Sutherland and FORVIS: A collaborative leap into consult-to-operate finance transformation

In a dynamic landscape where businesses increasingly seek to blend consulting expertise with operations and digital capabilities, an interesting partnership has emerged between business process services firm Sutherland and FORVIS, a mid-size US-based accounting and advisory firm. This strategic collaboration underscores significant growth and innovation potential when two partners with complementary capabilities explore OneEcosystem™ propositions.

The opportunity for a joint CFO proposition is in front of Sutherland and FORVIS

We’re seeing CFOs being much more open to consult-to-operate solutions today due to the pace of change and sheer scale of requirements for finance transformation. Many businesses don’t just want theoretical guidance on topics like regulatory compliance and touchless processing—they want someone to deliver it for them. Similarly, they don’t just want to buy cost-savings-oriented F&A BPO services but smarter process design upfront that delivers broader business outcomes.

This demand shift has prompted a fresh perspective on services portfolios for the supply side. Consulting majors, including the Big 4, are rapidly expanding their managed services capabilities, while operations service providers are trying to swim upstream into consulting. Partnerships between these firms are the other way forward, though no one has figured out the right dynamic just yet. In this environment, the partnership between Sutherland and FORVIS could be just what it takes to develop a winning combination.

What’s already in motion: Global delivery center, joint go-to-market, and digital R&D

At the heart of this collaboration lies a shared board-level vision between Sutherland and FORVIS to create a stronger value proposition for clients by integrating complementary strengths. The partnership focuses on key areas such as risk advisory, finance transformation, automation, and analytics. The alliance resulted in the following to create value for clients:

The strategic partnership set up a global delivery center

From Sutherland’s perspective, the collaboration is emblematic of seizing opportunities amid the post-COVID landscape, unveiling pent-up demand for digital transformation. The collaboration’s roadmap involves establishing a robust offshore presence, where Sutherland is the strategic arm for FORVIS’ offshore operations setup. A significant aspect of this partnership is the establishment of a global delivery center by Sutherland, catering to FORVIS’ advisory services, where FORVIS is essentially Sutherland’s client. This center is poised to offer enterprises a full range of expertise in internal and external audit, tax, and regulatory compliance. Such a move is anticipated to streamline operations and optimize processes, offering clients a seamless experience backed by a fusion of consulting acumen and operational efficiency. Today, this global delivery center (GDC) is well in motion and expanding its range of services.

The joint go-to-market is gaining traction

The partnership’s ambitions stretch well beyond the GDC, having realized the opportunity to jointly integrate and propose solutions for finance clients. This joint go-to-market is already gaining traction, as evidenced by their unified pitch to clients for consultative and operational services. Existing clients have shown keen interest in this joint proposition, further validating the synergy between these industry challengers. They have successfully collaborated on several opportunities across strategic finance transformation.

The collaboration enabled digital R&D, sales and marketing, and research support

Further, one of the standout features of the collaboration is the joint effort to develop and introduce digital analytics, automation, and AI tools into finance advisory services, where Sutherland has capabilities that would benefit FORVIS. This infusion of technology and capabilities aims to streamline finance practices, enhance decision making, and drive efficiency across the spectrum.

The collaborative venture between FORVIS and Sutherland reflects the strategic alignment and shared values between the two entities. In our conversation with FORVIS, its positive assessment of the partnership’s cultural fit and complementary strengths speaks volumes. Such endorsement adds credence to the partnership’s potential to achieve its objectives.

The Bottom Line: As the industry evolves, the outcome of this collaboration could serve as a benchmark for future OneEcosystem™ partnerships where you don’t necessarily need to be the biggest player in town—but perhaps the boldest.

In summary, the partnership between Sutherland Global Services and FORVIS epitomizes the current trend of strategic alliances in the finance industry. By leveraging their combined resources, capabilities, and shared objectives, the entities aim to join hands and put up strong competition to much larger competitors through a blend of consulting expertise, operations know-how, and technological innovation. The partnership’s progress warrants observation as it navigates the intricacies of operational integration and value generation—not always a guaranteed recipe for success, given the industry examples we’ve seen.