When Your EPM System Isn’t Delivering: Where Finance Leaders Should Look First
You’ve gone live with your Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) system. The implementation is technically complete. But somehow, the value just isn’t showing up.
Many finance teams reach this point where the technology is “live,” but the results are underwhelming. Forecasts remain inaccurate. Budget cycles are still long and chaotic. End users aren’t adopting the tool. So, where should finance leaders look first when an EPM system fails to deliver?
Here’s a practical breakdown of how to troubleshoot and turn things around.
1. Revisit the Why: What Was the EPM Meant to Solve?
Start by returning to the original reason you invested in an EPM platform in the first place.
Was it to improve forecasting accuracy?
To streamline budgeting and reporting cycles?
To give leadership real-time visibility into actuals?
To eliminate redundant tasks and reduce manual effort?
Or to unify planning across departments?
Understanding your original objectives is key to diagnosing the gap between intention and outcome. If the system isn’t meeting those goals, it’s not a tech failure: it’s a misalignment between purpose and execution.
2. Run an EPM Health Check with Your Users
You don’t need to be a technical expert to evaluate your EPM environment. Start by asking the users. The finance team. The planners. The department heads. Those who were meant to benefit from the system.
Gather feedback like:
What’s working?
What’s difficult or confusing?
What processes are still happening in Excel?
Is the data trustworthy? Is it timely?
Often, these user insights will point directly to system misconfigurations, lack of enablement, or design decisions that don't match how the business actually operates.
3. Define the Real Problem, Then Scope the Fix
Once you’ve collected input, move into the diagnostic and scoping phase. This doesn’t need to be a formal RFP, but it should be intentional.
Ask:
Are we missing key features that users expected?
Did the implementation team misinterpret the requirements?
Was the scope too narrow to begin with?
Most EPM vendors will happily walk you through solution demos and gap analyses. Many platforms can deliver what you need, but the success of the project often comes down to how well it was scoped at the start.
The first few weeks of any implementation, - where you define requirements, workflows, ownership, and success metrics - are what ultimately determine whether your system will thrive or stall.
4. Don’t Mistake “Go Live” for “Mission Accomplished”
The technical implementation is only half the story. After the consultants wrap up and the vendor shifts focus to the next customer, who ensures your system is actually adopted, expanded, and optimised?
At Propriety Group, we’ve seen this gap firsthand.
Customer success managers often struggle to re-engage clients post-implementation: not because they don’t care, but because they don’t have the tools, time, or mandate to do deep enablement work. We used to joke that they were an army with no soldiers.
That’s why we created PG Care: a post-go-live service designed not just to provide technical support, but to drive adoption, training, and long-term success.
5. How PG Care Closes the Loop
With PG Care, we offer two key layers of support:
Technical Assistance
We make sure your EPM environment is stable, secure, and fully functional, monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimising as your business evolves.
Enablement & Adoption
This is where we stand apart. We train your internal teams, empower your users, and help you expand the system’s capabilities across new departments and processes, ensuring the EPM becomes embedded in your company’s planning culture.
If your EPM system is live but not delivering, don’t rush to replace it or blame the platform. First, go back to the “why.” Reconnect with your users. Re-evaluate the scope. And make sure you have the right partner not just to implement, but to enable success.
Because real value doesn’t come from going live. It comes from going further.
Do you think you could benefit from PG Care? Get in touch today with our team to discover how we can help. Book a call here