SAP S/4HANA Finance – Insights into the consulting world at the interface of financial accounting and IT

Simon Wolter, a Cologne native, is 29 years old and a part of the LINKIT Consulting team since May 2015. In his role as Managing Consultant, he provides insights into his specialization in SAP S/4HANA Finance, what exciting challenges have to be confronted, and why he especially appreciates the work and communication culture at LINKIT Consulting.

How was your start?

Even during my studies, I got to know LINKIT better thanks to a practical project involving cooperation with the Cologne University of Applied Sciences. I liked the company from the start, then I was able to write my master’s thesis in cooperation with LINKIT. After completing my studies, I was offered the opportunity to join the company as a Junior Consultant; I gladly accepted this position based on my positive experiences.

Right from the first week, I was integrated directly into a large ongoing project – of course this was very exciting for me. My specialty was the project management office (PMO) sector, which included support for the project management. After I had gained critical knowledge of project management early on, I specialized in the SAP-FI area after approximately one year.

What do you especially like about LINKIT Consulting?

I especially like the work and communication culture at LINKIT. If I have questions, I can always approach my colleagues or the management. As part of the team, we work self-sufficiently; we have a lot of freedom in our work and incorporate new ideas, which is very important to me personally.

Since August 2019 we have been part of the valantic Group, and I have already networked with many colleagues. I am really looking forward to cooperating with them. It’s great to see that everybody at the group shares the same attitude and motivation.

What are the challenges of your job?

In my position as consultant, I encounter companies from a wide variety of industries. Of course this keeps things lively, but it also brings some challenges. Each customer project is unique with regard to its system and process environment and corporate culture, and has to be regarded individually. The challenge is to advise our customers optimally and break up previous process environments or form new ones as required.

What precisely are your tasks as Managing Consultant with a focus on SAP S/4HANA Finance?

As Managing Consultant, my focus in SAP S/4HANA Finance is on the interface between financial accounting and IT. In our projects, I am the specialized lead and I am the direct contact for all junior and senior consultants, as well as for the customer. In addition to the specialized development of the project team, as partial project manager, I am responsible for the smooth flow of the customer project.
In a holistic project cycle, we advise our customers about how they can confront their current challenges in finance and controlling. For the project flow, this means specifically that in the first step, we record the customer’s requirements, analyze current processes, and reveal possible optimizations. Then the concern for me and the team is the conception, implementation, and test phases – until the new system can finally go live. For the entire course of the project, in addition to such transformation and implementation projects, for classic finance projects in my area this includes the integration of electronic account statements of SAP Intercompany Reconciliation Tools (ICR).