hsp.talk: An interview with Ute Schröder

Once the Procedural documentation Next up is the optimisation of our own operational processes. And the management and monitoring of these processes within the company via an ICS (Internal Control System). We were joined in our studio by Ute Schröder, Managing Director of C4B, who spoke with Paul Liese about the partnership and the benefits it brings for Opti.Tax Doku users.

Paul Liese: You’re the managing director of C4B. What does C4B do?

Ute Schröder: C4B is a network for senior managers in finance and controlling. The aim is to save on consultancy costs in the long term. The fact is that everyone tends to „go it alone“ and often has to come up with many ideas from scratch time and again. So we got together – it originally started with large corporations such as Beiersdorf, Jungheinrich and Fielmann; we got together and said, „We need to have some sort of platform where we can exchange ideas and try to work out how to design optimal processes in finance and controlling.’ And this has since grown into a nationwide network. I’d say we’re now THE finance network in Germany.

Paul Liese: Why did you get in touch with us?

Ute Schröder: Because we’ve had the problem that we were doing this in Word and PowerPoint, and that’s obviously not the best solution. That’s how the idea came about. I then had a look at the process documentation with Andreas and thought hsp GmbH’s solution was very, very good. And that’s a great place to start, isn’t it? You begin with the procedural documentation and very quickly end up looking at business processes, so in that respect it’s a great addition. That’s how we came across you.

„Not just digital, but also automated“

Paul Liese: We’ve now seen that the first processes you’ve provided us with also include ICS tips, guidance and the like. How does the user benefit from reading this? Do they simply get a sample process, or do they also receive a recommendation on how they might implement it?

Ute Schröder: Yes, at the same time he receives a recommendation regarding the ICS, the internal control system: at which stages of the process should I incorporate checks? That’s another great thing about your software: that you can assign tasks straight away and say, „I can draw up a roadmap“; that I basically know which tasks I still need to work on to really drive forward this transition to digital accounting – not just digital, but automated as well.

Paul Liese: Of course, that’s what many people out there want – for recurring processes to be automated as much as possible. You’ve just been sitting down with our developers – at least two of them. How did it go?

Ute Schröder: That was exciting. I’ve rarely worked with developers before. I thought they were really nice. You’re planning to incorporate graphics as well now. It’s already looking really great. I reckon there’s still a bit of programming work to be done. But it’s already looking really great and I’m really looking forward to the finished product. I also think companies will find this really easy to work with. Because I really liked the fact that you can jump from the text to the graphics and vice versa. That means that even if you add another task to the graphics, the text modules change automatically. You no longer need cross-references. You no longer need to update anything manually. Instead, you can simply ask yourself, „Am I going to include something in the text field?“ and the graphic generates itself automatically – or vice versa. I thought that was a brilliant solution.

Paul Liese: Yes, I’m curious about that too. For anyone who isn’t yet sure what we’re talking about: diagrams are the process diagrams, the flowcharts, which show how a process chain works, which branches there are to the right and left, and where there might also be sub-processes relating to specific tasks; and the whole thing is based on the BPM model, so that we’ll be providing it as part of Release 20.0 in just under two weeks’ time. There’s one thing you haven’t seen yet today – as I mentioned on Friday, whenever we look at the topic of ICS (Internal Control System), we can use the risk control matrix from other areas to assign risks to a process step via drag-and-drop. This means you document it once in one place, and if a risk changes, you don’t have to rewrite everything – as you would in Word, Excel or WISO – but simply update the risk, and it’s automatically linked back to the process chain straight away.

Ute Schröder: And what I really love about it – unlike Word and PowerPoint – is that you can map out your business processes and then use internal controls and risk matrices to carry on working, further optimise your processes and also create transparency within the company. And let’s be honest: how many companies actually have that?

Paul Liese: Yes, very few. Because we never had the right tools.

Ute Schröder: Yes, exactly.

Paul Liese: We used to do it in Word – we’d start writing, but then day-to-day business would get so hectic that we never got round to it. And what boss would employ staff just for documentation? That’s quite rare, too. That’s why it simply makes sense to consider a tool like this. Yes, it’s incredibly exciting. Working with your team as well. I think that’s brilliant. And I’m keen to see what we’ll be rolling out over the coming weeks and months. In the end, it always comes down to what the customers say. Last Friday, we actually had our first opportunity to have, I think, two business owners on board. What was their feedback like?

Ute Schröder: Very, very positive. They immediately started considering whether to implement it in their own company. They’re now just waiting for the final version. They thought it was very, very good that it would enable them to document their processes more quickly and that it would significantly reduce the workload.

Paul Liese: I’m looking forward to it. We’ll be making this available to our customers shortly, once we’ve finalised the release – as I said, we plan to launch it on 6 December. We’ll hold another online meeting to explain how it all works. We’ll also show our screen here in front of us again and work our way through the individual topics, so that those who are following us and watching now can see exactly what we’re talking about. First of all, let’s whet your appetite, keep you in suspense, and then we’ll see the live version in two weeks’ time.

Ute Schröder: I can tell you that Andreas found that really interesting too. For auditors as well. Because he said, „Gosh, that might actually be a way to get into management consultancy and then move on to process documentation as well“.

Paul Liese: Yes, that’s been our experience. When I draw up procedural documentation for a company these days, I record the actual tax processes rather than the target processes. And I find time and again that I can optimise processes by making a few changes. And once I’ve documented the actual processes, I always reach the point where I can move into business consultancy, provided the client allows it. But what client would object to saving money or working more efficiently if you show them how? And this is where we join forces with C4B and hsp to provide tools – not just in the form of functions within our software, but also content from you that helps people shape the whole process and, in some way, shows them how to do it.

Ute Schröder: Well, I’m really looking forward to it.

„A good starting point“

Paul Liese: Yes, us too. Do we have anything else for our viewers, or have we covered everything?

Ute Schröder: One thing that could be added is that I believe this is also very, very important in terms of preventing fraud and attacks on the company; that’s the risk aspect. We may not have discussed this in such detail yet. Because I believe this transparency in business processes helps to optimise interfaces, but also prevents external attacks and avoids errors. In that respect, it is certainly an important issue. It is now also enshrined in law under the GoBD, so every company must comply with it. I think this is a really good starting point for companies to get to grips with this.

Paul Liese: Yes, we agree. If you have any questions on this topic or would like a personalised presentation, please get in touch using the contact details on the website. Or you can get in touch with Ute. You’ve got a version of your own that you’ll be able to show from next week onwards. Well then: thank you very much for joining us.

Ute Schröder: I’d be happy to.

Paul Liese: To cut a long story short: thank you very much for your patience and for sticking with us despite our delayed start. We hope you have a lovely evening and a great week, and we look forward to our next session with you. Our next session is on 6 December at 3.00 pm. Joining me for the livestream will be Julian Rumkowski from our Support and Consulting team, with whom I’ll be presenting Release 20.0. And the next major livestream event – provided Telekom doesn’t throw a spanner in the works – will take place on 12 December with Stephan Schütrumpf from Creditreform, where we’ll be discussing the integration of our software into the Creditreform’s rating process AG is leaving. Thank you very much for your attention, and have a lovely evening. See you later!