new opportunities and adapting to changing conditions. Snowflake’s decoupled storage and compute architecture enables hedge and private equity funds to decouple their data storage from compute resources, allowing them to independently scale and optimize each component based on their needs. This flexibility enables funds to quickly spin up new analytics workloads, experiment with new data sources, and iterate on investment strategies without being constrained by their underlying infrastructure.

Security and Compliance:

Data security and compliance are top priorities for hedge and private equity funds, given the sensitive nature of the information they handle. Snowflake provides industry-leading security features, including end-to-end encryption, role-based access controls, and data masking, to protect sensitive data and ensure compliance with regulations such as GDPR, CCPA, and SEC Rule 17a-4. Additionally, Snowflake’s built-in audit trail and governance capabilities provide funds with full visibility into data access and usage, helping them maintain trust and transparency with investors and regulators.

Advanced Analytics and Insights:

In the competitive world of finance, the ability to extract actionable insights from data can be the difference between success and failure. Snowflake’s integration with leading analytics and machine learning tools, such as Tableau, Looker, and DataRobot, empowers hedge and private equity funds to uncover hidden patterns, identify investment opportunities, and optimize portfolio performance. By leveraging Snowflake’s scalable compute resources and support for diverse data types, funds can perform complex analytics tasks, such as risk modeling, scenario analysis, and predictive modeling, with ease.

Cost-Efficiency:

Traditional data warehousing solutions often require significant upfront investment in hardware, software, and maintenance, making them cost-prohibitive for many hedge and private equity funds. In contrast, Snowflake’s pay-as-you-go pricing model allows funds to pay only for the resources they consume, eliminating the need for costly infrastructure investments and providing greater cost predictability and transparency. Additionally, Snowflake’s automatic scaling and resource optimization capabilities help funds minimize wasted resources and optimize their cloud spend, further driving cost-efficiency and ROI.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, Snowflake offers hedge and private equity funds a modern, scalable, and agile data platform that can unlock the full potential of their data assets. By embracing Snowflake, funds can gain a competitive edge in the market, drive better investment outcomes, and future-proof their data infrastructure for the challenges ahead. It’s time for hedge and private equity funds to harness the power of Snowflake and take their data capabilities to the next level.

How FinServ Can Help

With close to twenty years of working with the top 100 Hedge and Private Equity funds, FinServ is uniquely positioned to understand the data requirements of your fund from Front to Back-Office and everywhere in between. Our consultants possess the technical skills and industry expertise to help you design and implement an effective Snowflake strategy. Our familiarity with all the other systems you will need to integrate your Snowflake data into makes FinServ the ideal Snowflake Partner to help you unlock the Power of their platform today.

Staff Augmentation, a strategic approach to workforce management, has gained significant traction in the Alternative Investment industry.  This staffing approach is designed to meet short-term project goals and is a flexible, cost-effective means to fill skill gaps. Staff Augmentation has never been more relevant than now in the post-COVID labor environment, as employers and employees look to hybrid and remote working models as changing perceptions in work/life balance and technological innovations drive the need for staff with specialized skillsets without geographical limitations. 

There are many advantages to using temporary staff for project work or to supplement staffing for cyclical increases in workloads.  Utilizing temporary staff allows employers to scale up or down based on seasonal needs, and hiring for certain durations eliminates the risk of overstaffing during slower periods.  

These individuals bring highly specialized skills and years of industry experience. In most cases, they can be onboarded quickly and efficiently to scale a workforce for project work and other short-term staffing needs without a long-term commitment.  Projects typically consume precious time from experienced employees, requiring them to backfill their line roles. 

In addition, many firms opt to augment their project staff with experienced temporary project resources to assist with project management and business analysis.  Often, firms have subject matter experts for a project but lack individuals with strong documentation and the expertise to optimize the utilization of the firm’s resources to complete the work on time and within budget. 
 

The benefits of temporary staff are summarized in the chart below: 

Accessing specialized temporary staff in the Alternative Investment industry will allow access to a broader array of skills and experiences. Firms can access individuals who have worked at peer firms and benefit from seeing how other organizations operate.   Experienced temporary staff can provide an objective, independent, third-party view of a company’s operations. 

