Lockton’s Growth Journey: Strengthening Financial Control Through Automation
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For Lockton, one of the world’s largest privately owned insurance brokers, rapid growth across the Asia-Pacific region brought both opportunity and complexity. What began as a small regional operation quickly scaled into a multi-entity business spanning Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.
“We started with like 20–30 people… we are at about 400 people now,” explained Parnil Karan, Group Financial Controller at Lockton. As the organization expanded, so did the demands on its finance function. With centralized finance operations supporting a growing regional footprint, Lockton needed to evolve its processes to maintain accuracy, visibility, and control in an increasingly complex environment.
The Challenge: Outgrowing Manual Processes
Before modernizing its financial processes, Lockton relied heavily on spreadsheets and basic systems to manage reconciliations and
reporting. “We were actually using Excel to do all our GL reconciliations,” Karan said.
While this approach worked in the early days, it quickly became unsustainable as the business scaled. The limitations of spreadsheets introduced risk and inefficiency:
- Lack of control and auditability
- Difficulty tracking changes and approvals
- Limited visibility across teams
- Time-consuming manual processes
The risks weren’t just operational—they were strategic. As Lockton matured, leadership recognized the need for stronger financial
governance and scalable systems. “Excel was not something that we could use properly. Files could be edited independently, and it is very hard to lock down figures. Signing off on things with that uncertainty was very, very tricky.”
At the same time, the business was preparing for a major ERP transformation, moving from a basic GL system to Oracle. Without improving reconciliation processes first, the team risked compounding complexity.
Why Lockton Chose Trintech
Lockton evaluated multiple solutions as part of its transformation journey. While any system would have been a step forward from spreadsheets, the decision ultimately came down to alignment, trust, and proven success within the broader organization. Internal recommendations played a key role.
Lockton’s global finance teams were already familiar with Trintech, providing confidence in both the technology and the expected outcomes. “Our business partners suggested looking into Trintech; they had already been using it and knew we could leverage their experience and efficiencies.”
Beyond team alignment, the solution itself met Lockton’s core requirements:
- Scalability to support future growth
- Automation of reconciliation processes
- Improved visibility and control
“The decision was very simple. The team had unofficially signed off, with the recommendation, and we liked the product so everything was go ahead from there.”
Implementation:
A Strategic Approach to Change
Lockton approached implementation with a clear strategy: introduce process improvements before undergoing a larger ERP transformation. “We knew that if we didn’t do it now, we’d be going through too much change later. So, we decided, ‘Let’s change it now for the better.”
This phased approach helped the team manage change effectively while minimizing disruption.
Key Elements of the Implementation Included:
Strong Leadership Alignment
Once the decision was made, leadership ensured the team understood the direction and rationale: “Once we impressed that there was no turning back, it was very easy for the team to get on board with stepping away from Excel.”
Focus on Timing
Implementing ahead of the Oracle transition allowed the team to avoid overlapping transformations. “Timing was critical. We knew that trying to do both the Oracle and Trintech transitions at once would simply be too much change at once—the team would exhaust themselves. So, we decided to optimize our processes with Trintech first, so that we could start reaping the benefits ASAP.”
Dedicated Ownership and Structured Onboarding
A finance manager led the implementation internally, working closely with Trintech’s team. “The templates are quite simple to use, and the guidance we were provided was quite good. Every step of the way we were being well supported by the Trintech team.”
Results: Visibility, Control, and Confidence
Since implementation, Lockton has transformed how its finance team operates, moving from reactive, manual processes to a more structured and controlled environment.
Enhanced Visibility and Accountability
Task ownership and approval workflows are now clearly defined: “We are now able to track timelines, including how much time it takes to complete certain recs. This makes it easier to manage workloads. Now, roles are predefined and our allocation of tasks is very clear.”
Improved Monitoring and Performance Management
With real-time dashboards and tracking capabilities, the team can quickly identify delays and address issues proactively. “We are now able to monitor delays, which was near impossible in spreadsheets.”
Stronger Audit and Control Environment
The shift away from spreadsheets has significantly improved audit readiness and compliance. “Moving away from Excel has given our auditors a level of comfort. All the support documentation is localized and changes are very easy to track.”
In fact, Lockton has seen tangible improvements in audit outcomes: “They never picked up anything or questioned anything from a GL perspective, because everything’s been spot on.”
Greater Confidence in Financial Data
For leadership, the impact is immediate and ongoing: “Having clean recs and full visibility, literally fingertips away, is great.”
A Foundation for Future Optimization
While Lockton has not formally quantified time or cost savings, the qualitative impact is clear—and measurable improvements are expected as the system matures. “Now we have the bandwidth to look at how we can improve timelines, rather than being concerned about inaccuracies and audit risks.”
A Worthwhile Investment
For Lockton, the move to automation wasn’t just about efficiency—it was about enabling growth, strengthening controls, and futureproofing the finance function. “100%, I’m very happy. We’ve really, really benefited from partnering with Trintech.”
Karan sees the implementation as a defining achievement: “Implementing Trintech has been one of the greatest accomplishments that I’ve been able to contribute to the business, for sure.”
Looking Ahead
With a full financial year under its belt using both its new ERP and automated reconciliation processes, Lockton is now positioned to focus on continuous improvement. The foundation is in place. The visibility is there. And the finance team is equipped to scale alongside the business. What started as a need to move beyond spreadsheets has evolved into a broader transformation—one that continues to deliver value across the organization.
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