https://gayle-nelson.com Essays on ERP architecture and finance systems by Gayle Nelson, CPA. en-us https://gayle-nelson.com/writing/choosing-an-erp-implementation-partner https://gayle-nelson.com/writing/choosing-an-erp-implementation-partner Companies spend months evaluating ERP software and a few weeks evaluating the firm that will implement it. That is backwards. Gayle Nelson https://gayle-nelson.com/writing/what-a-cfo-should-do-about-ai https://gayle-nelson.com/writing/what-a-cfo-should-do-about-ai Boards are demanding an AI strategy. Finance teams are buying tools that sit unused. The sequence that works is unglamorous and it is not optional. Gayle Nelson https://gayle-nelson.com/writing/why-integrations-fail-before-they-are-built https://gayle-nelson.com/writing/why-integrations-fail-before-they-are-built Integrations don't break on the software. They break on master data and on the order you load it in. Gayle Nelson https://gayle-nelson.com/writing/design-backwards-from-the-general-ledger https://gayle-nelson.com/writing/design-backwards-from-the-general-ledger Decide what has to hit the GL, when, and at what level of detail. Then architect every upstream system to deliver exactly that. Gayle Nelson https://gayle-nelson.com/writing/the-operator-test https://gayle-nelson.com/writing/the-operator-test Platform expertise is table stakes. The question is whether the person designing your revenue recognition has ever survived a month-end close. Gayle Nelson https://gayle-nelson.com/writing/ready-for-an-erp-implementation https://gayle-nelson.com/writing/ready-for-an-erp-implementation Three signals tell me whether a company will actually finish an ERP implementation. Missing one is the reason most projects stall, not the software. Gayle Nelson https://gayle-nelson.com/writing/everyone-has-admin-access https://gayle-nelson.com/writing/everyone-has-admin-access Most ERP damage happens after go-live, from the inside — over-provisioned access and ungoverned configuration changes. The fix is a permissions model and a change process. Gayle Nelson https://gayle-nelson.com/writing/scale-without-the-swivel-chair https://gayle-nelson.com/writing/scale-without-the-swivel-chair Best-of-breed beat the all-in-one platform. But the win only holds if you enforce one rule: enter data once, then let it flow downstream. Gayle Nelson