Employers are turning to temporary staff to manage costs more efficiently in today’s uncertain economy. Despite low unemployment nationally, many financial services firms, including most major banks, have decreased full-time staff in 2023 and 2024.  When headcounts are being reduced, firms can often get internal approval to hire temporary staff when workloads dictate without administrative restrictions.  By filling critical roles with experienced staff augmentation resources from consulting firms, employers can manage costs and risks more efficiently while eliminating payroll taxes, employee benefits, and other administrative burdens associated with managing and mentoring full-time employees.  

Conclusion 

Staff Augmentation offers a variety of benefits that empower organizations to adapt to changing market dynamics, optimize resource utilization, and achieve strategic objectives. 

FinServ Consulting has a broad range of full-time consultants and independent contractors with extensive experience in the Investment industry available for staff augmentation engagements. The establishment of this network of professionals is a direct result of years of experience working within the industry.  Our knowledge of all aspects of front-to-back-office operations will immediately positively impact your business.   

To learn more about our services and how we can help, contact info@finservconsulting.com or (646) 603-3799. 

As we near year-end, there are several year-end Workday activities that our clients go through that revolve around extending integration schedules, creating pay periods, and ensuring that Workday is ready for the following year. In addition to these activities, we recommend conducting an Absence / Time Off Plan health check to ensure the plans and balances are correct, align with employee expectations, and comply with regulatory bodies. The following tasks form the basis of the health check:

• Verify unused time off balances.
• Verify that employee time off balances are correct.
• Verify that employee leave statuses are correct.

Unused Time Off Balances

Looking at each employee’s year-end vacation balances will reveal any outliers or out-of-the-ordinary balances (Hint: Use the Extract Time Off Balances report to view these balances). We’ll want to find any out-of-the-ordinary balances as that can indicate more significant underlying issues that should be addressed sooner rather than later. For example, workers may not have taken any time off, and their full vacation balance will stand out. Having such a sizeable unused balance can indicate issues such as:

• Is this a cultural issue? At many investment firms, front-office employees may not be able to utilize their days, and this may be the accepted norm that requires a more extensive discussion to resolve.
• Is this a process issue? At these same firms, front office / senior management is not inclined to go into Workday to do data input. The discussion would then shift to setting up delegates to enter time off on behalf of select employees or reinforcing the correct time off process with those employees. (Hint: Use the All Worker Time Off report to view all time off requests submitted to see if they are being inputted and approved on a timely basis).

Correct Time Off Balances

Time Off balances are affected by numerous factors such as accrual rates, carryover amount, carryover caps, balance caps, employee tenure, position, office location, manual overrides, etc. The sheer number of dependencies can cause incorrect balances, and it will be essential to catch these scenarios early before the employee notices any discrepancies, uses days they don’t have, or vacation payouts are done on incorrect balances. To identify these situations, verify employee time off balances using future effective dates that are 1-2 years in the future. As the balances span years, any expiration or cap issues will become apparent.

Consider an incorrect carryover cap in Workday for a terminating employee in California. This cap is meant to dictate the maximum number of hours an employee can carry over, and without it, the carryover accumulates to an unexpectedly high amount. This will become an issue if that employee is terminated, as California requires that any unused vacation be paid out.

Confirm Employee Leave Status

Incorporating checks on leaves of absence is highly recommended, as leave status and dates can affect functionality in Workday and possibly have payroll implications. Regardless of whether Leaves are maintained manually or by a third-party leave administrator, leave status needs to be reviewed. Manual updates often get skipped, and leave administration by third parties is not always correct.

Consider the example where an employee was on primary caregiver leave and has returned to work. However, their leave status in Workday was not updated, so their delegation settings were not updated when they returned. This would result in the business process approval not being sent to the correct employee. Furthermore, depending on how the employee is paid while on leave, they can be paid under an incorrect rate if the wrong employee status is sent to the Payroll provider. (Hint: Use the Leave Results for Organization report to get a holistic view of all employees on Leave and their Leave dates).

Conclusion 

By making absence a routine focus, you can proactively catch any issues before they happen and become more significant. Once the problem occurs, it becomes more complicated to fix from a Workday configuration perspective and manage employee expectations. For example, an incorrect vacation payout will be much easier to fix before it is paid out. Verifying the health of your Absence setup is good practice and will avoid employee frustrations that happen when pay is affected.

Data is the backbone of success for all asset managers. Those who lack data governance policies are at a high risk of facing data breaches, privacy violations, and misuse, each risk capable of deteriorating a firm. Beyond immediate repercussions, longer-term risks can damage the firm’s reputation and can lead to a potential loss of investors. The need for having an effective data governance framework is not merely a choice, but rather an indispensable strategy. Data governance empowers asset managers to uphold data quality, navigate risk threats, and exceed regulatory requirements, all necessary for a robust organization in today’s market.

