I've previously discussed the need for the Business Units to partner with Shared Services in creating the Finance organization that delivers services effectively and with a competitive cost structure.  One way to do that is to participate in process governance.

Process governance is focused on creating and sustaining end-to-end processes that are highly efficient while meeting the needs of the Business Units.  It involves the active representation of the Business Units in Process Councils to ensure that their requirements are understood and met.

Process Councils accomplish the following:

1. Establish standard processes and handoffs between the Business Units and the Shared Service Organization.  One challenge in organization is the tendency to view activities in silos, such as Finance and Procurement.  Highly efficient processes transcend this silo mentality and are designed as fully integrated, end-to-end processes.  This involves crossing over artificial organizational boundaries to create highly efficient processes.  A Process Council with the appropriate representation can help break down these organizational barriers.
2. Identify and solve issues that arise at the process level.  Issues will inevitably arise in the execution of services to the Business Units.  The Process Council is a forum where Business Unit representations can bring their concerns and have them addressed.  For this to be effective, the Business Units need a mechanism in place to ensure that issues identified in the day-to-day operations are brought to the attention of the Process Council representative.
3. Stay apprised of emerging best practices within the process sphere.  The representatives to the Process Council should be informed and aware of changes in their industry and the emerging best practices for the processes under their stewardship.  These ideas should be discussed during meetings to identify the initiatives that should be given the green light.
4. Identify initiatives and set priorities.  The Process Council will have the opportunity to discuss a variety of initiatives that could be conducted to enhance the service delivery capabilities of the Shared Service Organization.  It will be up to the Process Council to identify these initiatives and to order these priorities to support the vision of the SSO.  Process Council representatives should have a good understanding of the major corporate initiatives and how their proposed initiatives would support and interact with these broader initiatives.  Process Council representatives should also be prepared to give input into any business case that would need to be developed as part of the initiative approval process.
5. Oversee the implementation of new activities.  The Finance organization and their partners in the business units should always be looking for new ways to optimize processes.  This could involve bringing new activities into a captive Shared Service Center or it could mean outsourcing part or all of that process.  The Process Council and its members have a responsibility to make this determination on an on-going basis and to oversee the execution of these initiatives to ensure they deliver the anticipated business value.

By participating in Process Councils, Business Units can be properly represented in the on-going effort to optimize the processes delivered to their organization.  This shouldn't be optional for the Business Units.  It is essential that appropriate representatives be assigned to the governance process to ensure representation and accountability of the Business Units.