Seplat is a leading independent oil & gas exploration and production company in Nigeria. In 2010 it was awarded interest in, and was appointed operator of, a portfolio of three onshore producing assets. Keen to grow, they were looking to list on both the London and Nigerian Stock Exchanges, and recognised that robust financial information would be critical going forward.
Background
Seplat required the ability to demonstrate excellent financial management with robust controls and procedures – responding confidently to the demands of investors and the markets by reporting financial statements accurately and quickly.
With the existing solution, they were struggling to generate the quality of reporting required. Updating the system was not an option – this would have entailed commissioning custom reports and developing complicated workarounds. Given that significant growth was high on the agenda, they felt now was the right time to implement a high calibre finance solution, deemed best practice by the oil & gas industry.
Ease of training and use was a key factor for Seplat in selecting the right solution. They wanted their existing finance team to be up and running with any new system as quickly as possible, reducing the reliance on external consultants. Also, with growth in mind, it was likely the finance team would need to increase in size – choosing an industry-known solution would make easier to attract high calibre, experienced people when the need arose.
Seplat needed a solution that could flex and accommodate the future projected growth. With a goal to increase the number of producing assets, they knew they would need a robust financial solution, and greater visibility and control of procurement, inventory and asset management in the future.
The Challenge
Seplat were keen to find the right consultancy partner for this project – this meant the right oil and gas business systems experience, but also a willingness to resource the project with a team in Nigeria.
They wanted partners who would be fully responsible for the implementation, work closely with their team to gain a stronger understanding of Seplat, create a full solution that covered ways of working as well as system development and fully train their finance team to be self-sufficient post Go Live.
Our Solution
Seplat were keen to review all possible system options, so we worked with the finance team in Lagos on an intensive discovery process and high level system comparison. This initial analysis identified SunSystems as the best business solution, providing everything Seplat required now, and providing future options through its seamless integration with the full suite of business solutions.
Working closely with the Seplat teams, we developed a design specification covering both the IT systems & infrastructure, and any changes to ways of working that would drive maximum benefit from the solution.
Outcomes and Benefits for Seplat
- Seplat’s finance team are now fully trained and have taken full ownership of their financial solution
- There have been time savings – the team spend less time processing data and generating reports, enabling more time to strategically analyse the outputs and improve workflows
- Seplat are benefitting from better quality data, and they have full confidence in the underpinning numbers
- The solution has improved visibility of financial information, enabling better cash management
- A central repository in SunSystems provides a single source of data, which is accessible securely from anywhere in the world
- The finance solution provides a solid foundation that is fully flexible and scalable, to align to Seplat’s future growth
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