| "It’s been a partnership throughout, with PwC supporting us in designing, developing and delivering not just a good training programme, but a great one." |
| Mark Miles |
| BP FC&A faculty programme manager |
The issue
BP’s finance control & accounting function (FC&A), used to be part of the business, but in 2003 the new BP management framework made FC&A a separate function.
This separation made the FC&A independent, yet it was still vital to maintain strong relationships with the business. The change implied a whole new set of accountabilities, relationships and behaviours. BP quickly recognised the need to develop the function’s capabilities and in 2004 it asked PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which already had a long-standing relationship with BP, to work with FC&A’s newly established learning faculty to design, develop and deliver a ‘great’ training programme.
Our approach
We worked with BP as a partnership throughout, supporting them to come up with a highly interactive programme, focused on being relevant to the everyday experience of the delegates. We combined a mix of our finance experience, training skills and BP-specific knowledge to produce a programme focused on behaviours and managing relationships, but in a way totally grounded in the jobs people do, using realistic control dilemmas to help people think through how they would act.
People were encouraged to put forward their views and experiences which often meant that discussion got quite intense. When a debate took off, the facilitator ran with it, as this was one of the most valuable elements of the programme.
The outcome
The flagship ‘controls excellence’ programme is now being delivered globally to controllers in all BP businesses. PwC firms in the UK, US and Singapore are assisting the faculty to deliver a further programme to embed control awareness.
The result has been excellent participant feedback, rising demand for places and clear evidence of people taking action as a result of the programme. "This course has been great," says Susan Elliott, a joint venture reporting manager based in Angola, speaking after a recent event in London. "My boss took it last year and encouraged me to come and his boss will be taking it next year".
Martin Ludlam, an assistant business unit controller with BP in Trinidad and Tobago, agrees. "From the business point of view, I now understand my accountabilities a lot better. It’s great to discuss things and pull them together."
The value that BP places on this programme is confirmed in PwC’s client satisfaction surveys, with scores averaging nine out of ten.
Download the
BP case study. (88kb)
