Reduce Costs and Maintain Service Levels
As governments seek to maintain service levels amid falling revenue, officials are pursuing cost savings to get more out of existing resources. To be effective, these efforts must take a comprehensive approach to an organization’s operations, but many governments lack the time, resources, and knowledge to implement the kind of sweeping changes that can have a significant impact on their bottom line.
Crowe Horwath LLP brings a unique combination of public sector knowledge, industry expertise, and cross functional skills to help governments streamline operations, implement more effective processes, and enhance information technology (IT) systems. Our team of professionals, which includes former elected and appointed governmental officials, has firsthand knowledge of the challenges that local governments face. Crowe works closely with organizations to tailor solutions that address their specific needs. Crowe’s approach to cost saving focuses on the following areas:
Adopt a shared-services model. Standardize and consolidate key support entities, such as finance, payroll, and IT, from several entities into a single, stand-alone organization that can increase efficiency.
Smart-source goods and services. Analyze functions such as IT support and call centers to determine whether they could be performed more cost effectively by third-party vendors.
Manage service portfolios. Review and evaluate service levels against established benchmarks to determine whether to renew, replace, or retire certain services.
Benchmark expenses. Use market levels to assess third-party providers and to support negotiations to confirm that governments are getting the lowest price for goods and services.
Manage workforce and labor. Align workforce levels with current needs and use predictive models to calculate future demands and staffing requirements.
Improve processes. Identify, analyze, and redefine organizational processes to allocate available resources more effectively and achieve greater efficiencies in service delivery.
Pursue organizational cost reductions. Assess ways to reduce costs across the entire operation by coordinating operations and processes among agencies.
Boost performance. Develop a system for measuring employee performance and programs, to engage and motivate employees.
Implement strategic planning. Coordinate long-term planning with leaders across the organization to encourage collaboration, reach consensus, and energize stakeholders.
In addition to these services, Crowe offers a broad range of financial advisory services, such as financial management, revenue and fee analysis, and budgeting and forecasting to help officials manage their resources more wisely.