Transforming EY's Client Services, Approach to Data and Content Publishing
1
Collaboration First
As EY continues its fast progression into digitally enabled client services and audit management, they partnered with Code and Theory to run experiments on key aspects of the relationship between EY Auditors and their clients. When EY came to us, the process of assembling and delivering Audit Close Reports was manual and highly variable, resulting in deliverables and an experience that does not intuitively deliver the valuable insights board members expect to receive from an organization of EY's caliber.
In close collaboration with EY, Code and Theory set out to create a product concept and prototype that would digitize and elevate EY's Audit Close Report experience, effectively increasing internal efficiencies and unlocking greater value for EY clients.
Impact
- Reinvented the way EY clients can engage with the Audit Close Report
- Leveraged Code and Theory's decades of experience in media and publishing into the financial audit industry
- Transformed a traditional, static financial audit output into a new, dynamic business offering
Key Takeaways
- Created a transversal team across disciplines to rapidly innovate and prototype
- Accelerated design thinking process, with research and design at the core
- Successfully brought the culture of content and publishing into a financial organization
2
Deep Analysis
We kicked off the project with a series of interviews with auditors and key EY stakeholders. This occurred in tandem with several collaborative workshops between Code and Theory and EY, designed to hone in on a feasible concept, validate hypotheses and align on a strategic direction.
Through a thorough analysis supported by quantitative and qualitative user research, we identified key problems in critical moments of the client journey, and began illustrating scalable solutions for EY and its clients.
3
Strategic Experiments
We ran multiple experimental design sprints to impact the way Clients interact with EY at the early stages of the audit process, throughout the audit itself, as well as how they should experience the delivery of the Audit Close Report. That collaboration involved:
- Cross-disciplinary requirement gathering and business analysis work sessions to break organizational silos and leverage perspective from various parts of the company.
- Generated multiple directions while developing a strong content and product strategy, creating alignment, pushing the boundaries of creativity, and inventing new paradigms.
- Manifested our thinking through high-fidelity prototypes, ran testing sessions, and communicated testing results to executive stakeholders to create alignment within EY.
4
Design Driven Insights
Our current-state assessment revealed a widely varied report process reckoning with new methods, technologies and expectations.
Audit committees need critical information up front, and in a way that’s easier to digest. Audit committees are looking for insights beyond their audit (industry, peers, and business.)
Data-focused insights and complex audit findings bring a need for enhanced data visualizations and analytical tools. New ways of exploring data are now a part of assessing business health and performance.
The resulting deliverable of an audit does not reflect the value of EY’s service or the current state of the industry. Opportunities for deeper service and engagement are lost.
5
Audit Close Report, Redefined
The output of this deep exploration on the Audit Close Report is a complete redefinition of the client experience at the delivery of the report and a renewed EY client service engagement and value. The new experience is based on 3 fundamental principles:
The redefined audit report must lead with key information and incorporate thought leadership on the client's business health.
A web-based destination that provides the ability to access the report through multiple devices and/or offline to accommodate their personal preferences.
An architecture that clearly displays all the relevant information while offering reassurance on the context behind the content.
The collective vision that EY and Code and Theory developed manifest what the next generation of the EY Client Service entails from a business transformation standpoint.
