“We can see great potential for development on the finance side”

The Finance Office is now moving into the next phase of the development process. The current status has been fully audited and analysed, and the rest of the organisation will be brought in during the autumn. The work will now go deeper, and the focus will be more on the new vision for the finance and accounting side of things. The various aspects will be further analysed in order to set priorities and decide which ones need developing and in what order.

FO Head of Department Susanne Odung  and Christina Carlsson , Head of the Administration at the ITM School, were appointed to audit and describe financial support services at KTH, both centrally and in the various schools.

“Based on the SWOT analyses we conducted with the heads of finance at each school, the Finance Office management, the purchasing managers, and the procurement function, we now have a clear map of our current situation. We also have a lot of inspiration for change management moving forward,” says Susanne Odung.

Christina Carlsson adds:

“The idea now, by the autumn, and with the status quo as a foundation, is to shift to a more in-depth approach and see what needs dealing with and where we should begin. The goal is to create a KTH where everyone is treated equally wherever a question is asked. The merger is also intended to free up resources for education and research, which we’ll now be able to do by syncing different processes with each other.”

The auditing process has revealed development potential in various aspects of financial administration support services. KTH needs more finely honed system support in management and planning, which includes budgeting, monitoring, and follow-up, analysis, forecasting and staff planning, for example. It is also hoped that a new, coordinated organisation will enable a different level of support than is available at present.

“We don’t have any final answers yet, but we know where we’re headed. The eventual solution will come from a joint effort starting in the autumn, with our co-workers having a chance to have their say and affect the outcome. That’s where the true expertise lies; it’s out in the organisation that people know what works well and where we could be better,” says Susanne Odung. She continues:

“After that, it will all need confirming with the faculties where the actual production takes place and with the appointed council of prefects. We’ll also be looking at what system support is needed moving forward for the aspects of the financial management process we want to develop. It’s a major change process and one that’s only just begun.”

The merging of support services will continue during autumn 2022, and the new organisation will come into force on 1 January 2023. The development process will continue until 2026.

The merger and the ongoing work

In March, the President decided that support services at the schools and KTH-wide support services (University Administration/GVS) should merge and form a new organisation. This new organisation is the next step in evolving support services towards higher quality and efficiency, freeing up time for teachers and researchers and generally increasing KTH’s competitiveness.

During the spring, Heads of Administration at the schools and Heads of Department at GVS completed their audit of support services in various areas: education, research, finance and accounting, HR, infrastructure, communication, and management.

On the merger and the ongoing work