Accenture: Reduction in Administrative Costs for Ballet

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

In just two years of a five-year undertaking, a new Accenture project  has achieved savings targets and improved performance in payroll and accounting for the  Colorado Ballet. The organization has achieved a 30 percent reduction in administrative function costs.  In addition, the timeliness of the organization’s quarterly and monthly financial reports and payroll processing substantially improved.  The savings to date have covered the transition costs to a new system in which an Accenture team manages a ticketing call center, payroll production, finance and accounting.  Accenture also provided project management to enable the Ballet to upgrade its technology capabilities without needing a full-time IT organization in-house.

Elaine Turville, who leads Accenture’s nonprofit practice commented:

“Arts organizations can reap tremendous value from shared services, as have many businesses as well as government and education institutions,” she said.  “Colorado Ballet will continue to benefit from the savings generated year after year by the more efficient approach to administrative functions and now, for the first time, has service-level agreements, documented processes and more timely and accurate data to help guide the organization’s approach to administration going forward.”