How commercial interests get in the way of epm solutions

Spot on: Tjeerd Huisman - "I am the bridge between Finance and IT "12 Minutes estimated reading time

Meet Tjeerd Huisman, Oracle EPM expert and independent partner at Bart & Partners.

From seasoned business controller with ERP knowledge in paid employment to independent Oracle EPM expert. That's how we could summarize Tjeerd Huisman's career path in one sentence. A year ago, Tjeerd joined Bart & Partners as an independent partner.

As a financial expert, what moved Tjeerd to the EPM profession? Was the leap to self-employment a difficult one? And how does he experience his current work? We asked our likeable colleague and fellow professional.

You are currently an independent Oracle EPM expert, but your roots lie elsewhere

True, I was employed as a business controller for much of my life, including at a printing company and a shipping company. And for many years at Eneco and Stork.

But besides the business and finance aspect, I was always interested in the technology side. I enjoyed being involved with IT. Everywhere I went, I enjoyed hanging out with IT people.

IT was a kind of second love of yours?

Yes, and I was handy at it, too. I always wanted to understand how things worked on the back end. So I would go find that out. That always helped me come up with great solutions.

As a student, I was already building complex mathematical models in Excel for wealthy clients of a bank. And at that shipping company I was also involved in reporting to the head office, because I understood the system. During my time at Eneco, I did a lot with SAP's ERP software. As business controller, I was SAP key user and helped develop the data models and BI reports.

How did you end up in the EPM?

That was at Stork. I started there as business controller on Corporate Control, but after about 3 years I got the opportunity to supervise a redesign of Oracle Hyperion as project leader.

During that project, I learned an awful lot and got totally into it. I knew exactly how it was structured and how to work with it. That's why I took on the management of that environment after the project.

When did you start itching to start for yourself?

When I was at Stork for about 10 years. I had no more opportunities to grow. There were no other positions within Stork that I aspired to. And what also played a role: Stork was for sale. Still is, by the way. That was the moment I thought: I have to choose for myself now.

Didn't you have any doubts?

Yes, beforehand I did have my doubts, because I am someone who hangs around with employers for a long time out of loyalty. What helped me enormously was a coaching program from Stork. That coach guided me and prepared me spiritually.

When I got in touch with Bart and Bart it was quick. I decided to start for myself and do projects through Bart & Partners.

From your smile, you don't regret that move

No, definitely not. I love that I finally have people around me with whom I can spar and cooperate. That way you come to a solution better and faster.

At Stork, I was on my own. I had no team around me and had to teach myself everything. That's not a problem. But if you have no one to whom you can ask things, you don't progress as quickly. Now I have several partners or colleagues to whom I can ask things. People who think about things in the same way and with whom you can build beautiful things together.

What appeals to you most about Bart & Partners?

What appeals to me the most is that both Barten's have complete integrity. You can just be very open and direct in matters, without fear that it will be used against you later. You can trust Bart and Bart completely. You notice that in everything and it feels enormously nice.

It may seem normal, but I have come across it very rarely. That's why I'm so pleased now that at Bart & Partners, integrity is paramount.

Where is your strength as an EPM expert?

My focus is on Oracle EPM Cloud. I have a lot of experience with the consolidation tool, but am now working a lot on the planning product. And my strength? I find that from my financial background, I can quickly make a nice contribution to other project members who are thinking more from the technology perspective.

Because you understand well the needs and questions an end user has?

Yes, I have always been the bridge between Finance and IT. Even now. What do you really want to achieve? What is your need from a financial perspective? And how do we translate that need into an IT solution? I can bring that in particular.

I understand better than anyone what finance must go through monthly, quarterly and annually as a process to arrive at the budget, forecast or actuals.

What are you currently working on?

I am now with 3 customers. At my former employer Stork, I am still at support one day a week. At Stolt-Nielsen I do Oracle planning and we are now completing the redesign of the planning environment. The third customer I'm with is Novamedia, the owner of the Postcode Lottery. There we just started. And soon we will start at the VDK Group.