General Ledger excellence is harder to achieve in shared services than when self-contained at a location or Business Unit.
Why?

• Many Shared Services operations have a blend of on-shore, off-shore and outsourced processing.
  The hand-offs are many and can be complex
• Once-removed from the day to day activities of the business SSCs can become somewhat insulated from common issues and the company's business environment/culture
• Heterogeneous processing; Many different accounting issues for many different customers
• Resources are leaner.
  Studies indicate that shared services center FTE's process 30% more general ledger entries and reconciliations than local general ledger groups
• Greater focus on service to the business and professionally-run SLAs
• Relationships with the end-customer are typically newer and attaining a working trust level takes longer

Shared Services groups can take many steps to mitigate the risks associated with the list above; however we would suggest at a minimum the following four steps towards General Ledger excellence in Shared Services:

1. Workplan Each Month, Every Month: All good GL Managers have a close checklist.
   However, very few shared services centers treat each month as a new project with an associated workplan.
   The reality is that pre-close, close and post-close takes two weeks in a fairly well-run Shared Services GL shop.
   That leaves two weeks to get other work done.
   Most GL shops we have worked with use that window to breathe a sigh of relief, fix prior-month entries and gear up for the new monthly close.
   Instead, take four hours after every monthly close to pre-plan the new month.
   Leverage those fourteen days to instead wisely allocate the scarce resource of time, with a daily plan mapped to each resource in the department.
    
2. Improve One Thing Every Month: All Shared Services GL operations have room for improvement.
   Pick one thing every month and fix it.
   Here's a quick list of items that are typical candidates:
   • Creating automatic data feeds for select Balance Sheet reconciliations to minimize manual and redundant data entry
   • Automating 10 manual journal entries every month
   • Design and imbed a process to start measuring one new "thing" every month that has not been measured before, and, that will have a positive impact on service levels
   • Reconciling the Fixed Asset ledger to identify candidates for write-offs
   • Identify one ERP screen that is unused and could add process value, and then design a process
   • Update approval and routing tables
   • Identify three bottlenecks in the close process, and eliminate them
3. Learn Your Internal Customer's Business: Once a quarter, spend a week at a customer's location learning their business and building trust.
   This does not mean you just show up and hang out.
   Build an agenda that will add value to them and execute against it.
   If you are an engineering company, volunteer to streamline their project accounting process.
   If you are a merchandising business, volunteer to come to their site and work with them to streamline their inventory process.
   If you are a construction company, volunteer to work with them personally to educate project engineers on good capital management.
   The idea is to spend time at the site, add value and build trust.
   The key takeaway for you will be a better appreciation of their business and a longer list of allies out in the field.
    
4. Update your Service Level Agreements Twice a Year: Your service level agreements with your customers are their guarantee of service, and your guarantee of their participation.
   As your service improves, so must their level and quality of participation (and vice versa).
   At least twice annually dust off the agreements, compare service levels against historical performance, and set new standards for your organization and new expectations for the Businesses.
   This will serve to improve performance, build a greater level of trust with the Businesses and ensure you stay leading edge in the marketplace.
   

Although these four steps will never be a replacement for a full-blown re-engineering effort, they are relatively low-cost, low-pain techniques for ensuring continued success with your processing, and maintaining good relationships with your internal customers.