Post-Implementation Reviews: The CFO’s Reality Check
- rubyprior
- Jul 9
- 3 min read
"Just because the system went live doesn’t mean the value did."
Every CFO, after month-end close with a new ERP
Post-Implementation Reviews (PIRs) of system rollouts are not just important, they’re hotter than a finance team in year-end close with broken Excel links. For CFOs navigating the wild world of digital transformation, PIRs are becoming the secret weapon to separate shiny PowerPoint decks from actual shareholder value.
Why CFOs Are All Ears When It Comes to PIRs
1. Show Me the ROI (or at least don’t hide it in a pivot table)
You signed off a seven-figure digital transformation and someone promised it would “unlock value.” Now it's time to check:
Did we actually unlock value (e.g., automation, accuracy, reduced cost, real-time reporting) or just unlock new monthly subscription fees?
Did someone bother baselining benefits pre-implementation? Or are we now comparing apples to… wishful thinking?
Are the business case benefits real, or just “assumed savings” buried in a spreadsheet no one understands?
2. Risk, Controls, and the Sleep Test
Nothing keeps a CFO up at night like an ERP that forgot to talk to the General Ledger.
PIRs are where you find out if your shiny new system improved compliance (e.g. data integrity, audit readiness, and IFRS compliance) or introduced a few new audit risks “for flavour.”
Think of it as a financial version of CSI: Post-Go-Live.
3. Because “Go-Live” Is Not the Same as “Mission Accomplished”
Sure, the system’s live, but are people using it correctly, or still updating the old manual tracker "just in case"?
PIRs help identify adoption gaps, training flops, and where that "streamlined workflow" is just a slower Excel with prettier buttons. All aiding in building that maturity roadmap.
4. For the Love of Governance
Boards and audit committees want to know: “Where did our money go, and did it do what the PowerPoint said it would?”
PIRs, help you show that finance is not only funding digital initiatives but also keeping them honest.
It’s the CFO’s way of saying, “Trust, but verify, with charts.”
5. CFOs Know Tech Is Easy, People Are Hard
Spoiler alert: your system isn’t the problem. Steve in Accounts Payable who still prints every invoice is.
PIRs shine a light on people, process, and culture, because even the best tech can’t help if your team is stuck in 1999.
So, what questions do we think CFOs should be answering with PIRs
ROI tracking - Let’s see the money. And no funny business with ‘intangible benefits
Control validation - Can I sleep through the next audit now?
Reporting quality - Are numbers real-time or still brought to me by carrier pigeon?
Process improvement - Are we saving time or just clicking more buttons?
User adoption - Please tell me someone other than the project team is using this thing.
Lessons learned - Great, now let’s not step in the same hole twice?
Often, when DigiBlu are called in to support PIRs, things have already gone south and need our help to get back on track. Some main culprits that contribute to the chaos?
A lack of accurately baselining the current state metrics, leaving nothing solid to compare against.
Insufficient consultation and testing with end-users.
Technology-led implementation instead of business-led transformation.
Ambiguous business requirements and scope creep.
Weak collaboration with the vendor’s implementation team.
And most often, an old-school lift-and-shift mentality, where the new system’s modern functionality is ignored in favour of force-fitting the old as-is process.
The result?
An expensive, all-singing, all-dancing system that’s been knitted together by a watered-down implementation team and a flimsy plan. Cue the disappointing ROI and a finance function wondering what exactly just happened. This is where we roll up our sleeves…
In summary, PIRs are no longer just operational hygiene, but where the rubber meets the balance sheet. They help CFOs figure out whether the transformation delivered transformation or just some well-documented chaos.
