GUEST ARTICLE: Checklist For Success When Looking For An Outsourced Provider

Private Client Resources

20 December 2013

Private Client Resources provides data aggregation and reporting services to RIAs, family offices and banks. Here, the firm gives a "checklist for success" when it comes to pursuing an outsourced solution.

Last year, Family Wealth Report spoke to Rob Fiore, president and chief executive of PCR, about how the firm believes that the time-consuming and complex nature of financial reporting is likely to trigger a "major exodus" in family offices outsourcing this duty - a move that would free up time and boost efficiency across the industry (see here).

You’ve heard the promises: scalability, cost reduction and the ability to provide higher quality private wealth reporting to your clients. As compelling as all this sounds, you may still be reluctant to pursue an outsourced solution due to the stories of implementation nightmares you’ve heard or may have even experienced yourself.

But, implementation issues can be avoided. The key is to partner with a reporting specialist aligned with your goals and whose execution process is designed to minimize any disruption experienced by your firm.

Checklist for success

Without clearly defined goals and an agreement between you and your solution provider on what will constitute success for your firm, you run the risk of “succeeding” at implementing the wrong service for your needs. To help ensure you are on the right track, here is a checklist of best practices for achieving implementation success.

1. Ask yourself: “What am I specifically trying to accomplish?”

This is perhaps the most basic, and yet singularly the most important, best practice to adhere to. Once this question is answered, ask your solution provider if they can deliver what you need, such as:

- Achieve best-in-class private wealth reporting;

- Free up time currently spent entering statements and uploading data;

- Obtain unparalleled insight into clients’ portfolios; and

- Focus more time on clients, prospects, and managing other business challenges and opportunities.

2. Agree on what a successful implementation will look like before you begin.

Be specific about each of your expectations. In particular, specify that in addition to realizing the goals you identified above, all of the solution’s new capabilities will be functioning as promised. Also, agree that the migration to the new solution will have rendered your legacy solution fully retired before the implementation is considered successfully completed.

- Project plan is completed;

- Historical data is loaded, available and accurate;

- Custom reports have been built and tested;

- All client reports and data have been tested and approved; and

- On-site training is completed.

3. Make it clear you expect to receive comprehensive planning and overarching project management.

In addition to a project timeline with dates for specific client data and inputs, scheduled check-ins on progress and an end-date, you should receive a detailed plan that properly addresses the following significant categories of work:

- Historical data retention and fusion;

- Client report packages;

- Data authorization and servicing; and

- Client onboarding.

4. Demand that the plan focuses on key data, reporting and system integration elements.

The successful and on-time completion of the project, as well as the impact it has on the normal daily business of your firm, will be determined by careful planning for the following key elements:

- Data migration from the current system;

- Creation of custom client reports and packages;

- Data access and authorization processing;

- Client reporting and data testing; and

- Any special system or data integrations.

5. Insist on hands-on training and ongoing support.

All providers offer some degree of training, but on-site training is the best way to learn a new solution and gain the expertise necessary to deliver your new services properly.

- Ask for scenario planning, testing and service rehearsals prior to your system going live;

- Gain real-life experience in the presence of an on-site expert; and

- Receive ongoing project manager involvement and support.

Complicated, but worthwhile

There is no denying that upgrading a reporting system—especially when it involves migrating from a legacy solution—is a complicated process with numerous opportunities for error and frustration to occur. But when you work with a reporting specialist who incorporates the above best practices into the execution of the implementation process, the risk of disruption will be minimized. More importantly, it greatly improves your probability of ongoing success.