Shared Services Center (SSC): what it is, when it makes sense, and how to implement it in finance

Many companies grow by adding people to solve new problems.

A new business unit is created, a branch opens, or an acquisition happens. Gradually, each unit starts to have its own finance team, its own spreadsheets, its own processes, and even different ways of executing the same activity.

At first, this model may work. But as the operation grows, challenges begin to appear: rework, lack of standardization, difficulty consolidating information, and increasingly high operating costs.

This is when many organizations start evaluating the creation of a Shared Services Center (SSC).

In this article, you will learn what an SSC is, when it makes sense, which processes can be centralized, and the role automation plays in making this model more efficient.

What is a Shared Services Center (SSC)?

A Shared Services Center (SSC) is an organizational model in which operational and administrative activities stop being executed by different company units and become concentrated in a single structure.

The goal is not simply to put teams in the same place.

In practice, an SSC aims to:

• standardize processes;
• increase productivity;
• reduce operating costs;
• strengthen internal controls;
• improve information quality;
• create scale to support company growth.

Instead of each unit maintaining its own accounts payable process, for example, all units start using a shared operation with common procedures, indicators, and technologies.

How does an SSC work?

The operating model varies depending on the organization's structure, but it usually follows a similar logic.

Business areas remain responsible for decisions related to the operation.

Transactional activities, however, are executed by the Shared Services Center.

For example:

A unit requests a payment.

The SSC performs:

• document checks;
• validations;
• ERP entries;
• payment scheduling;
• accounting records;
• compliance with internal policies.

This model allows specialists to execute similar processes for different areas of the company, capturing scale benefits.

Which processes can be centralized?

Although an SSC can support several corporate areas, it usually concentrates repetitive and standardizable activities.

In finance, examples include:

Accounts payable

• receiving invoices;
• validations;
• entries;
• payment scheduling;
• supplier support.

Accounts receivable

• issuing payment slips or invoices;
• posting receipts;
• reconciliation;
• collections.

Treasury

• daily cash position;
• financial investments;
• bank movements.

Accounting

• journal entries;
• reconciliations;
• closing;
• audit support.

Tax

• document checks;
• ancillary obligations;
• tax support.

In addition to finance, SSCs often support areas such as Human Resources, Procurement, Legal, and Technology.

When does it make sense to create an SSC?

Not every company needs a Shared Services Center.

This model usually starts to make sense when operational growth makes distributed processes difficult to maintain.

Common signs include:

• multiple units executing the same activity;
• different processes for similar situations;
• excessive rework;
• difficulty consolidating indicators;
• rising administrative costs;
• low standardization;
• little visibility into the operation.

In these cases, centralizing part of the activities can increase efficiency without changing the decision-making structure of the business areas.

What are the benefits?

Process standardization

When different teams execute the same procedure in different ways, the chances of errors and inconsistencies increase.

An SSC establishes common rules for the entire organization.

Scale gains

Concentrating similar activities makes it easier to distribute team capacity and reduce duplicated work.

More control

Standardized processes make audits, indicator tracking, and compliance with internal policies easier.

Lower operating costs

Although implementing an SSC requires investment, many companies reduce administrative costs by eliminating redundancies and increasing productivity.

Better experience for internal areas

With well-defined processes, areas such as Sales, Operations, and Procurement gain more predictability around deadlines and responsibilities.

Challenges of implementing an SSC

Creating a Shared Services Center is not just about reorganizing people.

The main challenges are usually related to processes.

Lack of standardization

If each unit works in a different way, simply bringing the teams together does not solve the problem.

Before centralization, it is usually necessary to review flows, responsibilities, and policies.

Different systems

Companies that grew through acquisitions often operate with multiple ERPs and tools.

Integrating this information can be one of the biggest implementation challenges.

Resistance to change

Business areas often fear losing autonomy.

That is why clear communication and service level agreements (SLAs) are essential.

Poorly defined indicators

Without clear metrics, it becomes difficult to track whether the SSC is actually delivering efficiency gains.

Which indicators should be tracked?

KPIs frequently used in Shared Services Centers include:

• cost per transaction;
• average processing time;
• payment deadline compliance;
• rework rate;
• productivity per employee;
• percentage of automated processes;
• SLA achievement rate;
• internal customer satisfaction.

These indicators help measure not only operational efficiency, but also the quality of the service delivered.

The role of automation in an SSC

Although centralization creates important gains, it does not eliminate repetitive activities.

In fact, concentrating processes often increases the team's operating volume even further.

That is why many SSCs combine standardization with automation.

Processes commonly automated include:

• invoice capture;
• document classification;
• business rule validations;
• ERP integrations;
• financial reconciliations;
• report generation;
• notification sending;
• initial exception handling.

In this context, automation does not replace the team.

It reduces repetitive activities so professionals can spend more time on analysis, decisions, and situations that truly require human expertise.

Centralizing does not mean creating bureaucracy

A common misconception is that creating an SSC will make processes slower.

In practice, this depends on how the operation is structured.

When processes are standardized, indicators are tracked, and repetitive activities are automated, the tendency is the opposite: more predictability, less rework, and better operational quality.

On the other hand, centralizing processes without reviewing flows or investing in technology may simply concentrate the same problems in a single team.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between an SSC and a traditional finance department?

In the traditional model, different units often execute their own administrative activities. In an SSC, these operations are concentrated in a shared structure that serves the entire organization.

Does every company need a Shared Services Center?

No.

Smaller companies or businesses with less complex operations can usually operate efficiently without an SSC. The model tends to generate more benefits in organizations with multiple units, high transaction volume, or distributed processes.

Which areas can be part of an SSC?

In addition to finance, SSCs commonly support Human Resources, Procurement, Tax, Accounting, Legal, and Technology.

Does automation replace an SSC?

No.

Automation and SSCs are complementary initiatives. While the SSC reorganizes how services are delivered, automation reduces the operational effort required to execute those processes.

Conclusion

A Shared Services Center is a strategy to increase efficiency, standardize processes, and create scale as a company grows.

However, the best results do not come only from centralizing teams. They depend on process review, indicator definition, activity standardization, and the use of technology to eliminate repetitive tasks.

When these elements work together, the SSC stops being only an organizational change and becomes a platform for a more efficient, predictable finance operation prepared to grow.