Data Governance Overview

At its core, data governance is the systematic approach to managing data assets within an organization. The structured framework encompasses policies, processes, and controls to ensure data issues are accurately defined, resolved, and audited to meet the firm’s overall strategy and business goals. By establishing clear lines of data ownership, defining meticulous standards, and rigorously upholding data integrity, data becomes a pathway for organizational growth. In data-dependent industries such as asset management, a robust data governance strategy is not merely an option, but rather a fundamental necessity.

Data governance in asset management firms promotes cross-departmental collaboration, ensuring that data is coordinated and consistent and that all parties are aligned on data understandings and goals. Data within the organization becomes easily accessible and increases accountability, productivity, and trust within the organization. Firms that focus on having a robust data governance framework can better leverage their firm data as an asset, enabling them to improve decision-making and gain a competitive advantage.

Data Governance Amongst Asset Managers

Data governance amongst asset managers is vital due to the complex nature of their business operations, stemming across the trading, operations, IT, compliance, risk, and other firm departments. In the United States, data quality issues cost $3.1 trillion per year across the board (Webinar Care). Furthermore, low data quality and availability can cause employees to spend 36% of their time on non-value-added tasks in Finance (McKinsey & Company). 55% of asset managers have already recognized the benefits of data governance and have taken initiatives to enhance data governance and quality within their organizations (Accenture). Having a dedicated data governance team not only increases data quality but also increases data confidence by 42%. (Webinar Care)

It is crucial for asset managers to recognize the benefits of data governance and focus on it. A lack of focus is costing firms money and decreasing their employees’ productivity. In an industry where it is imperative that each resource is provided with the tools they need in an effective manner, the lack of data governance policies limits this. Not only does a lack of data governance hurt an asset management firm internally, but it also negates its ability to compete within the market. Front-office investment analysis slows down, middle, and back offices face operational delays, and investor data becomes vulnerable. This cannot only have an impact on the firm’s rate of return, but it can also lead to increased regulatory risk and a loss in investor trust.

High-Level Data Governance Framework

Implementing a data governance framework as an asset manager can seem daunting at first; however, following a well-structured and adaptable general framework can make the process seamless and effective. FinServ’s general framework incorporates key learning from previous clients and ensures a comprehensive approach to kick-starting the data governance initiative.

Conclusion & Suggested Next Steps

Successfully implementing a data governance framework can be challenging for many alternative asset management firms, as there is a need for an objective framework and subject matter expertise. Recognizing, documenting, and strategically resolving key data issues are critical to a firm’s success. Not only does this increase the operational efficiencies within the firm, but it also provides the firm with a competitive advantage. Asset managers can engage with subject matter experts to gather insights into implementing a data governance framework properly, but they must still have the know-how to ensure proper implementation for their firm.

FinServ has experience researching, developing, and working with clients on their custom-driven data governance requirements. We have extensive knowledge of the different data types, workflows, and processes that exist among leading asset management firms. Our methodologies and frameworks allow us to provide objective and high-quality solutions for our client’s data governance issues. Our technical skillsets and comprehensive project management model ensure the proper resolution of data governance issues. FinServ can help kick-start, support, or lead your unique firm through its complex data governance projects.

To learn more about how we can help and our services, contact info@finservconsulting.com or (646) 603-3799.

An HCM solution is an integrated system that automates HR functions combined with finance, planning, and analytics and allows for employee self-service capabilities, thereby reducing labor costs, optimizing business processes, and increasing efficiency. Companies that transition from manual processes and disparate legacy systems to modern, cohesive digital workforce management technologies can realize up to 15-25% cost savings related to HR and IT spend.

Most current HCM solutions are offered as a cloud-based, SaaS delivery model and include modules for payroll, HR, time and labor management, and recruitment. This type of solution does not require an expensive hardware investment and constantly updates software to the latest version while maintaining secure backups. These systems are monitored at all times and provide the utmost reliability. An added plus for asset managers is that the solutions can be customized to suit the size of any company and grow as the organization grows.

