Heartland uses modern technology to deliver speed and simplicity for its customers, who can apply for a loan online without needing to visit a branch or speak to a call center operator. But, behind the scenes, Heartland was using multiple, outdated financial legacy systems. “Acquisitions left us with disparate systems, and we relied heavily on manual processes to deliver financial data to the business,” recalls Debbie Starnes, Head of Finance Transformation.
Heartland wanted to consolidate 25 entities and three disparate general ledgers onto a single platform that would support sustainable growth by automating repetitive tasks, delivering better data and analytics, and enabling self-service.
Starnes and her transformation team dug deep to find the best platform. “It's not often you get a chance to upgrade your back-office systems, so we wanted to get it right,” she says. “Workday stood above the rest with its advanced features and high customer satisfaction ratings. We felt Workday was an organization we could partner with for years to come.”
Giving everyone access to real-time finance and people data.
Finance has moved from historical manual reporting to providing the business with real-time insights. Internal teams can self-serve through dashboards and drill down to source transactions without relying on Finance teams to produce the data for them.
With people data also available, employees can engage with corporate services through a single platform. “Whether it’s applying for leave, submitting an expense claim, or approving spend, it’s all on that one core system,” explains Starnes.
By bringing both its human capital and financial management capabilities onto the same platform, Heartland has created one connected experience for HR and Finance teams, who can view the same information in real time.
Our stakeholders can self-serve through dashboards and drill down to source transactions without relying on finance to produce the data for them.
Head of Finance Transformation
Becoming a digital finance organization.
Behind the scenes, these changes are being enabled by quality, integrated data. “We’re currently using Prism Analytics and Accounting Center to ingest and transform data from our operational systems to post to our general ledger,” says Starnes. Previously, the files had to be uploaded manually, and there were delays with syncing data to our reporting tools. “Now the files are updated daily, without manual intervention, which the auditors love,” says Starnes.
New capabilities like automated approval workflows and invoice scanning have streamlined processes and delivered measurable efficiency gains. For example, the reduced manual effort has cut the month-end close by three days.
Balancing AI ambition with accountability.
Heartland is embracing the opportunity to transform how its people work and make decisions. Like most organizations, Heartland is keen to leverage AI to transform the way its teams work and deliver better value for customers and stakeholders. But leaders are also determined that innovation must not be at the expense of trust. “We need to ensure we operate within a strong governance framework to safeguard our business,” explains Starnes. She believes that working with a trusted technology provider helps Heartland get the balance right between responsible experimentation and robust oversight.
Workday's investment in AI ensures we keep pace with technology and allows us to operate in a trusted environment given Workday's reputation as a technology leader.
Head of Finance Transformation
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