Financial Shared Services Model: Optimizing Efficiency and Control in Electric Power Enterprises

Against the background of the rapid development of network information technology and globalization, many enterprises in China are actively exploring and thoroughly studying the financial shared service model, trying to make the financial shared service model more applicable to their own enterprises. An overview of the application status of financial shared service centers at home and abroad and a comparison of them reveals that the financial shared service model has the following characteristics: First, it can provide accounting. The financial shared service center is essentially an independent entity that can provide internal accounting services and receive remuneration for its services. On this basis, it competes with external suppliers by operating in the market in a corresponding way. Secondly, it can provide back-office support services. Based on centralized finance, financial sharing breaks down the traditional boundaries of accounting units and provides back-office services and expenditures for each business unit by adopting a streamlined approach to business processing. Thirdly, it can enhance the ability of risk control. In the process of its application, the financial shared service center can promote its own service quality based on the scale effect, so as to continuously reduce its service costs and enhance its own risk controllability. Fourthly, it can effectively improve the company's information technology level. With the financial shared service center in the process of in-depth application of comprehensive information systems, it also brings in the introduction of big data, mobile applications, and other information technology. In the whole process of online delivery and management of corporate financial business, it will also significantly improve the effectiveness of the work of the majority of the enterprise staff reimbursement, contract payments, and other business, which is also reasonable for the continuous improvement of the level of information technology of the enterprise staff.

Based on the basic principles of financial sharing, the enterprise financial management system can be divided into the following three major dimensions: First, strategic finance. Strategic finance is usually divided into corporate finance departments, which formulate and are responsible for the financial strategies of electric power enterprises, and carry out integrated deployment and efficient control of all financial management work of the enterprises. Second, shared finance. In practice, the shared finance is usually divided into shared finance centers. The shared finance is mainly responsible for the accounting of the included units, and on the basis of batch processing of the accounting business of the included units, quickly provides standardized accounting information services, timely presentation of financial statements, and comprehensive financial supervision. Thirdly, business finance. In electric power enterprises, business finance is usually divided into grassroots unit finance, which leads and implements the general strategy of enterprise finance and carries out the actual financial management work of the enterprise.

In the actual production and operation process, electric power enterprises usually use embedded, interactive, and other ways to guide the entire process of the usual production and operation of the grassroots units, and work with the grassroots department to control risks and create production value.

Based on the foundation of shared financial services, in the process of mutual exchange and communication among the internal staff, most of them are carried out by means of data and information technology. The use of information technology and data to communicate with each other obviously reduces the number of interactions between staff members, which can lead to problems with the security of certain information.

In the current context of the rapid development of the Internet and the widespread use of big data, it is clear that the transmission of information and data is more accurate and efficient than ever before. However, this pure electronic transmission channel will cause some information security problems in the exchange and security of information and data within the enterprise. In many cases, there will be problems due to the breakdown of the server system, which ultimately makes the whole enterprise financial data in the process of communication and transmission of some security risks. In addition, because this financial treatment mode is based on a fully systematic approach, the subjective communication costs of the company will also significantly increase. Based on the financial sharing service model, enterprises often transfer data using data and information technology.

The financial sharing service center is not only responsible for the settlement and audit of their own internal financial data but also integrates and prepares data on the relevant accounting statements. The processing of data and information in this way is obviously much more efficient. However, in practice, due to the different work positions of the staff concerned, they are unable to cover all aspects of the funds and project costs related to the production and operation of the enterprise. Therefore, in the actual production and operation process, the financial staff of enterprises must continue to communicate with their relevant business departments. To do a good job of accounting and financial data preparation, thus achieving a good effect of constantly reducing the internal financial communication costs of enterprises. This is a great promotion for enterprises to apply this service mode of financial sharing in their production and operation process in a better way.

In practice, group enterprises such as electric power companies start relatively late in using the financial sharing model, resulting in a large part of their technical processes not being perfect and still under constant construction. Even those accounting professionals who have a great deal of experience in the company are unable to integrate into the process as quickly as possible, making it impossible for the company's finance staff to carry out their work effectively. As a result, if they are not sufficiently familiar with the financial sharing process, the effective implementation of the shared financial services model will be adversely affected.