How Warwickshire County Council empowered confident financial planning with Unit4 FP&A
In a recent Webinar, Warwickshire County Council covered their public sector finance transformation with Unit4 FP&A. Outdated tools, manual processes, and limited data visibility can starve the public sector of confident financial decisions.
Warwickshire County Council was not exempt from these trends but identified an opportunity to grow with digital transformation.
By partnering with Unit4 FP&A, they embarked on a transformational journey that modernized their financial planning and analysis processes. Learn how Warwickshire County Council empowered financial efficiency, trust, and transparency for nearly 500 decision-makers, in this blog.
Keep reading:
- The challenges Warwickshire County Council faced
- Warwickshire County Council's journey to the Unit4 Cloud
- The benefits achieved by Warwickshire County Council transformation
- Lessons learned and advice for public sector organizations
- How can Unit4 FP&A empower financial planning and analysis for your organization?/a>
The challenges Warwickshire County Council faced
Before implementing Unit4 FP&A, Warwickshire County Council’s financial systems largely depended on legacy financial tools.
Steven Robbins, Head of Finance Transformation at Warwickshire County Council, noted “Trust is very hard to gain but very easy to lose, especially with numbers and systems,” emphasizing the need for a reliable solution.
The organization relied heavily on spreadsheets, while cost-center forecasting was dependent on outdated Unit4 technology. This legacy system lacked compatibility with their planned Cloud migration, posing significant challenges to modernization efforts.
Robbins remarked “We had created a bit of an industry around maintaining these spreadsheets. They did what they needed to do but couldn’t take us to the next level.” Some of the challenges they face include:
-
Manual Processes: Extensive reliance on Excel resulted in inconsistent reports and time-consuming data management processes, with little time to innovate strategy.
-
User Inefficiency: The existing tools were clunky and inflexible, creating frustration among users and lacking the adaptability needed to deal with the challenges the public sector faces.
-
Lack of Scalability: By partnering with Cloud FP&A, Warwickshire could shed cumbersome legacy processes for a scalable and flexible solution that enabled growth rather than curtailing it.
-
Trust in Data: Leadership faced doubts about the accuracy and reliability of financial forecasts due to repeated errors and slippages in capital projects. 360-integrated data and advanced reporting capabilities in ERP presented a solution
Explore the power of FP&A in minutes
Watch short demos that match your Financial Planning & Analysis priorities – whenever it fits into your schedule.
Warwickshire County Council's journey to the Unit4 Cloud
Recognizing the need for change, Warwickshire County Council chose Unit4 FP&A to transform its financial systems – Robbins outlined their roadmap and continued implementer support from Unit4:
Phase 1 - Capital Forecasting
The first step involved replacing outdated tools for capital forecasting. This initial implementation went live in August 2023 and became a testing ground for refining processes.
Phase 2 - Revenue Forecasting
Building on its success, Warwickshire County Council expanded into revenue forecasting in August 2024. With lessons learned from Phase 1, the internal finance team took a more hands-on approach, leading much of the design and build to ensure greater self-sufficiency.
A key element of this transformation was user involvement. Early engagement through surveys and forums allowed cost-center managers to provide input on design and functionality. “This is about providing visibility and more assurance so leadership can make confident decisions with the data,” Robbins shared.
1,000 hours
saved annually
500 Cost-Center Managers now engage with the standardized platform. The savings add up fast, even with conservative estimates. Assuming each manager saves 10 minutes per month, that equates to 5,000 minutes saved monthly or over 1,000 hours annually
The benefits achieved by Warwickshire County Council transformation
The transformation didn’t just modernize processes but completely changed the way the Council approaches financial planning. By moving to a centralized, Cloud-based platform with timely data, the council unlocked new opportunities to become more efficient, accurate, and forward-thinking.
The results included significant efficiency gains, with data updates providing timely and accurate insights. Automation of processes eliminated the hours previously spent on manual processes, while errors were drastically reduced.
These improvements enhanced forecasting and allowed finance teams to focus on strategic analysis rather than process-heavy manual data entry. Leadership benefited from richer dashboards and data drill-down features, equipping them with actionable insights for better decision-making.
Additionally, the scalability of Unit4 FP&A allows Warwickshire County Council to continue evolving their financial planning, opening the door for new capabilities like scenario planning and predictive modeling.
Empowering a data culture with reimagined user experience
Beyond tangible benefits, digital transformation created stronger trust in data, enabling leadership to operate with confidence backed by accurate forecasts and transparent budgeting. Robbins highlighted that the shift delivered better forecasts and a data-first culture.
User engagement also improved as the streamlined design, cleaner interface, and real-time connectivity turned forecasting into a seamless experience. “We’re in a good place to scale the system further because people trust it and are actively engaging with it,” Robbins concluded.
Lessons learned and advice for public sector organizations
-
Start Small: Focus on quick wins to build momentum. Warwickshire County Council’s phased approach kept goals manageable and ensured alignment across the organization.
-
Integrate User Feedback: Engaging users early and often can transform adoption and satisfaction. “Simple things like fitting everything on one screen or intuitive colors matter more than complex formulas,” Robbins noted.
-
Think Long-Term: Invest in internal teams’ ability to maintain and evolve the system. Now Warwickshire County Council is fully self-sufficient, capable of iterating and expanding functionality without reliance on external consultants.
-
Align Systems with Goals: Successfully transitioning to the Cloud allowed Warwickshire County Council to keep all critical financial data centralized, secure, and real-time.
How can Unit4 FP&A empower financial planning and analysis for your organization?
Warwickshire County Council’s financial transformation with Unit4 FP&A offers a blueprint for any public sector organization aiming to modernize its systems.
By addressing core inefficiencies, prioritizing user adoption, and focusing on scalable solutions, the council has realized significant time savings, improved decision-making, and restored trust in its data.
To hear the full story behind Warwickshire County Council’s transformation with Unit4 you can watch the full webinar on-demand, led by Unit4’s Global FP&A Sales Growth Director, Oliver Sullivan.
Alternately, you can watch our follow-up webinar on-demand, where Oliver Sullivan, and Steven Robbins, Head of Finance Transformation at Warwickshire County Council, run you through a live demo of the solutions that Unit4 provided, as well as expert insights on how you can replicate a similar successful transformation in your organization.
Visit our dedicated FP&A product page, watch a personalized demo, or talk to sales, today!
Further reading & resources