At FinServ Consulting, we have experience working with firms of various sizes in the alternative asset management industry to select, implement, and/or upgrade their HCM systems. While there are numerous benefits of having one comprehensive, integrated HCM, there are other options available on the market such as lite solutions that meet basic needs without all the added features that may not be necessary for some firms, as well as point solutions that cater to the industry’s unique needs, like complicated compensation structures. FinServ can help assess your company’s specific requirements to identify what to be aware of in terms of missing features, implementation issues, and cost-benefit analysis of different HCM options.

Benefits of a Consolidated HCM

Attract and Grow Talent

Recruiting top talent and keeping them engaged is no longer just HR’s responsibility—talent objectives can have a significant financial impact on growing a financial services business. Implementing a new HCM system can help enhance performance management processes to eliminate bureaucracy and encourage meaningful conversations between managers and employees focused on performance improvement. In addition, better compensation data and visibility of top talent allow managers to make more well-informed decisions regarding performance and rewards.

Some clients in the alternative asset management space that FinServ has previously worked with used manual spreadsheets to manage staff performance, as well as recruiting and other functions in some cases. However, by opting for a consolidated HCM system, these organizations were able to use more sophisticated workflows to provide employees with more meaningful feedback. Also, they could track and monitor operational outcomes and staff development across the company to ensure a payback from their HCM investment.

Make Better Informed Decisions

Asset management firms in the current environment face increasing regulatory scrutiny, such as GDPR, AIFMD, and Form PF, and constantly evolving standards. In order to meet the new generation of demands, these companies need to make well-informed investment decisions with visibility into all business lines. However, this is a difficult task when the data required to deliver these insights is housed in disparate legacy systems with varying formats and level of detail. This is where having consolidated HCM comes in—a single system for finance, HR, planning, and analytics can offer the necessary foundation to gain better insights, save time on data aggregation, and proactively solve business problems. A digital solution of this type can help improve business margins, provide competitive differentiation, attract and retain customers, and identify lucrative areas for growth.

Harness the Power of Modern Data

Today’s financial companies have an unprecedented amount of valuable data across their organization. However, many are still not able to access this data due to isolated, unorganized, and inaccurate legacy systems. The data warehouses that are typically accessed by business intelligence tools to create reports or perform financial analyses hold data that was accurate at the time it was loaded and refreshed from legacy systems, resulting in a high likelihood that it is out-of-date and unreliable. As a result, financial services firms often turn to add-on custom software solutions to try and achieve real-time data extraction, but these products often produce further challenges because they require continuous maintenance to keep up with the changing needs of the business.

Implementing a contemporary, consolidated HCM system allows firms nimble access to the real-time data that is necessary for constantly changing business needs. These solutions include technologies, such as cloud computing, open APIs, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, that make insights transparent and accessible across lines of business.

Build Organizational Agility

Being agile is key to an asset manager’s long-term success and there are several factors at play in building organizational agility:

• Adaptable: A flexible technology foundation is essential to be able to change organizational structures and processes in response to regularly shifting business needs.
• Skilled: Financial services firms, among others, face a widening skill gap and must find ways to upskill their workforce.
• Empowered: In order to perform at the highest potential to meet evolving consumer expectations and drive success, employees need full access to data to make business decisions.
• In Control: The need for measurement and control goes hand in hand with agility and speed. Asset managers must measure more relevant KPIs to learn from what works and what doesn’t when it comes to new digital revenue streams.

There are common obstacles that firms must overcome to meet the guidelines above, including inflexible legacy technologies, bureaucratic organizational culture, and a lack of relevant employee skills. By using a comprehensive HCM solution to add intelligence to business tasks, financial firms can move past these challenges and employ integrated, real-time planning in order to build organizational agility and realize their digital growth aspirations.

Choose the Right Solution

As mentioned previously, there are many HCM offerings available on the market and it is important to select the right one to meet your firm’s unique needs. There are several factors to consider, such as the needs and priorities of the business, size of the firm, and desired metrics and reporting abilities. FinServ Consulting has experience working with asset management firms to identify and implement a suitable HCM solution. We can help you make the right decision and take full advantage of the capabilities and rewards that the new solution will provide.

Summary

If you are interested in establishing or improving your firm’s HCM platform, FinServ Consulting is the right partner to help you reach your firm’s strategic objectives.  Throughout our 15 years of existence, we have proven that our deep industry knowledge combined with our project management and overall best practice methodologies can be an asset to your organization. To further continue the conversation or to discuss more of FinServ’s capabilities, please contact us at info@finservconsulting.com or give us a call at (646) 603-3799.