Finance leaders today must balance cost discipline with demands for speed, transparency, and adaptability. Finance shared services help organisations centralise core finance activities while improving control and enterprise-wide visibility. As a result, Business Research Insights report valued the global shared services market at $171.75 billion in 2025, with estimates projecting it will reach $593.11 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 14.5%. This reflects a strong momentum towards scalable finance models that support transformation rather than constrain it.
What are finance shared services?
Finance shared services bring together transactional, reporting, and analytical finance activities under a unified operating model. Unlike outsourcing, organisations retain governance, accountability, and strategic ownership when opting for shared services. This has led to many enterprises establishing global finance shared service centres to support multi-region operations with consistent processes and shared data foundations.
The long-term success of these centres depends on a set of structural pillars that drive efficiency and resilience, including:
- Enabling efficiency through process alignment: Standardised workflows remove duplication and reduce rework across regions. Consistent processes shorten cycle times, improve accuracy, and create predictable service delivery.
- Strengthening finance through unified data: Centralised data management supports reliable reporting and forecasting. Finance teams gain faster access to insights that inform planning, risk management, and performance tracking.
- Scaling operations with automation: Automation supports high-volume processing without sacrificing quality. Digital platforms also allow global finance shared services to scale without linear cost growth.
- Sustaining value through continuous improvement: A shared services model evolves constantly. Teams refine processes, upskill talent, and adopt new tools to maintain relevance and performance.
Benefits and challenges in global finance shared services
Global finance shared services create meaningful enterprise value, but they also introduce operational and organisational complexity. Leaders need to balance these effectively for the successful implementation and optimisation of global finance shared services.
Once stabilised, the benefits extend well beyond cost reduction, including:
- Enterprises realise economies of scale by consolidating people, systems, and governance.
- Standardised processes strengthen compliance, audit readiness, and reporting consistency.
- Centralised visibility enables faster financial close and more accurate forecasting.
- Access to specialised finance talent improves service quality and insight generation.
- Scalable structures support growth without proportional increases in overheads.
However, transformation demands careful execution and enterprise leaders must navigate challenges, such as:
- Initial setup and technology integration require significant upfront investment.
- Process standardisation can meet resistance from local teams.
- Regulatory and data compliance grow more complex across jurisdictions.
- Talent availability and retraining needs may slow early progress.
- Communication gaps can emerge across geographies and time zones.
Technology plays a central role in overcoming these challenges. Infosys BPM supports enterprises with deep finance expertise, advanced automation, and end-to-end finance and accounting outsourcing services. Its approach enables organisations to design, launch, and optimise global finance shared services that deliver measurable, sustainable outcomes.
Implementation best practices for optimising finance shared services
Optimising finance shared services requires a structured, phased approach. Each step below helps enterprise leaders create a resilient global model for enhanced efficiency and agility:
Establishing readiness and strategic intent
Organisations need clarity before centralising finance operations. Leadership teams should assess finance maturity, stakeholder alignment, and change readiness across regions. Clear success measures should extend beyond immediate cost savings to include agility, insight quality, and service reliability.
Defining scope and selecting the right operating model
A well-defined scope prevents fragmentation and role confusion. Teams should identify which activities benefit most from centralisation and which require local presence. Selecting the right model, whether captive, hybrid, or partner-led, depends on risk appetite, governance needs, and long-term objectives.
Selecting locations with long-term viability
Location decisions shape cost, talent access, and resilience. Organisations should evaluate labour markets, regulatory stability, language capabilities, and infrastructure. A balanced location strategy supports both efficiency and continuity.
Embedding automation and digital capabilities
Technology enables consistency at scale. Automation, analytics, and AI capabilities should integrate directly into core finance workflows rather than operate as add-ons. Standardised platforms reduce complexity and improve data integrity across global finance shared services.
Strengthening governance and change management
Strong governance sustains performance over time. Clear ownership models, compliance frameworks, and service-level metrics ensure accountability. Proactive change management builds trust and adoption across finance and business teams.
As finance functions face rapid regulatory, economic, and technological shifts, finance shared services will become more than an operating model. They will provide a stable yet flexible operating foundation, enabling continuous adaptation while keeping finance operations agile, resilient, and future-ready.
Conclusion
Finance shared services now sit at the centre of modern finance transformation. When designed with clear governance, aligned processes, and embedded technology, they deliver far more than cost efficiency. Global finance shared services create a unified finance backbone that improves visibility, accelerates decision-making, and supports regulatory confidence across regions. They also give finance leaders the flexibility needed to adapt operating models as markets, regulations, and technologies evolve. As organisations face continuous disruption, a well-optimised shared services model provides the structural stability and agility needed to keep finance functions responsive, resilient, and future-ready.
Frequently asked questions
- What are finance shared services and how do they create enterprise value?
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What are the core pillars for successful global finance shared services?
- What challenges do organisations face when implementing global finance shared services?
- What benefits can finance leaders expect from mature finance shared services?
- What are the best practices for optimising global finance shared services?
Finance shared services centralise transactional, reporting, and analytical activities under a unified model that organisations govern directly, unlike outsourcing. They deliver economies of scale, standardised compliance, faster financial close, and access to specialised talent while supporting growth without linear cost increases.
Key pillars include process standardisation to eliminate duplication, unified data for reliable insights, embedded automation for scalability, and continuous improvement through governance and upskilling. These foundations ensure efficiency, resilience, and alignment with enterprise priorities across regions.
Common hurdles include upfront technology integration costs, resistance to process standardisation from local teams, regulatory complexity across jurisdictions, talent gaps, and communication barriers across time zones. Proactive change management and location strategy mitigate these risks effectively.
Mature models provide cost discipline through economies of scale, stronger compliance and audit readiness, improved forecasting from centralised visibility, and agility to support business expansion. They also elevate finance from transactional processing to strategic insight generation.
Best practices involve assessing readiness and defining scope upfront, selecting balanced locations, embedding automation into workflows, establishing clear governance with SLAs, and driving continuous improvement through metrics and talent development. Phased implementation with stakeholder alignment ensures sustainable success.
