Valoo, which brings fiber optic connections to Finnish homes, has seen rapid growth over the past few years. Implementation of the Adaptive Planning management accounting system was an important step toward real-time reporting of the company, knowledge-based management and streamlining the forecasting and budgeting process. The implementation of the system was carried out by a relatively small team: besides CFO Vesa Koivula, the working group from Valoo included a Business Controller, two financial consultants, Riina Valkama and Henna Kettunen, from NIS, and two representatives from the system provider. The system was built in around three months as a daily tool for the company's management. After that, the project progressed to the second phase and integrations between different financial management systems were gradually completed during 2023.
“We completed the first phase of the project to a particularly tight schedule. We needed experienced controllers to help us respond to the framework required by the change, both in terms of capability and structure. Riina and Henna had good drive and took the project forward independently. Without them, integration implementation would not have been possible within this timeline," Valoo’s CFO Vesa Koivula comments on the collaboration.
Entire Financial Team also Supported
Besides involvement in the system project, NIS's financial consultants Riina Valkama and Henna Kettunen closely supported the entire finance team. In addition to day-to-day financial administration work, the project team was involved in developing financial management processes and promoting forecast and budget rounds. As the company is growing rapidly, NIS also supported the client's finance team in onboarding new employees.
“From the very outset, we were welcomed into Valoo's warm work community and finance team. We were invited to the company's summer party and the team's lunches. Completing the project to a tight schedule was made possible by quickly embracing the job description and straightforward interaction with the finance team. Flowing is the word we would use to describe our highly successful and meaningful collaboration,” is how NIS consultants Riina and Henna commend collaboration with Valoo.
The Company's Strong Growth and International Ownership Base Increased the Need for IFRS Expertise
Valoo’s actual business has accelerated rapidly over the past year. The company has a lot going on in terms of growth, financing and acquisitions. For example, new financing models and other changes create new needs for IFRS reporting. Valoo had no-one focusing on these specialist tasks, nor did they need to hire a permanent person to do them. This is how Jussi Jurvelin Senior Financial Consultant at NIS joined the finance team.
“In spring 2023, Valoo had to do an acute IFRS purchase price calculation. We resolved things quickly before discussing more extensive collaboration in financial administration. We resumed in the fall when we looked to the future in IFRS development. We streamlined processes and did things so that the client would have models and tools in place for the next phase of growth," says Jurvelin at NIS about the cooperation, with Koivula at Valoo adding that:
"There has been efficient, smooth collaboration between us. The work we do is relative to the lifecycle of our company, and we have made practical solutions that work together, not forgetting IFRS framework requirements. Starting the project in the early stages of the company's growth is very important for the transparency of our operations and the fulfillment of obligations.”
Valoo Oy Valoo is a Finnish optical fiber network company established in 2019 with a mission to make Finland an information society of international caliber. Valoo will invest more than half a billion euros in Finnish digital infrastructure over the next few years, bringing optical fiber connections to more than 300,000 Finnish homes and employing nearly 1,000 employees in Valoo and its contractor network across Finland. Valo is owned by Dutch infrastructure investment company DIF Capital Partners and Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd).
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