Whetherthefocusisonstrategy,operationsortechnologicalbreakthroughs,A.T.Kearneyiscommittedtohelpingclientsimprovetheirproductsandservices.Asoneoftheworld’sfastest-growingmanagementconsultingfirms,A.T.Kearneyhasexpandeditsinformationtechnologyfocustoencompassafullspectrumofindustrieswhilemaintainingaglobalpres-enceinbothmajorandemergingmarkets.A.T.Kearney’sconsultantsfrequentlytravelworldwidetoprovidehigh-levelconsultingexpertise.Thecompany’sconsultingteamgeneratesrevenuethroughbillablehoursspentwithclients.FrequenttravelandaworldwideclientbasechallengedA.T.Kearneytoeliminatetime-consumingpaper-basedbillingandtravelandentertainment(T&E)reportingprocedures.A.T.KearneyStreamlinesBillingandExpenseReportingProcessesGlobalmanagementconsultingfirmrollsoutExtensityTimesheetsandExtensityExpenseReportstoitsworld-wideteam.WORKWONDERSA.T.KEARNEYCASESTUDY“Themajorityofourcomplexfunctionalityrequirementsstemfromthefactthatweareaglobalcompany…ThefactthatExtensityExpenseReportsaccountsfortheseadditionalcostswasextremelyimportanttous.”WilliamWong,ProjectManger,A.T.KearneyRecognizingtheneedforprocessautomationThecompany’soldbillingsysteminvolvedamulti-stepprocess.Consultantswererequiredtorecordtheirbillableclienthoursandtheirtravelexpendituresmanually.Afterdocumentingtheexpenseandtime-relatedinformation,consultantsthensentthereportstotheappropriatefinancialarmofeachA.T.Kearneyofficewherethedatawasre-keyedintothereportingsystem.Asaresult,theprocesswasnotonlyextremelytime-consuming,butpronetoerrorduringdatatransfer.A.T.Kearneybeganresearchingserviceproviderscapableofstreamliningthecompany’sreportingfeaturesandstandardizingbillingprocesses.Afterconsideringvariousapplications,A.T.KearneychoseExtensityTimesheets™andExtensityExpenseReports™.TheconsultingleadervaluedExtensity’stechnologicalcapabilities,whichprovidedaneasilyaccessibleWeb-basedsolutionforitsglobalofficesandtravelingconsultants.Inaddition,Extensity’s100percentJavaarchitecturewascompatiblewiththecompany’sMicrosoft-basedsystems.AglobalsolutionforaglobalcompanyA.T.KearneyalsovaluedthefactthatExtensity’sapplicationswerecapableofcal-culatingandmanagingvalue-addedtax(VAT)andperdiemsthatapplytointernationalexpenditures.“Themajorityofourcom-plexfunctionalityrequirementsstemfromthefactthatweareaglobalcompany.InEurope,therearestatutoryrequirementsforbothvalue-addedtaxandperdiems.ThefactthatExtensityExpenseReportsaccountsfortheseadditionalcostswasextremelyimportanttous,”commentsProjectManagerWilliamWong.AftermakingthedecisiontouseExtensity’sprograms,A.T.KearneybeganimplementingExtensityExpenseReportsandExtensityTimesheets.Wongadds,“Bothapplicationswereinitiallyrolledoutto1,000consultantsand,twoweekslater,toanadditional2,000membersoftheworldwideconsultingteam.Approximately3,000consultantsarenowusingbothapplicationsonaweeklybasis.”Fasterturnaround,fewererrorsExtensityTimesheetsprovidesthecompanywithamethodformanagingandmaintainingaccuratebillingrecordsforitsclientbase.ExtensityExpenseReportsallowsA.T.Kearneytocreatedetailedreports,whichenablemanagementtoquicklyreviewwhereandhowconsultantsarespendingprojecttimeandreportinghourlyclientbilling.Additionally,becauseofExtensity’sabilitytomanageinternationalexpensedata,A.T.KearneytracksVATandperdiemswithease.PriortoworkingwithExtensity,A.T.Kearney’sconsultantswererequiredtowaitapp...
