Finance systems implementation

What the work produces

We map requirements, design the chart of accounts and dimensions, coordinate migration reconciliations and document the new close process. Access, audit trail and handover are included in the design discussion.

The agreed deliverables can include a requirements register, account and dimension mappings, migration control totals, a reconciliation log, operating instructions and an unresolved-issues handover. Identify which work belongs to Kosha, the software vendor and the business’s own system owner.

Start with the transactions and reports the team needs to maintain, then evaluate configuration against those requirements. Record unsupported needs and manual steps explicitly so an attractive dashboard does not conceal a missing operational workflow.

Inputs to organise

• Current system exports
• chart of accounts
• reporting needs
• user roles
• opening balances
• integrations
• transaction workflows.

Identify the source system of record, the period to migrate and the history that must remain retrievable. Agree how customers, suppliers, accounts, cost centres and document references map to the destination. Resolve duplicate or incomplete master records through a documented decision rather than silently combining them.

Provide examples of ordinary transactions and exceptions, including credit notes, partial settlements, reversals and period-end adjustments. These help the team check the intended workflows before the new system is used for live records.

What good records help you see

A migration is not complete when data imports successfully. Opening balances, outstanding invoices and control totals should reconcile before the new system becomes the working record.

1. Preserve the agreed source export and record its extraction date and scope.
2. Run a trial migration using the approved mappings and track rejected or changed records.
3. Reconcile balances and document-level totals, then investigate differences.
4. Exercise the agreed transaction, approval and reporting workflows with the business users.
5. Agree the cutover point, responsibility for transactions occurring during the transition, and the fallback arrangements.
6. Hand over operating instructions, authorised access, outstanding issues and the first-close support plan.

Example: customer balances reconcile in total but several open invoices were imported against the wrong customer. A control-total check alone will miss the allocation problem. The reconciliation should include the agreed document-level checks before the team relies on collection reports.

Agree the boundaries

Software subscriptions, custom development and vendor implementation charges are separate unless expressly included. The business approves system choice and access.

Confirm the covered entities, periods, systems, deliverables and fees before work starts.

Specify the data history, integrations, training and post-cutover support included. Name the owner of backups and access administration, and document who approves go-live. Historical accounting cleanup and additional development are separate workstreams when the records or requirements need them.

A system change should also preserve the intended approval and review responsibilities. The internal-controls review can identify gaps that configuration alone will not resolve. The implementation handover should state remaining limitations rather than implying every workflow has been automated.