In the interview with Dr. Dominique Hoffmann, Partner at Grant Thornton in Germany.
While large corporations have long since fully embraced the topic of digitalization and consistently pursue their digital agenda, many companies in the German SME sector are still very hesitant. Existing business models continue to be maintained, and often there is a lack of a holistic perspective. Companies like Grant Thornton specialize in their expertise in the field of finance, specifically supporting large and successful SMEs in their digital transformation. Grant Thornton is one of the ten largest auditing firms in Germany. A team of around 1,500 employees supports upper mid-sized companies and listed companies at eleven locations in achieving their goals. The auditing and consulting firm, founded in 1958, offers comprehensive services in the business areas of Audit & Assurance, Tax, Advisory, Business Process Solutions, Legal and Private Finance. At the same time, the consultants and auditors have expertise in more than a dozen industries. The experts understand the challenges of the various industries and combine professional knowledge with industry understanding.
The company is part of the Grant Thornton International network with over 62,000 employees and can thus offer audit and consulting services to clients in more than 140 countries worldwide. In an interview with Dr. Dominique Hoffmann, Partner at Grant Thornton in Germany, we talk today, among other things, about the role of CFOs, the major challenge of digital transformation, and the path to a feasible strategic plan.
DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Mr. Dr. Hoffmann, there are many consulting firms in the field of digital transformation. What sets Grant Thornton apart from others and what distinguishes your company?
Dr. Dominique Hoffmann: Grant Thornton (GT) operates in more than 135 countries and thus offers its clients a global network. The focus is on a pragmatic consulting approach in the field of digital transformation for SMEs with a clear industry focus on the real estate, mechanical engineering, and consumer goods industries. Furthermore, multidisciplinary expert teams consisting of auditors, IT and IT security consultants, data specialists, and experienced project managers are deployed.
DIGITAL FUTUREmag: If you consider digitalization from the perspective of the finance department first, CFOs have a special role in this process. Can you describe this for us?
Dr. Dominique Hoffmann: CFOs have a dual role: They must ensure that sufficient funds are provided to finance digital initiatives and projects. However, due to the increasing pressure to implement digital transformation in commercial areas as well, they are also responsible for its actual implementation.
DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Many companies today appoint CDOs to drive digital transformation within the organization. Don’t these two roles on the C-level come into conflict with one another? I know of some examples.
Dr. Dominique Hoffmann: CDOs typically have a strong customer focus and drive digital transformation from a market and customer perspective, whereas CFOs ideally concentrate on commercial areas and thus internal processes. Of course, coordination is required at the interfaces.
DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Your company operates internationally and supports particularly large enterprises on their continuous transformation journey. Could you outline a rough roadmap that would also suit mid-sized companies?
Dr. Dominique Hoffmann: First, it’s important to determine the status quo across the dimensions of processes, data, technology, and people. Based on this, a digital roadmap and an estimate of costs for the coming years should be developed. After that, implementation begins.
DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Digitalization is—and will remain—a major challenge. In your view, what are the biggest stumbling blocks on the path to at least a process-wise digital company?
Dr. Dominique Hoffmann: Definitely the quality of the data. Unfortunately, this is still incomplete or incorrect in most companies, often necessitating costly preliminary projects (keyword: data management).
DIGITAL FUTUREmag: To what extent do you support companies, beyond strategic planning, in implementing and aligning with their desired goals?
Dr. Dominique Hoffmann: We have our own solution architects and developers, for example, to automate processes. This allows us to support our customers at least with project management, and often with the actual implementation of projects.
DIGITAL FUTUREmag: That sounds like a plan. Thank you very much for this conversation.